fruity

Yesterday I decided to slaughter a spare gilt who was the fifth in a batch and as their new "Mum's" pen with four feeders is all but finished, she had to go. There had been promises to buy her from several locals but none had materialised for weeks, so into the truck and over to the butcher.

This time I thought I would try to get some loin chops out of the deal so set about sketching what was wanted. Peels of laughter for the two guys, "Same, same I do in Pattaya!" was the reply. Well the results are in the chiller under ice and it remains to be seen what the chops are like when everything is cooled down.

Last night was actually the first time I had been there to witness the fatal deed. Bag over the head, wait for the pig to lay down and go quiet, then cut the jugular. Not a peep from the pig. It was like she was asleep, amazing.

Isaan Aussie

Hey Norteno that is very very interesting I wonder what Fruity thinks of this method. First I've ever heard of it and sounds very interesting. We always went deep after shooting looking for the aorta but could see how a prick of the jugular could do what you said with a subduerd beast, very interesting senor. me

Well you should see the chops I was waiting to get at. Neatly cut up between the ribs with the ribs removed and the spine intact. Two slices of loin attached to a slice of backbone. Oh well, loin steak anyone?

Don't know what happened there?............replied then nothing! lol.....As I had previously said, before the escape into cyberspace. Nothing surprises me here anymore. They 'pretend' to understand what you want, but in reality, don't have the foggiest.

Like ForeverFord, I've never encounered the bag over the head-lay down method of slaughtering before. I'd guess, although could be wrong, that in the majority of cases this simply wouldn't work?

Yesterday I decided to slaughter a spare gilt who was the fifth in a batch and as their new "Mum's" pen with four feeders is all but finished, she had to go. There had been promises to buy her from several locals but none had materialised for weeks, so into the truck and over to the butcher.

This time I thought I would try to get some loin chops out of the deal so set about sketching what was wanted. Peels of laughter for the two guys, "Same, same I do in Pattaya!" was the reply. Well the results are in the chiller under ice and it remains to be seen what the chops are like when everything is cooled down.

Last night was actually the first time I had been there to witness the fatal deed. Bag over the head, wait for the pig to lay down and go quiet, then cut the jugular. Not a peep from the pig. It was like she was asleep, amazing.

Isaan Aussie

LOL........Typical! Explain what you want & they 'pretend' to understand. I agree with F.F; never heard of the bag over the head, lay down method before. Must say, I'd think in the majority of cases it wouldn't work. Maybe I'm wrong, but won't be trying it to find out.

Hey Norteno that is very very interesting I wonder what Fruity thinks of this method. First I've ever heard of it and sounds very interesting. We always went deep after shooting looking for the aorta but could see how a prick of the jugular could do what you said with a subduerd beast, very interesting senor. me

Well you should see the chops I was waiting to get at. Neatly cut up between the ribs with the ribs removed and the spine intact. Two slices of loin attached to a slice of backbone. Oh well, loin steak anyone?

The end product....tasty meat on the plate

depends a great deal on the process to get it there.

Not all meat is grown equal,

but two good animals can also diverge after death.

1. The animal should be calm cool and at rest

when he is very unexpectedly whacked.

If there is adrenalin in the blood it will effect the meat.

Hunting deer I would never kill an animal that has been running....sure path to stinky venison.

The only shot I'll take is for an animal enjoying life perfectly calm.

2. The blood should be immediately drained, as it also will taint the meat flavor

3. The entire carcase should be cooled as rapidly as possible after killing.

I soak a hog in a huge tub of cool water for around half an hour

just as soon as he is gutted.

For a deer I'd do the same, gut him immediately and look for a nearby creek or pond to chill the carcase in.

After bringing to cool water temperature, get the meat packed in ice shortly thereafter.

For beef & deer you then age it 2 to 3 weeks in a dry cooler with good air space,

just above freezing temperature

You are looking for the first hint of white mold forming in the inside of the body cavity where the kidney used to be.

