I would like to retire on a farm

[georgegeorgia]

I have always dreamed of buying and retiring on a hobby farm.

 

i know we as farang cannot own land or a farm technically but i want to.

I would love to have chickens, pigs, roosters and grow my own veges etc 

 

how many of you do this ???

[Vacuum]

I'd like to, but  the wife wouldn't.

[CLW]

As long as you don't sell any of your produce I think you'll be fine and outside of the work permit scope.

You can't own land but you could rent it afaik.

I just know this all theoretically, maybe some of the active farming members have the one or other advice.

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

how many of you do this ???

I have a sticky rice, tobacco farm near LomSak.

I lasted about a week, too hot, too much like hard work, too far from civilization, too many bitey creatures and snakes.

My former MiL lives there now, can't sell it, it's in my 7-year-old sons' name.

(haven't been there for 6 years)

[georgegeorgia]

15 minutes ago, CLW said:

As long as you don't sell any of your produce I think you'll be fine and outside of the work permit scope.

You can't own land but you could rent it afaik.

I just know this all theoretically, maybe some of the active farming members have the one or other advice.

 

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I have a sticky rice, tobacco farm near LomSak.

I lasted about a week, too hot, too much like hard work, too far from civilization, too many bitey creatures and snakes.

My former MiL lives there now, can't sell it, it's in my 7-year-old sons' name.

(haven't been there for 6 years)

I love watching the youtube videos of a farang and his wife on a farm, i thunk they did sell their produce.

[Hummin]

I have to agree with britmantoo on this one. I lasted 3 months on a farm, but want to go back on another try. I did not buy anything then, and still thinking how to plan and make things happen the way I can live with. Spend time in the area you want to settle first, and have a plan B.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

I have to agree with britmantoo on this one. I lasted 3 months on a farm

You're a tougher man than me!

[georgegeorgia]

I guess if you have a good thai partner who is experienced at farming its a lot easier, and if your not into going to bars and nightlife etc

 

I would just like a hobby type farm on about 50 acres .

 

Maybe north of Chiang Rai as it isnt too hot up that way instead of the dry Udon areas.

[kickstart]

We have a small place rearing a few beef cows, and they calves, we do sell some of the calves when they are grown at about 12-15 months never had any problems, I normale let the wife do the selling, Thai talking to Thai seems to work ,we normally get the price we ask within a few baht

We, are my wife and myself, we do all the work ourselves,she has some farming experience which helps.we have been doing it for 12 years now, up to press no problems with Dor- Mor, immigration, or WP.

Is 50 acres  a miss print, that would be 125 rie a lot of land far from a smallholding .even 50 rie would be classed as a farm, I would say 10 rie would do you as a hobby farm, unless you do intend to farm the land .and have your fruit veg, hens ect  on a rie or two .

[zzaa09]

8 hours ago, CLW said:

As long as you don't sell any of your produce I think you'll be fine and outside of the work permit scope.

You can't own land but you could rent it afaik.

I just know this all theoretically, maybe some of the active farming members have the one or other advice.

Theory and real life practice are two different worlds. 

[CLW]

Theory and real life practice are two different worlds. 

Strange reply.
I just told him about the legal aspects.
I know that for the actual farm work theory and practice is of course different.
You have to manage and adapt to different circumstances every day.

[ChakaKhan]

Can grow poppies and sell to hill tribes  ????

[swissie]

OP now hear this: Farming is hard work, especially in a tropical climate. I lasted 6 months, then leased the land to my Thai neighbor. I found out that all that hard work produced little financial reward. (There is a reason that Thai Farmers are considered the poorest segment of the Thai population).

You want to farm 50 acres as a "hobby-farm"? You will need to hire Farm-workers.
- To look at u-tube videos in an air-conditioned room is not the same thing as actually working the farm, when at 10 o'clock in the morning the temperature is already 33° and the humidity at 90%.

Best you spend a "Working-Holiday" on a farm for a week. After that, you may find that working as a Go-Go Dancer in Pattaya is less strenuous and financially more rewarding. (Always assuming you are a "sexy-man).

[Hummin]

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You're a tougher man than me!

I understand why people start drinking in the outback now, or start drinking more! 

 

Well, if you manage a farm with dedicated trustworthy workers and family, it can be a walk in the park, but in most cases, that is not the situation. 

 

I would plant hardwood, and make sure they could take care and also visit so often I can myself. Also plant areas with other things, and a fishing pond, is what I would like to start with. Start small and expand if it works out well. 

 

However, I know I can not live there to long myself, and need timeouts when other people care for my gf investment. 

