marke985

No truth to that at all. On the 18th, I was denied a 5 year Thailand Privilege "Formally Elite" visa at Suvarnabhumi. I had 3 Thailand Privilege staff with me to inquire the reason. The only reason given was "I traveled to Vietnam for 2 days and that looks suspicious. I paid 1,000,000 baht in 2019 for the 20 year Visa option. If 1 million baht and 3 Thailand Privilege agents were not able to change inmigrations decision, I highly doubt a 8K baht service has more power/influence. * I was given a 60 visa exempt entry and Thailand Privilege has suggested I go to CW immigration #1 in a month and try to get my 5 year Visa there. Point of my post is, paying an agency does you nothing if your flagged in immigrations system.

As I slowly increase my Thai Brahman herd, I'm curious about the importance of grass variety in their diet. Currently we cut and carry from 5 rai Ruzi and Mombasa Guinea grass. We also let them graze the rice fields after harvest and use rice straw when desperate. I recently bought 12 rai and I am in the process putting up a barbwire fence and removing and plant/tree regrowth as the area was previously untamed forest. My plan is to let cattle graze this area unsupervised. I was going to plant more Ruzi and Purple Mombasa Guinea in this area and maybe leave a small section for natural grass (till the ground and dump a bunch of manure in the area as natural grass seeds are always in the manure). I feel like letting them free graze the same grass as we cut and carry might overwhelm their taste for the grasses and the cattle won't care for it anymore. Is there any truth to this? Is there another grass anyone recommends that they've had success with. I will also be planting 1 rai of Mulatto 2 grass this year to give it a try. Irrigation is possible for dry season, but prefer not to irrigate the area. Farm is in Kalasin, near Roi Et/Maha Sarakham border. Thanks for any help, suggestions, or education.

Do we have any fans of Cooa america soccer tournament on the forum? I'm trying to figure out if there is a easy way to stream the games if in Asia. I'd be willing to pay some fee if possible but all the pay sites I'm aware of are not available in Asia. Anyone know how this can be done? Thanks

About 16 months ago I vouched financially to help raise a baby in our household. He's mostly taken care of by a team of old ladies all related to each other. Common practice here on Issan. Recently he got sick and had a very high temperature. I was shocked to learn no one had a thermometer as he felt really hot when I held him. The doctor told them he should of been brought in sooner with such a high temperature so I would like to buy a community thermometer for the babies in the area but know nothing about this. Are baby thermometers different than adults? I would like to purchase one off Lazada due to its ease, but I couldn't tell you the difference between the 30 baht or 3000 baht thermometers. Any help suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Does anyone know where or how I can purchased soybean meal in Thailand? I'm looking for 100kg at a time about 2 times a month. Would use it to supplement cow and pig feed.

Thanks for the knowledge. I'm curious what would be your thoughts on giving the cow in question and in the future all cows the high protein purchased feed 3-4 weeks before attempting to breed? Is that enough time to make a substantial difference in conception rate? I've ruled out continuous feeding of the store bought feed as it is too cost prohibitive for what I'm planning, but would definitely be open to mixing in the high protein feed with the regular grass feed when near breeding time.

The cow breed I am told is 50% brahman and 50% thai. The larger cow pictured is the cow I have been unable to get pregnant. There is a definite language barrier as I speak very little Thai and only 1 associate of mine speaks ok English so I'm not sure what is meant by 50% Thai cow. The two pictures of grass attached makes up about 70% of the cows diet. It is the 2 most common grasses in the area. They usually graze for a few hours each day and will eat whatever grows naturally in the area (Rice fields before rice is planted, school grounds on the weekends) I recently planted 1.5 rai of Mulatto 2 grass, but it will be at least a month before it's ready and I have a 4 rai lot reserved for grass but it is prone to flooding and was unable to get a drainage pond dug before the rains came. The 2nd picture of bound grass seems to be flood resistant and I have about 1.5 rai of it growing well in my flooded 4 rai lot. I don't know the names of the grass but if anyone does please share. Thanks, I enjoy learning everything and anything I can about cattle in Thailand.

Today I made a tough decision to cull one of my favorite cows. She is about 3 years old and we have been unable to get her pregnant. We tried artificial insemination 4 times and natural insemination 2 times. I'm new to this game but enjoy being around the cows and the work is pleasant enough. (i.e. gathering food (cut and carry), cleaning the manure, ect.) I'm interested in gaining more knowledge from others in the Thai cattle game such as when to give up on a non producing heifer. Also, what are your opinions on AI versus natural insemination here in Thailand, or any other advice or mistakes you made along the way Thanks

Mine are the same way. we cut and carry native grass almost everyday as I try hard not to use the rice straw, but on days of heavy rain or something comes up and we cant cut the grass they do seem to like to eat the rice straw. (well about 75% of it and leave the rest)

I've been quite disappointed with them as a 20 year Elite card holder. I had a very poor experience the last two days trying to extend my visa as if you don't leave the country during the year you have to extend each year and pay an additional 1900 baht. My issues could stem from the fact I live in Issan and we probably don't have any Elite holders here. Basically i was sent home on my first attempt to extend my visa as the immigration officer told me i needed to contact Thailand Elite the day before i came and they would send Immigration special documents for the Elite Visa. (This was new news to me) Upon returning home I contacted Thailand Elite and was told that is not true and I should call them the next day if there was an issue. The number they gave me to call was the general service number which made me get transferred multiple times before someone could help me. The lady who helped me didnt know Kalasin was in Thailand so not sure if they've outsourced their help or it's not a well known Province. Anyway, after talking to the immigration officer for about 20 minutes they told me they would email a form and I should give it to the Immigration officer. At this point I was upset so I told them to send it immediately and they told me they would sent it within 30 minutes. I never received the from but the immigration officer did on his computer and the extension was completed on day 2. Total time spent at Immigration, 5 hours. I sat there as many marriage and retirement extensions were processed and pondered what I spent 1,000,000 baht for.