Right on the tenderloin

or on the exposed flesh at the inside of the rear legs where you split the pelvis

Couldn't agree more. Any form of stress proir to slaughter has a detrimental effect on the meat,this being number two reason I'd like to obtain a humane killer-stun gun. First reason as already stated is to despatch the animal, which has served me well over a considerable time in as humane a way as is possible. Imagine the stress of being driven / shoved into a crate, transported then remaining in the crate until the time comes for the guy with the sledgehammer as Jubby says to take a half dozen swings before achieving his goal. Not for my sows, all of which in future will be killed on site, butchered and the meat sold locally. Whenever we do this, the demand for pork always exceeds the supply with quite literally a line of locals waiting for their order to be cut, weighed and bagged.

Hi Fruity,

I use a framing hammer for Hogs.

One sharp pop front and center.

Goats have armor plate front and center,

so you have to pop them on top from behind.

The goal is for the animal to be unconscious but heart still pumping

so that when you cut the throat all the blood pumps out.

Thus the term "stun" gun

I've not killed a Beef in Thailand,

but they have to be securely tied in case one pop doesn't quite do it.

It's no fun to have a beef that almost went down.

An afterthought...

Are you thinking of the villain character in "No Country for Old Men"

He was formidable with a slaughterhouse stun gun.

At home I use either a .22 handgun, or a 12 ga shotgun

Hi W.E.

Thanks for the reply. By framing hammer do you mean a mallet / mell? This is the usual method in these parts, however, I don't like it, too much margin for error & terror in my opinion. The captive bolt stun guns come in many guises, but are basically a hand gun that fires a heavy bolt in order to stun / render unconcious the animal. Commonly referred to as humane killers......No country for old men....lol.....how appt:).....Much the same thing

What I like about these is the fact that the animal suffers zero stress & can be dropped before it has a chance to realise anything is amiss.

Cheers

Fruity

If you are worried about a few flies,

then perhaps Thailand isn't for you.

We do have flies

just like your home country has in warm weather months.

We just have no Winter, so you can see them 365 days.

Case by case basis of course.

No one could make one call for the many slaughterhouses of the whole nation.

Mae Sot now has a brand new sparkling slaughterhouse

while the old one it replaced was a sight to behold from the street

I kill my own livestock on the farm,

so I know the potential problems.

I have to instruct the men,

and then enforce what I told them,

because if I turned my back it would be done any sloppy way they please.

If I want the cuts to be recognizable I do the butchering myself.

because they will just whack the carcase in random pieces.

Their logic is, It's food,

you are going to cut it in tiny pieces eventually,

so how could the exact appearance matter in between?

I found it funny,

after I recovered from first being furious,

that an animal could be cut in such unusual ways,

because proper butchering is done according to the logical divisions of the body.

A carcase just wants to fall apart in an orderly fashion

It's not me doing it in the difficult outlandish way.

Never mind cutting neatly at bone joints...they have a machete to break right through bones.

My farm process is not fancy, it definitely does not look pristine,

but when the meat goes onto the ice,

it's been tidy every step in spite of the farm surroundings.

If someone was to see it all from the front gate,

they might be completely put off.

I'll eat from my own sooner than from someone else's.

So it is with a slaughterhouse.

It doesn't necessarily need a shiny roof with sparkling paint on the outside

Open air works about as well.

It's the attention to detail and speed,

getting the meat on ice in the shortest possible time.

What happens after it leaves the slaughterhouse is up to the market vendor.

Some markets have a separate room for meat.

Some of them are even air conditioned with strap curtains over the doors

Others have nothing but tables on the sidewalk,

with an old fan motor spinning plastic bags to give the flies frequent exercise.

If you carry the meat home and cook it well,

everything the fly left will be quite harmless

The other side of this answer is that the places that look darling

are not necessarily more sanitary

Consider that the most formidable microbes thrive in a hospital,

so imagine a pretty market room that isn't kept truly clean EVERY day.

