In this "drought" the last thing I need is irrigation

[473geo]

20 hours ago, kickstart said:

Your Charolais is now 75% you put a Belgian Blue on her that calf will be 87.50% imported blood, to much it will suffer from heat stress ,

A look at Google ,and the breed is now worldwide USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa ,but have not found the breed in a tropical country ,they probably are ,but not prominent/popular ,heat? 

I have met a few breeders of Charolais here in Thailand all say 75 % Charolais  blood is the maximum ,to prevent heat  stress . 

You might know the Thai- French beef company ,based in Sakonakon they use a Thai breed Kampangsan ,which is about 60% Brahman and 40% Charolais ,a good breed no problem with heat stress ,and they will eat almost anything and still grow .

You have a point about steaming up cows before calving  ,something that use to be done in the UK ,but not so much now ,the use of continental  breeds  gave big calves and big problems .and the cost ,we use to just bring in freshly calved cows from a grass diet, or in the winter just silage ,beet pulp, brewers grains, and palm kernel meal  and they still milked well .

But here in Thailand it  is done all the time ,the problems that occur with stemmed up heifers ,high body condition and big calves in times past I have calved a good few over fit heifers, very often leading to a dead calf .

When you come over here bring a calving jack with you ,you might well need it.

 

 

I take on board your comments regarding heat stress and read of the adverse effects on productivity, however the Belgium Blue for me is the end product, as in both bull and heifer calves would go for beef not retained for breeding, hence we would only occasionally use. I would be more concerned about local buyers being wary of something relatively new. 

We currently have a Brahman Wagyu heifer coming along seems to be ok, and a Charolais Wagyu heifer just to make the mix interesting. (all engineered by my wife) Both will be used for breeding, Will keep an eye out to see if they are heat affected. Our holding pens are open with cover, and there is often a steady breeze so not too concerned at the moment.

Edited November 1, 2020 by 473geo

[473geo]

3 hours ago, douglasspade said:

We did that for the past 2 years, a lot of extra work drying it out and bagging but we got 15.30 p/kg last year and 14.50 p/kg this year.

 

The drying for us is not so bad, we have an off the beaten track cement side road we can block off with a good alternative route available. I find the drying bagging and loading into the rice barn is a good way to provide a bit of extra income for the family and children ???? Also means we are covered this year if we plant a smaller area with new seed to use the produce on the remainder of the land the following year

 

Years ago I learnt from a smart guy, he had one small tractor for daily tasks, owned about 130 acres. He only bought the minimal least expensive equipment. He would not purchase another tractor, baler, for example as he said to sit in the shed for 45+ weeks of the year and accumulate repair bills as they go. Sure on a big farm a different story.

We hire relatives to work the land plenty with tractors, gives them an earner and saves us major outlay which we can invest elsewhere, in a surround fence for our grass for example, now done, expand the cow and rice barn, and down the line my next personal project which is a covered growing plot that I can plant a few samples and work out what I can get to grow well in Thailand, greens for the cows, (and humans) specifically in our area.

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by 473geo

[kickstart]

3 hours ago, 473geo said:

 

I take on board your comments regarding heat stress and read of the adverse effects on productivity, however the Belgium Blue for me is the end product, as in both bull and heifer calves would go for beef not retained for breeding, hence we would only occasionally use. I would be more concerned about local buyers being wary of something relatively new. 

We currently have a Brahman Wagyu heifer coming along seems to be ok, and a Charolais Wagyu heifer just to make the mix interesting. (all engineered by my wife) Both will be used for breeding, Will keep an eye out to see if they are heat affected. Our holding pens are open with cover, and there is often a steady breeze so not too concerned at the moment.

If you what some Belgium Blue semen in Thailand try Prontip in Rachaburi  province .have a word with TV's slugs11 he uses their  semen ,they now have a delivery service.

A good few posts have been wrote on here about Wagyu  cattle  ,near me is a dairy farm they are using Wagyu bulls on they cow's , semen coming from Australia ,had a word with the farm AI/vet guy ,he said they have no problem with heat stress ,so I would say your Charoais heifer should be OK. 

[473geo]

4 hours ago, kickstart said:

If you what some Belgium Blue semen in Thailand try Prontip in Rachaburi  province .have a word with TV's slugs11 he uses their  semen ,they now have a delivery service.

A good few posts have been wrote on here about Wagyu  cattle  ,near me is a dairy farm they are using Wagyu bulls on they cow's , semen coming from Australia ,had a word with the farm AI/vet guy ,he said they have no problem with heat stress ,so I would say your Charoais heifer should be OK. 

Thanks for your informative and positive post - appreciated

[Time to grow]

On 10/30/2020 at 7:20 PM, IsaanAussie said:

What are you going do on your farm, adapt, redevelop, what?

At this point, we plan to consolidate and adapt. Mindful of measures we can take to conserve water and use it more efficiently. We are considering the option of digging a deeper well but that is no guarantee either. A significant portion of my farming is aquaponics. The aquaponics relies on recirculating water but still requires topping off due to evaporation.

[IsaanAussie]

1 hour ago, Time to grow said:

At this point, we plan to consolidate and adapt. Mindful of measures we can take to conserve water and use it more efficiently. We are considering the option of digging a deeper well but that is no guarantee either. A significant portion of my farming is aquaponics. The aquaponics relies on recirculating water but still requires topping off due to evaporation.

From a water optimisation stand point both hydroponics and aquaponics probably lead the field. But for me the science, analysis and control, plumbing and pumps needed are no more the answer than monoculture rice is to Isaan now.  

[Time to grow]

1 hour ago, IsaanAussie said:

But for me the science, analysis and control, plumbing and pumps needed are no more the answer than monoculture rice is to Isaan now.  

Agreed, I don't propose that aquaponics is a global solution. I only mention it to give you some perspective of my water requirements. It works for me but I understand it's not for everyone. Aquaponics is simply another alternative to growing with its own set of compromises.

[marty147]

On 10/31/2020 at 11:47 AM, Grumpy John said:

It's a weird situation.  I moved all my money to a secondary bank account because ING was giving me some krap about where I live so it all went to Rabo Direct.  ING wanted this and that....and I told them to go take a hike!  But....and it's a BIG BUT....I didn't know they wouldn't transfer money from my account to my son...or anyone else. Only transfer to another account in my name!  What the ell!  My son normally does my transfers. So, I have been living off my money I have here.  I still have my 400.000 in the bank 12 month account and 80.000 for a medical emergency in another 6 month acc.  But my daily account was disappearing fast!  My Aussie government pension was first paid in to Australian account but as of 26th Oct now paid into Bangkok bank which is a help.  But that's not the end of it!  Rabo Direct are not going to co-operate at all in moving my money to me here in LOS, and despite the fact I told them I live here and cannot go home as I normally do they won't pay my money into my sons account at ING.  So it looks like we will be on a budget till the Financial Industry Ombudsman can deal with the matter.

 

 

 

Do Transferwise not operate in Australia?  You set up an account with them (in your name) then transfer your ING funds to them and they then transfer to your Thai account.  They come highly recommended by many on Thaivisa for their efficient service and beneficial exchange rates.

 

 

 

[Grumpy John]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:36 AM, marty147 said:

 

 

Do Transferwise not operate in Australia?  You set up an account with them (in your name) then transfer your ING funds to them and they then transfer to your Thai account.  They come highly recommended by many on Thaivisa for their efficient service and beneficial exchange rates.

 

 

 

Hi there, I have zero dollars and no cents at ING.  All my money is now in Rabo Direct in Australia.  I'll keep in mind Transferwise....with a name like that would be hard not to remember!