IsaanAussie

... I would also note that based on his post in the 'Isaan Forum' Kuhn IA -- having multiple previous vocations -- is an arriviste' to farming ... I was working on an account for a USA State-level agricultural marketing board 35+ years ago ... and TT probably then thought laissez faire was some kind of lounge chair.

So does that mean that Manual Labor is a Mexican farmer?

Hey Grimley,

What is it you Atomic Bombs call small fish? Oh,oh, never mind I just remembered, pratts!

Westerns farming in Thailand . Are you guys listening to yourselfs ?? I think on a jobs list for most people from western countries. Farming in Thailand would come somewhere below being a police chief in Mogadishu.Whats the point ?

Uninformed but reasonable question. Forget about generalities, I am talking about me and why I am now a pig farmer who spends most of his day shovelling sh1t. I have held the big corporate jobs, formed companies and sold them, run factories, designed motor cars and aeroplanes and even been a diplomat here in Thailand, so why change?

Because I wanted to, that simple. I wanted to do things that I enjoyed not just things I had to do. I like to create things, to make things happen, and a long repressed passion for growing things. I am here doing what I am not as a job but as a passion. Luckily sharing every day with my life partner, the woman of my dreams to whom I am totally committed. By the way she is a farmers daughter and as they say, "you can take the girl out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the girl". A match made in heaven.

If you cannot understand that there are those of us out here who just, want to be here, well, maybe the chief of police will give you a job directing traffic in Mogadishu. Lucky you!

IA

Farming....who said anything about farming????????I'm a researcher/driver/sex slave for the wife. And long may that last :D seriously though, a farmer get his hands dirty. I am trying to give that up. I'm 46 now and don't want to start labouring again

Cheers

neil

Well Neil,

I suppose that means terms like moisture content take on different meanings as a non farmer now bonded slave. Does that mean relative humidity is now defined as perspiration of the brow during an extremely friendly visit with the sister in law?

Hey guys start thinking Thai. If you are stopped by the BIB then immediately try selling them a pig. Ignore whatever they are saying and continue to show your wares. Bring them over closer, start to open the pen door, even grab a pig by the leg and start to drag out so they can see better. Bet you right now, it won't be worth the effort to them and they will shoo you on your way.

calm down aussie, this is probably one of those city slickers who think chocolate milk comes from brown cows, steers are the bovine equivalent of lady boys and rice paddy is farmland owned by a Irishman.

I used to joke about how unpredictable a Thai with a water hose is, but have grown to fear the Thai on the overflow gates of the dams scattered around, upstream, from the farmland.

Well slap me down with a feather! Are you serious, brown milk doesnt come from brown cows? My God, Mum lied to me all those years OK.

What happened to the Let the failures fail* style of government ... why bail out farmers who plant crops in a flood zone?

(TT #7854 Financial Crisis)

That is the most ridiculous statement I have heard for ages. I am hoping it was made in jest, if not you may wish to consider this.

Rice is planted and grown on flooded land. Success or failure can be judged by many criteria, but luck with the weather is hardly a judge of a farmers skill, nor is water deliberately released from dams to control regional water levels anything to do with th farmer who endures the damage.

If such assitance that is afforded was removed and the controls on pricing that are also in place go with it, then I hope for your sake you don't enjoy rice with your meals every day because your food bill is going to go through the roof.

Isaan Aussie

Thanks for the replies, I know everbody in the village knows the score and its reasuring to know that we are creating jobs for the locals.

Unlike many farrang I have not invested millions however if I had, I think maybe a little more paranoia would have set in than at present.

The local people all know of me and get on well with our neighbours, I just thought there might be some horror stories of immigration police visits due to the odd jealous Thai family.

Oh well thanks for the reasurrance and its back to the sh1t shovelling .

I finally managed to get a decent heavy duty square mouth shovel yesterday for exactly the same purpose. So much better than the cheap tin junk ones that have been all there is around here. Now the job is so much better.

Besides, when you wack a decent sized pig over the noggin with this one they stay hit!