You will potentially get just as sick from pretty meat as from meat with fly eggs visible.

Good News is that most meat in Thailand is sold the same day that it was killed.

Sorry I can't guarantee you that meat in Thailand would not make you sick,

but I've not been food poisoned here in 6 years,

with the minor stomach rumblings from nicer places.

At the slaughterhouse, I've seen animals that died on the truck,

or during unloading.

Soft pampered sheltered animals

who had apparent heart attack in the heat noise and cramped quarters.

Just failed to unload themselves from the truck.

One day two animals died while unloading from one truck.

The truck was contracted to a big name that everyone would immediately recognize.

They aren't separated from the living animals process,

just taken in first when the night slaughter team comes to work.

Nobody outside ever seems to know exactly how long that animal has been dead.

The holding pen stock handlers were not dismayed that multiple animals died.

It was all part of their normal day.

So would I rather eat from my messy looking farm,

or from the spiffy slaughterhouse going to a brand name cellophane package?

W.E,

Any ideas where I could obtain a captive bolt stun gun here in Thailand? I assume slaughter houses here will use these as a means of dispatching their subjects?

I would very much like to obtain a stun gun, which would be used exclusively 'on farm' when the time comes to say cheerio to sows that have served us well. In my opinion the most humane, stress free method.

Have found companies in the UK & States, however, I would think getting one brought into Thailand would be a nightmare?

Any ideas / info appreciated.

Cheers

Fruity

why are immigration raiding the place? , are the foreign nationals??

Farang police volunteers! Why would anybody want to stay in a place like Pattaya and play cop? In my opinion these idiots are more twisted than those partaking of the services on offer in the said bar. What brought these wannabes to Pattaya in the first place one wonders?

Chunky,

Your topic is an interesting one and raises a valid point. Just how typical are the circumstances that most of us see around us?

I have seen this written about on TV in vague terms and was hoping to get a better understanding of what is going on and what if people have written on here is actually accurate. The general idea is that Thai farmers do not have a free market to which they can sell their harvests and are forced to sell it instead to a "middle man" at a price substantially below fair market value and then the middle man sells it for the bulk share of the profit. Any idea?

I see two over-riding issues:

First, the average farmer near me has a small holding and is being marginalised by progress and consumerism. He is often only semi literate and has not travelled far beyond his local boundaries. He is aging and his children have moved to the city and a new, less strenuous and more exciting life. Ten years ago he may have had a fridge and a TV but the mobile phone and pickup truck were not even on the wish list. He probably still cooks on a charcoal brazier most times. So with much reduced labour available and no change in crop output he is facing a grim future. His costs continue to rise and his income remains much the same.

Second, Thailand has become a centre of value added manufacture to the world. The importance of rice exports has greatly diminished amid growing international competition. Thailand has grown out of the developing nation status and the subsistance farmer has been left behind.

Scandals and corruption may have been rampant here ten years ago but now, agriculture is a business, a multi national business and there is diminishing room for the traditional farmer. There are still free markets that would benefit these people but they do not have the knowledge to access them. For example, if a village collectively milled their crop and sold it directly to a rice merchant in Bangkok then the cost of transport would be covered and they would get paid for the value added component. No large corporate will buy 5 tonne of paddy from a local farmer.

So in my opinion, it is not the lack of choice or of middlemen profiteering. If the local rice merchant didnt aggregate shipments then the small farmer would not have a market. It is simply the only option open and is not sustainable, sad but not sinister. Progress my friends, that's all...

Isaan Aussie

Agreed I.A.

Things in my neck of the woods are very similar to those in yours. I am constantly reminded of 'how things used to be in the UK' many years ago. It was always said that the UK was 20 years behind the States; having often ventured into Southern Ireland it 'used to be' evident they were 20 years behind the UK( However, not anymore). Since living in the NE of Thailand, I can see so many similarities between the UK of my youth & before, especially so in an agricultural-sense & have often said that they are fifty years behind.