[CLW]

Can grow poppies and sell to hill tribes  [emoji846]

Or next year medicinal cannabis [emoji6]

[djayz]

My missus and I have 3.5 rai together, a far cry from being classed as a farm, but it's enough as a "hobby garden". It is hard work keeping it maintained (I spend more time weeding than actually working the land), but it's extremely rewarding to sit down in the evening to food that you know is organic and you grew it yourself. I don't care about the hard work - I grew up on a farm in Ireland and know what work is. Yes, the tropical climate makes it even more exhausting, but I love it! Living in rural Thailand is not everybody's cup of tea. If you need people (farangs) around you, bars, clubs, nice restaurants, etc. then this is definitely NOT the ideal retirement plan for you. If on the other had, you have a good, diligent, smart Thai partner, you should give it a shot. 

[Grandpa Cool]

Nothing wrong with a vegetable garden and fruit trees, bananas, papaya etc.Maybe chooks, a pig to make manure for your garden, especially if your wife comes from a rural background it is a great way to pass the time.  But if you're new to that sort of lifestyle it's a steep learning curve.

How do I know that? 

I've had a self sufficient lifestyle in sub tropical Oz for more than 45 years.

It requires 100% commitment. 

Here in Thailand I've scaled it right back. We've got a veggie garden papayas and bananas.

[1FinickyOne]

I lived in a farming village for nearly 20 years... I did buy land and watched the family farm it and progress... they now make enough farming corn, a profit crop and no longer plant their own rice... of course, we had many fruit trees in the compound and I had the benefit of that, a big warm family always cooking something and the farmland to go out and sit around in, meditatively while they worked... it is a peaceful, very family oriented lifestyle. I learned alot, though more about living than farming - I am not a farmer. 

[tweedledee2]

My wife and I married in Feb. 2014 and lived in her parents home most of the first year until we found our current home in a rural area NE of Surin.  It consists of separate 130sqm living quarters and a walkway connected 90sqm kitchen-dining area and exercise equipment room.  We have 3 rice fields, a pond, an assortment of fruit trees including papaya, mango, coconut, banana, and lime.  We also have a small vegetable garden and have chickens, a dog and a cat.  I don't think of it has my hobby farm but home.  

[Bendi]

I am working on a rubber farm with my whife. Have chiks and ducks, dogs etc. Have land for sale if you want to move to Isaane????

[KKr]

a greenhouse, if properly ventilated ???? , might alleviate some of the sun related strain and would in theory yield a larger crop.
anyone tried that ?

[The Deerhunter]

A lot of us do.     Find a good Thai wife with land and add your money...............  Lots of it.   It's working just fine for me, til I run out of money.  (Cynical, black humour intended.)

[Darkside Gray]

Dream on!

[CanuckThai]

Very negative replies.  OP, disregard the naysayers.  A very productive and enjoyable farming life experience is easily attainable and, you may even make a few million baht.   Just make sure you start with 10's of millions of baht...????

[KIWILEE]

Wife and I purchased 30 Rai here 14 years ago and established a Lum Yai and Mango orchard on it. Both worked back at home to pay for it then retired up here and built a home 6 years ago. Love the life. Always something to do but not too much. I dont work from lunch time to 4.00pm - thats time to ride the bike into our town, do the shopping and have a coffee. Wife employs locals when there is plenty of work. We are north of Chiang Mai in nice rolling country where it is a bit cooler and not quite so humid. Not something that earns a huge amount of money (or any at times) but gives a great (for me) retirement lifestyle. Each to their own.

[GreasyFingers]

50 acres is far too much for a hobby farm as others above have stated. It will be more like constant physical work, particularly in the wet season when you can sit and watch the weeds grow 3 times as fast as the crops.

 

The wife loves the farm life and is very energetic so her and her family do most of the work, planting and harvesting. Except they do not like weeding, at times I think they look on them as another crop, not a nuisance.. We have had 3 rai (leased) for the last 2 years growing different vegetables. There is no money in it as market prices vary a lot but are mostly low. We had to put in irrigation to be able to grow through the dry season so that is another expense. The farm/garden has lost over 100K in those two years so if it is a hobby that does not matter. Remember this is just on 3 rai, not 50 acres.

 

[nakhon thai]

I have about 70 acres been farming 9 yrs have all different types of animals , 2 large fish ponds . 12 acres of fruit trees including 2,000 teak hardwood trees . I use majority of land for grazing cattle and buffalo. Firstly dug wells and solar power. Is very very hot and i take magnesium tablets for cramp , i love the life up here and will never leave p.s most of work done by myself wife and father in law

[chilidog]

A word of advise when wanting to live on a farm in the country. Do not buy land away from where your

partner is from.

[GreasyFingers]

17 hours ago, Hummin said:

I understand why people start drinking in the outback now, or start drinking more! 

All of the locals think I am mad (the wife as well) working as hard as we do for no reward. As well as enjoying (limited) physical work my standard reply is that it makes the beer taste better at the end of the day.

[nakhon thai]

The locals in my village are hard workers we crop four times a year , i always work beside them in the fields for free , they love it and some help me back