Cattle Farming in Isaan Province

[Learning]

Good day

I am trying to find out about beef farming in Isaan province .My wife's family are getting starting with a few cattle in a small village between Si Chomphu and Dong Lan. They have recently purchased three cattle - i have attached a few pictures as maybe someone could tell me the breed and if they are any good for Beef farming.If not please let me know the correct breed they should purchased.

As we as the correct feed and where would the closest supplier in there area.

Many Thanks

Shawn  

[kickstart]

As for breed the top picture is a Brahman, bottom picture ,two on the left are also Brahman ,the one on the right has got some Indo Brazil blood in him .

They look about 20-24 months old ,they should be ok for beef farming ,a majority of Thai beef farms use this breed ,the best ,for Thailand  would be Charolais  X's or Angus  X's,if you can find them .

As for feed ask around ,if you are feeding cut grass you will need a 14% concentrate ,and get a salt block ,look on the page of TV at "Where to find beef cattle buyers" ,some good posts ,and if you can grow some grass .

[cooked]

Most small Thai farmers only feed grass + rice straw. If they are expected to raise decent animals they need to invest in concentrate as mentioned by Kickstart, they also seem very reluctant to even buy salt lick. Veterinary fees should come into the equation (they usually don't).

In my part of Isaan at least, beef prices have dropped quite a bit over the last year or two.

 

[Michael Hare]

2 minutes ago, cooked said:

Most small Thai farmers only feed grass + rice straw. If they are expected to raise decent animals they need to invest in concentrate as mentioned by Kickstart, they also seem very reluctant to even buy salt lick. Veterinary fees should come into the equation (they usually don't).

In my part of Isaan at least, beef prices have dropped quite a bit over the last year or two.

 

Many farmers are even reluctant to grow decent grasses and forage legumes. 

[kickstart]

8 hours ago, Michael Hare said:

Many farmers are even reluctant to grow decent grasses and forage legumes. 

You can certainly say that ,I live in a big dairy cow area 90?% of dairy farms feed rice straw as they only form of forage ,the only way to get any milk from the cows is to feed ,as has been said on other threads ,expensive concentrate ,this often leads to fat cows ,that are infertile ,or cows on a restricted diet, thin and have a big fertility problem, their  cure is, inject an Multi Vitamin, A D3 E, plus a Phosphorus solution ,about as much use as a chocolate tea pot.

I know some farm have 20 rie of land grow corn cassava ect, but still feed rice straw to their  cow's ,to lazy to grow grass and manage it ,some think they make more money growing corn than on they land than growing grass, and feeing it to the  cow's .

The few beef farms we have are the same,out cutting road side Yar -Con, Para Grass ,instead of  growing a few rie of good quality grass ,with this 4 month scheme farmers will soon find out cattle will not grow on road side grass alone.  

[Learning]

Thank you all for the input

These cattle cost 25 000 Baht for the heifers and 35 000 Baht for the bull. Is that about right in Isaan ?

They have started planting Purple Guinea grass as well as Napier . Are these suitable or is there something else they can plant ?

Attached is a Cattle feed . Is this suitable ? How much to feed ?Any other additives needed ?

 

Many Thanks in advance 

 

 

 

 

 

[Michael Hare]

They have started planting Purple Guinea grass as well as Napier . Are these suitable or is there something else they can plant ?

 

Well, that is a start but it will take about 60 days or more from planting before tmhe grasses are ready for this first cut. By that time it will be the beginning  of the dry season. What are the plans for watering? Will the grasses receive fertiliser? Has the fgamily nanun experince with growing grasses. Not easy. 

 

Interesting that you have planted Purple guinea grass. I was under the impression that Purple guinea seeds were sold out in Thailand at the moment. Did you check the germination. Or maybe you planted tillers.

 

There are many other good grasses around that are better than both Purple guinea and Napier grasses. You will have to wait until next year to get seeds. 

[kickstart]

Did the Purple Guinea come from the DLD ,? Around here about the only sauce of Purple Guinea ,but most farmers around here plant  Ruzie ,our local shop  still  has a 30 kg bag of it for sale ,they use Ruzie ,like they have done for the past 20 plus years change it not common word around here .

The OP said is this cattle feed suitable ,it should be ok a 14% protein ,how much to feed ? ,how long is a piece of string , you have to take the whole ration in to account regards feeding ,as Michael said , growing grass now not easy.

If you do have some good young grass to feed, Nappier cut at 45 days ,you could feed 3-4 kg /day /head ,but if the grass is old or you have none and are feeding rice straw ,you would have to feed  say 5-6 kg /day/head ,to compensate for the poor quality forage ,ask around see if you can get some brewers grains where you are  not certain where in Issan you are ,a good feed for cattle, have a word with Hellboy75 he feeds brewers grains,it is Gut Bier in Thai .

If you can find a salt block cattle like them ,and some powdered minerals mixed in the feed would not go a miss. 

[Michael Hare]

I think by now the DLD purple guinea seed would be all sold out. In May, DLD were so low in seed stocks that they purchased 2,000 kg of purple guinea from me. I doubt if any ruzi seed would be around now. I purchased 2,000 kg of ruzi seed back in February and then acid scarified it to get the germination up from 50% to 95% but in the process lost 20% in weight. We sell this seed for 250 baht/kg, which is far higher than normal ruzi seed in the market place. But with 95% germination and 99.8% purity there are buyers, particularly in Vietnam. We call it Ruzi Thai to distinguish it from ordinary common ruzi seed. 

[Learning]

Thank you all for the help. All information is greatly appreciated