473geo

I am actually surprised at how our cows appear to enjoy the rice straw, even after having a feed of grass, we have used molasses but found they were eating our straw well without ????

Our grass today, doing ok, regrowth coming along nicely, manure laid shortly after cutting, usually within a week, so far we have used half a bag of 27/12/6

Not even sure how the 'auctions' work, is there an actual auction or is it a gathering where the buyers wander through and make offers?

Seems a bit of a faff, think will stick to a mix of dry feed, cut and carry grass, and rice straw, cattle appear to be doing ok and we are not looking to get the in calf cows fat just in good condition In calf are not out every day in this heat the cut and carry ensures they enjoy some grass

Interesting a neighbour who sold some good quality Charollais for 30k, similar to kickstarts Angus, reared for the latter part inside on hand feed, is left with 2 more at 15 months, good looking cattle but no offers just now so the cost is creeping up, and according to word of mouth prices are a flat and not improving

Similar grass I have seen appears not to regrow and disappears in the dry season, does irrigation solve this or is this grass to replant regularly? Too much urea/Nitrogen would make grass bitter would it not, hence cattle will eat cut green rice but appear to be not so keen on too much due to the bitter taste

Be interesting to know how much fertiliser was used to speed growth?

Well I guess you will need a shed, this to cover the cattle in the wet season, depending on drainage on your land they may not go out much wet season. I would suggest a good starting point buy an in calf (young cow) if possible or a cow with calf at foot, maturing heifer calves to motherhood is a 3 year process, apologies if you are a farmer and understand this already ???? Feed, we graze riceland outside the annual growing season not much on it but pickings and the cattle enjoy being out in the sun, we feed rice straw from our own crop, (would you have to buy?) a little bought hand feed and our sprinkler fed grass which does the job for us Is your land fenced off from straying cattle, or perhaps no other cattle around? Due to the increase in cattle roaming looking for food we will probably electric fence our rice land next year after the rice crop and due to the amount of roaming cattle finding our grass we have today bought posts to fence off the last openside ???? Lastly, I enjoy my daily routine, cycling to the farm twice a day, putting manure out on the new cut grassland, cutting and carrying, work shared with my wife, life is interesting always something going on and it sure beats watching rice grow ???? Any questions will surely get an answer here, good bad or possibly indifferent ???? enjoy

Its good you try to please

I think you guys who state you dgaf are kidding yourselves, most of the posters on this thread can hardly be chastened for their mai pen rai attitude towards happenings in Thailand ????

For most I think this phase gently creeps in with sporadic use originally, becoming more frequent as the years tick over You appear to have flipped completely 'toxic' to me is a much over used 'in' word most of our friends and acquaintances will carry opinion(s) abrasive to our beliefs if we look hard enough, but wouldn't your new found dgaf allow you to ignore their idiosyncrasies and continue the friendship

Actually the guy counted the notes into tens passed to my wife who counted and tried to pass to me to check ???? didn't need to as was watching and counting with him so knew all was ok ???? so yes she kept hold of the cash ???? Its all good she works hard on the farm and I like she has her own money in her pocket to make her feel good about the hard work You could well be right about the market visits not materialising ????

Curtain came down on the sale today a local farmer offered 25.5k for the pair, discussed with my wife we agreed to accept ???? have done ok, hope the next guy does well, and comes back for more, I think a farmer, so looking at the end product, not how much he can turn them over for On a final note they didn't look so big in the truck as they did in the pen! so in the end happy with the result Resources will now go further regarding the remaining cattle. The potential overstocking concern eradicated for the time being ????

Agree the grass may not be the best, however, it grows quickly, survives well in eet conditions, we usually have two or three weeks in a year #where we pump out the water to keep the level down, we still cut grass and it keeps growing, in the second photo the grass is already coming in the far area cut beginning of March These photos from this morning you may spot manure is put on the older cut areas already

I have asked that very same question and as yet have had no suggestions, yes would love to visit a local market and will keep asking until we find one???? Mostly seems to be a visit to see the cattle in this area, I understand very prompt if word is out the owner 'needs' to sell For our situation have agreed with my wife, the dealers came along to supposedly look at the bull but as they do chanced their arm with low offers on other stuff Had another person wanting to 'buy' the heifer today for 9k but correctly guessing my wife doesn't want to sell right now for less than 12k we agreed to put them off Time is ticking by, in 2-3 months more grass will be available hopefully to put some weight onto the frames ???? It's a risk keeping everything but the low offers suggest not a great risk, of course as in this thread, my opinion and options are changeable and flexible ????

At the back of my mind also is the saturation of the riceland around us with cattle and young calves, a dramatic increase in stock levels to me facilitates a buyers market as we are full to brim maybe better to shift a couple now

Appreciate your thoughts and understand your dairy explanation, I worked dairy for 10 years in the UK These cattle are trundling along grazing riceland in the day, rice straw at night and a bit of dry feed now the riceland is drying up, we were just muddling along when these 'offers' started so we have not pushed the cattle for condition and as they are reared this far on the cheap we are now thinking of letting them go, also because we grow grass to cut and carry but that is currently being utilised by two cows with young calves and two in calf cows, we also have a new calved cow at the riceland and an in calf cow, so the grass we grow is not enough to go around during this dry spell, hence all cattle just now are getting a little hand feed

Village life dictates that a person in the village, or a relative dies a member or members of your family attend, I have been to many, most I hardly knew, but know the family, some I knew well I wonder if attending so frequently, given also the reincarnation bit, rather makes a funeral for the majority just another day of participation sad but not traumatic for all but very close family

So today another buyer shows up prepared to pay 17k for the bull, but wants the heifer for 5k to take both, or will take the heifer for the asking price of 9k wife says no sale for heifer only at 9k I get the impression 17k for the bull is on the mark, and 9k for the heifer also, when this guy turned up wife agreed to negotiate what we think is a fair price for both 26k or no sale, but we would take 17k the bull as the heifer is small and young My wife thinks people are talking to each other shall we say regarding the 16k offer for the bull where I stuck on bottom price 17k It's all good fun, I used to buy calves at markets for my boss and another farmer in my youth so know well how dealers work, indeed often bought from dealers before or after the markets, after if the price I bid in the market was rejected would offer more later for a top quality calf which is the product I was instructed to buy ???? Let me say this, I am aware our cattle being viewed are not classy top of the range, and not the most sought after such as wagyu, but I know enough about cattle to forsee not a stunning, but a decent end beef product ???? So my calculation in a year the bull should get to the 400kgs live weight at 65 baht a kg that makes him worth 26k spend 5k on feed he leaves 4k profit on our asking price Thats my thinking, there is money in him for the next guy, maybe with better grazing land than us little need for hand feed Quite happy for input from others to evaluate my thinking ????

If prices stay low might be a thought to do a home kill and fill a freezer ???? currently buy pork at 200 baht kg and minimum 158 baht for skinless leg or shoulder Trouble is we don't eat beef currently ????

Another potential local buyer turned up to look at the bull, my wife and I agreed offer the same as the other guy 17k take him away, he offered 16k so no go ???? 20 minutes later the original dealer calls back, prices have dropped can offer 14k, now that would make the 16k offer look quite good ???? an aroma of fish wafted across the Surin rice fields ???? In the end the bull is 14 months old being s Charollais x has a bit of growing in it yet, then can come inside during the wet rice growing season and get some condition on with hand feed and fresh cut grass so all good ????