I remember when I first came to live in Buriram; there wasn't a tractor for miles around; now there are literally dozens; gone are the days of walking behind the iron-horse / tak-tak, similarly, the boys with the threshing machines literally 'had it off' at harvest time. NO MORE! The number of combines competing for business locally here is unbelieveable. Progress indeed, however, as always, the small farmer will always no matter where he is will have to content himself with living " on the crumbs from the rich mans table". Thats the way it's always worked, inspite of the so-called progress!

Merry xmas Walter...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA....Obviously, not the best Yultide old Walter will have enjoyed!

How, one wonders, do these people think they can get away with this type of behaviour? Surely, someone, sometime is going to get suspicious? Amazing!

Scully,

White ram is VERY fattening, yes around 12% protein but a large fat percentage. If you feed to finisher pigs they will be very 'fatty' That said, seems to make no difference with locals, but dealers won't want them.

The brown ram is much less nutritous; we add it to our pregnant sows and gilts diets basically to stop them getting over fat, yet keeping them full & content. Don't know the protein percentage for brown ram? At a guess, I'd say it is quite low. Having seen the droppings from pigs fed on brown ram only, all I can say is it comes out pretty much the same as it went in! In conclusion I'd say they get very little from it.

Fruity

here's something to 'chew' on.....copied from

http://www.naturalhub.com/grow_meat_breeds_cattle_small.htm

Those who are able to grow their own meat are in an enviable position. But when we come to kill a cattle beast for our own use, it would be useful to have a smaller animal so most of it can fit in the freezer. And the naturally smaller sized cuts fit in perfectly with todays smaller family size. If we are 'weekend farmers' on small holdings, we need to have easy care beasts. Small breeds of cattle have these traits, plus fast growth and naturally 'marbled' meat.

As cattle are selected for increased size and faster growth rate, their fertility rate drops, and the efficiency of conversion of grass into meat (kg meat per hectare) falls. It has been difficult to select for increased carcass yeild in catttle, as yeild is governed by many interacting traits. Small beef breeds have a reputation for efficient pasture conversion, better fertility, with more of the higher value meat cuts per hectare, as 'up to' two times the number small cattle as against normal breeds can be carried on the same area of land.

Miniature cattle breeds!!!......wonder if they could be found here in LOS??

Jaideeguy,

Beef 'marbling', like carcass quality varies from breed to breed. I very much doubt that irregardless of what you did either before or after slaughtering the beast there is anything that will put marbling in a local Brahman -bred type. Aberdeen Angus as an example are famous for the marbling.

In just about all species of livestock, smaller breeds will always grow faster & mature earlier than their larger cousins. A Chihuahua, for example is finished growing by 7 months of age, a StBernard isn't mature until around 2 years.

If you want to pile the weight on a newly weaned heifer, as said best to have at least two. Feed high protein 'creep' feed, designed for calves mix with 'white' ram & make sloppy by adding water; they'll love it & thrive on it. As much cut grass as they'll eat & even rice straw "fang" with watered down molasses on it is a good 'over-nighter. Simply, keep them eating! Make sure before you start that they are fully wormed!

Lots of the feedstuffs mentioned in this thread are simply unavailable in Thailand. If you can get access to corn stalks or cheap bananas, these are excellent too.

Fruity

Fruity

I.A.

Remember the Chicken flu outbreak a few years ago? The law here states that instances of suspicious poultry deaths be reported to the Amphur office for further investigation. Better to be safe than sorry!

That said, there are so many other potential causes. Some years ago we lost around thirty ducks overnight. Evening before they were fine as usual, following morning dead as Dodo's. I should add that these thirty or so were in a group of approx one hundred, the remainder unaffected & fine. A guy we know with a large poultry farm told us that it was probably down to the cold (similar time of year to present) However, I personally doubted this & think it more likely those affected somehow gained access to some poison, as they were free range, with access to adjoining rice fields etc.... Strange!