Isaan Aussie

This is the second link to an Ozzy Agnote and deals with the housing issues for pigs. Again well worth a read and offers some of the many options available to solve the issues faced by the pig farmer. Definitely a case of the 6P principle, P.ss Poor Planning, P.ss Poor Performance.

http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Content/File/p/Anim_Man/607.pdf

As a personal note, I have spent a lot on developing my pigsty, not because it is necessary but it suits my overall objectives. Others such as RedBullHorn have taken a cheaper housing path and gained very quick returns. For anyone starting out consider the issues and the who and how of making it work before you commit. In my case I built my place to make it as easy as I could for me to do it alone if needed. Well guess what? Right now that is exactly what I am doing!

Isaan Aussie

Thought it about time to post some reference material, especially for those thinking about keeping pigs. The link is to an Australian site and provides a brief overview which is worth reading. The feed formulations I find interesting and very doable here in Isaan. I would welcome opinions from those more knowledgeable than me on the feed.

http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Content/File/p/Anim_Man/606.pdf

Isaan Aussie

"Truth be told - the jury is still out on the subject of organic versus conventional."

I am not arguing either way, but do not compare western 'convential' and Thai conventional in the same level. Many chemicals that would get you jail time in some western countries, are used widely here still.

Only a opinion, but I think the statement I read in this thread below, is good advice.

"My wife will NOT buy leafy vegetables unless they have bug holes in the leaves. She says if the bugs won't eat them we shouldn't eat them either. "

I and many of my friends here have less than healthy eating, drinking and general consumption habits. I am a product of my time and make no excuses or apologies for it, life is as you make it, not as you find it. However I have no desire to glow in the dark and see nothing but corporate greed behind the support for chemicals that produce crops well but challenge the environment for years hence. Especially here in Isaan where there are no worms or topsoil. Just minute clay particles and a climate where anything will grow, but may not thrive without NPK such and such.

There is no companion planting or natural pesticides neccessary to generate holes in vegetable leaves either.

But holes or not I still know where my preference lies and guess what I do get a choice!

A bag of Urea 46-0-0, what constitutes the other 54%? At least I know that my compost (less than 5% nitrogen) has as its source the excrement of my pigs, <deleted> I know only too well.

Sorry guys but this is Wua (male) <deleted>, nature,=natural, versus what? Sadam Hussans or the US governments chemical deterrant programs.

Isaan Aussie

There are a multitude of ways to try and maintain water quality,most have their upsides as well as their downsides.

Paddle aerators do a good job ,but are most suited to long reach ponds owing to the erosion factor,as well paddles only agitate the surface and do not bring up the lower water column.

If you set the paddles to deep much higher power requirements come into effect.

Paddles are most successful in shallow ,long reach ponds for higher value products such as prawns.

A similar effect can be attained using a pump with a spray bar.A 2"pump directed through a 2-3m pvc pipe with 1/8" nozzles set to contact the surface at about10-15 degrees works great with the advantage that the pickup can be drawing water from deep in the pond.

The disavantage is the capitol cost plus running costs as one or more unit is required for each pond and for low margin fin fish the costs outway the benefits.

To many surface plants can cause problems with shading,as well plants actually take oxygen from the water during darkness which is the critical period for oxygen depletion.

We have found(for our particular requirements) that a single 2.5hp blower which runs 50 x 4inch stons set at 3/4 water depth and caters for 5 rai of ponds at one time suits our needs ,both in performance and running cost.

We set our timer that they operate in a 2 hour on 2 hour off sequence between midnight and dawn and have had no problems since I installed the system.

As usual Oz, I'm all ears like a bag of wheat

I finished the construction of my first hydroponic system and I'm pretty proud of myself .

Now I'll run the system for a couple of days just to test and in the meantime I'm waiting for the food and the small plastic glass where I'll put the new plants.

For now I project to make only italian basil and rocket (just for my restaurants use) and the next system will be for the lettuce (if everything all right!).

Just for news, for some suggestion and to revitalize this old thread.