Fruity

such nostalgia..)

makes me remember way back when , the farm forum was part of the issaan section, cause most farming seemed to happen in the issaan area... and back when i had this idea that me and hubby would return and farm goats.

well, here in almost 2011, we know it wont be goats except for fun, and actually it wont be farming cause we are still waiting for the dam_n chanote for the land for a small hut/house to be built, and the farm land is being steadily taken care of by the one sister in law with good solid brains (and a shithole drunken husband)...

so plans stay as plans... and as most farmers would say: if i knew then what i know now...

in mean while, we are managing to do kitchen farming only, for our most important food plant, the chili pepper, and struggling ot maintain the health of our three papayas who have to make it through one more jeruslame winter before they will be planted in the ground (now in buckets to be put inside a greenhouse type place for the winter)...

however, definiately this forum is amazingly iformative. i wish there were /was a way to gather all the hard core experience and information in to an ebooklet or something (the pertinent info) since 1/ the information is in english and basically, probably supplements or surpasses those little thai booklets from teh farming advisory offices, , 2/its info based on real life situations with the 'western' side prevalant but (FFT) fit for thailand farming strategies.

as everyone hre can agree about, farming is difficult in the best of times, but to farm in a different country with different climate, seasons, soil, rain and most of all -POEPLE that think work plan (or not plan)and hoe differntly, well.......thats the most difficult hoe to row....

there is about 4-6 yrs of experience in this forum, from when people here were just starting their farms: pigs, catfish, cassava, peppers, cows,goats, and goat cheese, milk cows-- and since then, several farm failures, major farm machine injuries, losses and gains - i find it all amazing. for new posters and readers, that is certainly a major plus, if they have the patience to flip through all the posts. randonchances dairy cow farm, and maizefarmer's major farm machinery injury,of course, spring to mind for obvious reasons. all things any farang farmer should read through. especially if they are lacking any hands on experience with any real farming previously.

hats off to all the farmers, wannabe farmers, gentlemen (and women) farmers, or should i say: farm advisors.

bina

israel

Well said Bina & also well said Issan Aussie & Khonwan.................Wise words from those who have DONE as opposed to only 'talking' about it!

I wish you all well.

Fruity.

As has been previously stated; basically the only good meat is the breast. Much easier to just skin & fillet out the breasts.

In another life, each year we reared & killed lots of Geese for the Xmas trade. Of course, the birds had to be dressed correctly for market. Easiest to remove the primary feathers when freshly killed, rough pluck elsewhere & finish off with a blow torch, scorching the soft down feathers off. Much the same method with Ducks.

Fruity, mate,

For some reason I have this vision of you taking the most available option and placing a slatted pig floor panel between your ducks and their feed. Blow torch under the floor, webbed foot activated. So how do you turn a duck or a goose into a dog? Take it to Fruity's place and feed it, WOOF!

Isaan Aussie

Isaan Aussie,

Don't know about turning Geese into Dogs? Much rather turn them into cash:)...Totally agree with the sentiments expressed regarding not eating the two day old deceased Geese, personally, I wouldn't be bothering with those in the OP other than cremating them. Nothing wrong with 'hung' game / poultry, it certainly improves the taste & texture, however, I would never dream of 'hanging' anything in Thailand ( Apart from a few of the wifes relatives that is:)

Had my fair share of khami khaze ducks who would pay a visit to a pen of young growing pigs never to be seen again apart from the odd feather:)

Fruity

As has been previously stated; basically the only good meat is the breast. Much easier to just skin & fillet out the breasts.

In another life, each year we reared & killed lots of Geese for the Xmas trade. Of course, the birds had to be dressed correctly for market. Easiest to remove the primary feathers when freshly killed, rough pluck elsewhere & finish off with a blow torch, scorching the soft down feathers off. Much the same method with Ducks.

Ex pat Retirees I met in Penang & KL seem much more content with the fact they can own property & not have the 'Police State' mentality of annual immigration checks etc. but some others I met in Bali in Sanur are happiest there. Personal taste as with everything in life

Bali is beautiful but unless you surf or dive, not much to do there I would imagine. Also, public utilities, roads, medical, and shopping infrastructure are nothing compared to Pattaya/Thailand.

Ex pats in KL and Penang,everywhere in fact in Malaysia and are much more content,amazing the difference between here and there.Everything I have seen of late GDP,quality of life polls etc,indicate Malaysia is outperfoming Thailand hands down.

Your right regarding public utltilties, roads,medical /dental,shopping infrastructure,broadband etc etc are nothing compared to Thailands,it's miles ahead, all to do with it's oil wealth I guess. The 1 Malaysia programme is good for English ,but the MM2H keeps getting changed,better just go for the 3 month stamp

Agreed!........Not beeen in Penang for many years, however, it MUST be better than Crazy Town?!!!!!

Cost of machines Bt2.5mill each from Pom Generli in Ban Leng.

Id be interested to know what type of Rice Combine Harvester machine cost 2.5 million baht?

As the wifes relative has just bought a Kubotu Rice Harvester (see atttached photo) that cost 1.4 Million Baht brand new a month ago from the Kobuto dealer in Korat.

It is working flat out now.

Wow! DC 95, first I've seen and much largerthan the usual DC60 around here. Impressive! By the way I believe the type of machine and even where it was manufactured is in the quote. Strange isn't it? Just like cars, the size, shape, and materials something is made of effects the price.

Any car is only as good as it's driver..........What's that old saying about a fool and his money......lol....hahahahahahah......The windfall was already harvested, believe me!

Anal passages!..............Wow painful!...........5,000 pills apiece!...........HAHAHAHAHAHA

Hi Scully,

I will assume that by Lamtong you mean Rice Bran?

Rice Bran is very high in Phosphorous at 1.7%P

around 3X more than is needed for diet requirement,

but very low in Calcium.

To grow bone, you need 5 Calcium for every 3 Phosphorous,

as bone is Ca₅(PO4)₃OH

High Phosphorous is a good thing...not at all to be avoided.

However, If there is insufficient Calcium to match the available Phosphorous,

the animals won't grow,

and in fact will develop Osteoporosis, degradation of the bone structure

as the excessive Phosphorous leaving the system steals what little Calcium is there out.

This can be dealt with in several ways.

Green forage in general has good Calcium content.

Calcium Hydroxide Ca(OH)₂ is found in every building supply store in Thailand

sold as Poon Khao (Cement White)

It can be blended into the Rice Bran at the rate of 500 grams for each 25 kg Rice Bran.

I did this for many months, and the pigs thrive on it.

I buy it in 10 kg bags in Chiang Mai for B2.50 / kg => B25 / bag.

Building Supply stores sell it for around B12 / kg

I now buy Limestone Crusher Fines from the Aggregate Quarry by the ten wheel truckload.

This is the dust, grit, tiny bits, chips that come from the rock crusher as all the other crushed rock is made.

It is called Hin Fun (Stone Tiny)

but keep in mind that not just any Stone Tiny will work....it has to be Limestone CaCO_3.

It costs B3,000 for 15 metric tons => B0.20 / kg

Since we use it to raise the pH of our acidic soil,

it's already on the farm for that purpose.

We dump a pail sized pile of it into the corner of the pig corral,

so that the pigs have day and night free choice.

They eat an amazingly large amount of it, far more than their dietary need.

An excess of Calcium with respect to Phosphorous is not a problem,

only the other way around.

The deficiency of either Ca or P will equally shut down pig growth.

All other growth functions being the same, everything will slow to that limiting factor.

The feed supplement concentrates have all this figured in,

High Protein

Minerals and Vitamins

so I also have used Laemtong 169 Concentrate Protein 39%

The mixture recipe is on the side of the bag for mixing yellow corn and rice bran.