PS: I'm looking for a second hand PH tester

And so you should be, it looks good as well. My hat is off to all that apply the Nike principle of Just Do It. Forget the easy way of buying a maybe answer but make what you need yourself from whatever you can get locally. If you want to try worm castings as nutrients send me a PM and we talk about free samples. Like you, the pleasure and the potential of making something yourself and the determination to see it succeed are all to rare commodities here. If you are willing to try it and give me feedback, I'll supply you with start up materials.

For other TV Farmers, I am going to make up some vermicast teabags so vermitea can be brewed "at home" when required. All you will need is a 5 litre bucket and water. If you want to get some real bacterial microbe action then add some mollasses from the local feed store, an aquarium pump and air stone will improve the resultant drench or foliant spray fertiliser cum pesticide. If you want to try some, let me know by PM.

Sorry to tack my plans onto your proud post but you inspire me, there are more doers out there than I knew. By the way, restaurant with rocket salads, where, whats its name and quisine? My mouth is watering.

Isaan Aussie

Seanextra,

Well presented post. I am building up my pond and it is hopefully going to be much as you describe. Currently I pump grey water from the pigs into the pond to fertilise it and use the same 3" sewage pump to aerate the "U" shaped pond. I place the pump at about 3/4 depth and the outlet hose end is positioned about 20 metres away broadcasting the lower water onto the surface. Very effective but with a 750W motor not ideal for costs as a permanent solution.

I have fountain bases in the pond and will use smaller submersible pumps set in the pond for each fountain. I will also set up a waterfall, in one corner of the pond with a similar pump driving that.

I dumped a small plastic bag of duckweed, that I borrowed from a local mechanic while his was fixing my car, into the pond and it is thriving.

Isaan Aussie

PS. If anyone is doing a similar thing, note, beware of the batch dosing rate of effluent you are using. Too must of a good thing is often too much for the fish. When I pump water in I then put the pump in the pond to mix and aerate as soon as possible.

Excellent post RBH,

There is little formal market information around but what you describe here probably demonstrates the model in most if not all areas for the independant farmers.

Wouldnt it be great to generate some form of matrix to piece it all together? Radiate out from the feed mills and corporate farms and in towards the slaughter houses and packing plants. Then add all the wholesalers directly linked to the corporates. Then all the "usual guy" suppliers who are linked to the wholesalers could be overlaid on that.

You would generate a picture of just how the pie is cut up and how few crumbs are left for anyone outside the "club".

Isaan Aussie

try these natural remedies

http://tilz.tearfund...nd+diseases.htm

I am about to brew up some vermi-tea from our worm casts. It is claimed that it both fertilises and pest controls as a foliage spray.

I am really keen to produce vermi-tea teabags. Simply take a bag and hang it in a bucket to brew, I believe an airpump adds to the microbe loading but many just brew without aeration. Anyway, I reckon there is a market out there for a Thai "No Think" easy to use foliant brew that both fertilises the leaves of vegetables and increases pest resistance. Why should Liptons have all the jiggling and dangling fun. Interested in opinions if anyone likes the idea.

For ant and coachroachs, boric acid has always been my mainstay.

However I am about to try rice hull ash.

Isaan Aussie

DMAX,

You hit the nail on the head, vegetables need good soil. Here in Isaan it is mostly clay based. Because the particle size is so small the soil compacts very quickly. You will have to spend more time on your soil than your vegetables, get loads of organic materials into the soil and be patient. Remember that the nutrients in most organic products are not as concentrated as in chemical fertilisers. Also that most of the fertiliser applied is not used by the plants anyway so it is not a matter of more is better.

If you want a more instant result than look at using raised beds and fill them up with a mix of soil and compost. I make pig manure compost and now produce vermicompost and vermicast as well. If you work some compost into the soil first then build a bed on top of that. Most vegetables will need 6-8 inches of good soil to thrive. I suggest you use concrete blocks to form the bed, they are cheap and quick to put together. Put a bit of mortar between the blocks at the top to give the wall a bit of strength but leave a gap lower down for drainage.