The last time I bought it, it was B595 per 30 kg bag,

while the similar products from other manufacturers were B720-750

Rice Bran is typically a good feed value,

as the price is B5-7 / kg for most of the year,

maybe as high as B10 in the June through August time,

or if the quality is especially fresh and clean.

The good quality bran has 12% Protein 13% Fat and 50% Starch

This assumes that the bran will cake tightly in your fist.

If it will not cake, then it has too much Rice Hull mixed in,

which is worthless filler working against growth,

by consuming pig stomach capacity.

Excellent post RBH. Thanks particularly for the POON KHAO tip

Fully agree with Scott.

I am the same, UK qualified. Never needed a TEFL. Home country certification pretty much tops everything here so save your money that a TEFL would cost.

You will still need to do the 20 hour 'Thai culture' course but after that you would have no probs getting your 5 year teaching license.

The school you eventually work for should sort out that course for you.

Many thanks for the replies. Very much appreciated.

Is there a publication or website advertising teaching positions available in Thailand that would be suitable for my friend as described above? Any information will be very much appreciated.

Cheers in advance

A former UK qualified general subjects teacher friend( secondary level & special needs qualification ) would like to teach here in Thailand. To get a position, would he need a TEFL / TESOL certificate?

Thanks in advance & apologies if this topic already covered.

Have many dog magazines available, all full of show kennels advertising. Many, many GSD ads last time I looked.

Wife just telling me this morning the goverment has announced / estimated that TWO MILLION RAI of rice is / will be ruined nationwide. Sad situation that will surely drive the price of rice for those lucky enough not affected by the floods through the roof?

Went along to Chok Chai for my 90 day face-show yesterday to discover the offices closed up. There were two phone numbers posted outside, neither of which were answered. A lady in a nearby restaurant gave us the new location; said there were 'scores' of farang showing up who hadn't a clue about the move.

The new offices are situated in the Dan Kwern (probably spelled wrong!) Pottery village, on the Chok Chai to Korat road. Easy enough , just look for the giant pots either side of the entrance road into the village.

Duck weed contains only just 2% protein, consider it a 'treat' or an addition, but never an option.

IMHO I believe that this "shock" to the prices was no different to any over inflated market correction such as the financial mess we endured in 2008, it had to happen. The price of pork simply got too high and the pork market started to suffer. Whats happening now is like the New Year sales all department stores have to clear stock. RBH has made some very good points over the last week about the way the market is controlled and hopefully he is right about the price early next year. Personally I think there will be a slight improvement after the panic sales are over. I think around 55 baht mark is the right level.

When I first got involved the price was below 50 baht and the small holding farmer was just surviving with high feed prices. Recent announcements on potential increases in corn and soy prices in the US and the fact that China will be importing much more feed grains this year leads me to believe that feed prices will rise soon. That to me is the potential threat we face medium term and not the gross margin on this and the next few batches of market pigs.

As Fruity pointed out the 65 baht figure was a bonanza and for me allowed a maximum return on over-investment and poor decision making. My mid-course corrections are over and the stock that I have for sale will go at whatever the prevailing rate is or for whatever value add I can muster above those prices. One thing that has been drilled into me over the last two years, is that keeping stock until the price improves or the litter size increases is folly. Fruity rightly points out, if the pigs are ready for sale, then sell, now, and realise that most of our mistakes are in the lack of market knowledge.

As ever I bow to the more experienced posters such as RBH and Fruity, and advise other new chums to listen to them closely its solid advice. As much as I am enjoying my pigs and the farming, it is a business, a marginal and highly seasonal business that is affected by vested interests and the consumers pocket, it needs to be managed as well as possible.

Good Luck to us all, we will need our fair share

Isaan Aussie

Excellent reply I.Aussie. Yesterday, a local dealer called in to order some piglets. Enquiring, he told me that he is currently paying 53 baht/ kilo for finished pigs.