The attached shows layouts for raised beds. Note planting dates are for USA.

Block style layout.pdf

Planting guide raised bed.pdf

To improve the soil consider growing a nitrogen fixing crop first or in concert with other plants.

Isaan Aussie

OK so who has read the Fools of Foolgarah. A book about the garbos and the shitees in Sydney?

Nope, still no clue

Ha Ha Ha

In Thai, what is the pronunciation of the number 5? Now re-read my OP.

Australians of my vintage used to pride themselves on being able to "Cop it sweet" and laugh at themselves. Imagine the importance of that attitude to Australian Farmers in Oz and even more so here in Thailand where everything is supposed to be "No Problem".

Well since that spirit has been reawakened in me by Tim Armstrong, and the world is still in economic chaos, consider the plight of the Aussie at home. We have a new female Prime Mnister who is an atheist living in sin in the official residence. Who would be an Aussie now, despite the high our commodity based currency gets? Hahahahahaha or in Thai 555555555

Isaan Aussie

PS. Off to talk some sense (with the pigs)

Actually as an idea that just occurred to me. If you can make some sort of disgusting slimey goo that makes your skin white from this <deleted>, then mate you will make a fortune here. Thais wont touch gooey stuff, let alone eat it, but they will spread just about anything on their faces in search of the brillant white dream.

Rama,

I respond only because you addressed this to me and I am having a break. Find another thing to occupy your time here. I agree the technology has the potential to be everything it is claimed, but as yet it is at pilot plant level. Since eating the slimey stuff doesnt even rate with me as I have trouble eating the fertiliser fed, glow in the dark, local fish, you will have to look elsewhere for support on that.

On bio-fuels, where I see the future prospects, sorry, three heavily invested and government backed alternatives head the queue. Ethanol, several crop bases, and then biodiesel from firstly Palm and then Jatropia. You may get some interest from government or educational arenas, always in search of some new "Big Face" idea, but thats about it.

If you want to organise a serious conference then get in contact with Asia Business Forum in Bangkok or head office in Singapore. For a free venue, try Lumpini Park, the muscle builders will listen

.

Thats me on this one, I have got an 18 hour a day job already that doesnt pay the bills.

Isaan Aussie

Oh come on guys! There are thousands of types of rice. Rice that doesnt germinate, rice that gets eaten by chickens, gets blown over, gets washed away and gets stolen. The most popular seems to be rice that is only worth half as much as it was last week. And that is only a start. The stuff i seem to grow is a variety of rice that isnt worth 5 eighths of the square root of bugger all.

Nice one IA ! good to see Ozisms are alive and well in LOS.

Tim,

For this old dingo absolutely, for the non-Aussies, what I am implying is one crop of rain fed rice is hardly worth the effort considering the risk. Last year I made a profit of 54,000 baht off 13 Rai from one crop then the land was fallow. At 4,000 per rai per annum what a waste. I used to live in Central Thailand and they cropped 3 even 4 times a year, now there, you had a discussion point.

For Thai people here where I live 50% of them are content with a full rice bowl and what nature provides as a supplement. Obviously the White Death (Lao whiskey) being a natural product and a necessity. The other half have, or have access to "Land Up" (above normal flood) and are more industrious growing vegetables and a major here, chili. A friend netted 45,000 baht last year from a few (2-3) rai of chili. Outside the rainy season flood risk and the wind risks that flatten the rice in a day. My top grade Hom Mali 105 lodged last year and was effectively sold as broken rice with the result only being as good as it was with some sound advice on who to sell to.

What is it the Poms say? "There will always be an England". I suppose there will always be a rice bowl here too! But it erks me something fierce to see all that land just sitting here for half the year.

My God, we farmers are a pack of whingers (Strine enough?)

So to conclude, a puzzle or memory for rice growing Aussies and others who may know, what does the Oz term "Six axe handles across the acre" mean?

Isaan Aussie

TP,

Try a small amount of dishwashing detergent in a spray bottle of water. The film left of the surface usually repells flies.

IA