Cow Prices Down

[Joe Walshe]

Bought about 10 cows some years back. At the time we figured cows would produce offspring. Population would increase. sell surplus. Make a few baht.

What has happened is, time is spent bringing cows to feed everyday. Growing special grass. We now hear prices are very low. Have decided to sell all and cut losses. Otherwise could be feeding them eveyday and selling at a loss anyway. They require attention 7 days a week and make it difficult to do other things.

Don't expect any comments nor am I looking for advice. Just shooting the breeze a bit. I'm more interested in hearing views on Sticky rice and eucalyptus prices. I have posted 2 posts on these subjects earlier.

[chownah]

Selling because prices are down is only a good idea if you think that they will not rise in the near future. It seems that you think that prices will continue to fall....is that right?

Chownah

[Issangeorge]

it seems that ever since the previous government started their one million cow project the price of cows has gone down. Makes sense if you add a million cows to the supply and the demand has not gone up, then the only thing that can happen is the price goes down. The government may have been helping some people, but they have sure hurt all the enterprising people who had previously bought cows. The present government has stoped the program, so maybe the price will start to rise. Issangeorge.

[LoveDaBlues]

cows, sugarcane, dragon fruit, etc. etc. etc. all the same and the reason I won't farm here. No stability in prices. At least with some businesses (ex. small restaurant) you have some price control.

[chownah]

The million cow project never got past a few tens of thousands of cows....it really never got big enough to impact cattle prices significantly.

[keg]

As chonawah said the million cow project did not get off the ground enough to effect cattle prices but what did was the opening up of the loan spickets through the farmers co op bank and village fund. In my wifes village almost everyone took advantage of this easy credit and bought cows, and yes everyone bought when the prices were high. It was found that it was not so easy and definately not free to raise cows and most are being sold off, and yes they are being sold at very low prices. Many familes have sold the cows but did not use the money to pay back the original loans which are still outstanding. If this is going on in like villages across Issan, that would be a cause for the low prices as many are selling now as they don't have the resources to hang on to these cows.

I am not a cattle expert but just my 2 bahts worth.

Keg

[Joe Walshe]

Chownah,

I agree, ideally we buy when prices are low and sell when prices are high. But in this case, I don't see cow prices going up significantly to justify the cost and hassle of holding on to them. Unlike other investments, the cows need constant feeding etc. Maybe better to cut losses now.

Keg,

Thanks for insight. Interesting analysis.

[Nomad97]

My wife told her mother to sell her cows a couple of months ago. She only had 5 cows but the work and expense to feed those cows by far outweighed any likely financial advantage in the coming year. She only received 22,000 baht for the cows. Mai pen rai! At least her mother has a little more free time now.

[ozzydom]

There are cattle and there are cattle, the lower prices available currently are for Thai and cross Brahman cattle ,usually undernourished and poorly farmed.

I believe Thai /French recently upped the price to growers for cross charolaise beef cattle.

There is always reasonable prices available for well bred ,well managed cattle as either breeders or processing beef.

Generally Thais regard their cattle as walking bank books but forget to care properly for one of their most important assets.

How they expect to properly care for say three cows (as many of my neighbours do) on three rai of land which spends part of the year in rice and 90% of the off season bare except for a bit of stubble is IMHO opinion poor farming.

Rice hay in my area is abundant at this time and free apart from getting it carted, but very few take advantage of the opportunity to stock up for the dry season. Instead they just carry on the old tradition of walking their stock for miles to a bit of feed ,staking the cows out and sitting under a tree for the day.

Then when the land is being prepared for the next rice crop they revert to the cut and carry which takes up hours of every day.

One successful cattle grower I know,stocks up with rice hay at this time of year and has half a rai per cow in Guinea Grass which is cut and carried daily as green feed then every two days he fertilises and waters where he has cut and 2-3 weeks later he can cut that strip again, all up about 2 hours per day to care for 10 cattle..

His cattle are well bred and he assures me he always gets top dollar at sale.

Incidentally he does all his own labour then goes to his fulltime job as a teacher.

[nitecm]

My wife told her mother to sell her cows a couple of months ago. She only had 5 cows but the work and expense to feed those cows by far outweighed any likely financial advantage in the coming year. She only received 22,000 baht for the cows. Mai pen rai! At least her mother has a little more free time now.

Our area are as low as 28000 bath for 6 +2 baby .We don't need to pay for the feed because we keep them in the forest

[JungleBiker]

We don't need to pay for the feed because we keep them in the forest

Hi Nitecm,

Keeping cattle in the forest is not the best way to raise cattle - as Ozzydom has already suggested - it's what he and I consider to be poor farming. It's like keeping your kids in the forest! The food may be free but it's not good quality and a lot of the green vegetation you can see is not edible - that's why you can see it because the cattle haven't eaten it! Consequently the cattle have to spend a lot of time walking around looking for food and when they walk they burn calories so they gain weight only very slowly, if at all. This is especially true in the dry season when plants stops growing. I work in Laos where 99.9% of the farmers also "keep them in the forest" or let them feed along the roadside or graze on rice stubble. Their cattle grow slowly, produce fewer calves and suffer ill health - all because of poor nutrition. Cattle left to roam in the forest are also more likely to be stolen or killed by predators. The solution is to grow improved forages (e.g. Mulato and stylo) and allow your cattle to graze the forages or you can use a cut-and-carry system (manual or mechanized) depending on your land, labour and financial resources. For the dry season you can either reserve a field of "living hay", or grow irrigated forage or prepare hay or silage. The "rice hay" (actually rice straw) that Ozzydom suggests is a step in the right direction, but straw is not as nutritious as hay or silage. Hay and silage are made from green leaves that are cut and then dried or fermented. Straw is what remains of the mature leaves and flower stems after they start to senesce (grow old) at the time of harvesting the grain. Straw is okay as a roughage but you should also give your cattle other supplements like concentrate and corn, but the latter are expensive hence hay and silage are often used.

JB.

[nitecm]

We don't need to pay for the feed because we keep them in the forest

Hi Nitecm,

Keeping cattle in the forest is not the best way to raise cattle - as Ozzydom has already suggested - it's what he and I consider to be poor farming. It's like keeping your kids in the forest! The food may be free but it's not good quality and a lot of the green vegetation you can see is not edible - that's why you can see it because the cattle haven't eaten it! Consequently the cattle have to spend a lot of time walking around looking for food and when they walk they burn calories so they gain weight only very slowly, if at all. This is especially true in the dry season when plants stops growing. I work in Laos where 99.9% of the farmers also "keep them in the forest" or let them feed along the roadside or graze on rice stubble. Their cattle grow slowly, produce fewer calves and suffer ill health - all because of poor nutrition. Cattle left to roam in the forest are also more likely to be stolen or killed by predators. The solution is to grow improved forages (e.g. Mulato and stylo) and allow your cattle to graze the forages or you can use a cut-and-carry system (manual or mechanized) depending on your land, labour and financial resources. For the dry season you can either reserve a field of "living hay", or grow irrigated forage or prepare hay or silage. The "rice hay" (actually rice straw) that Ozzydom suggests is a step in the right direction, but straw is not as nutritious as hay or silage. Hay and silage are made from green leaves that are cut and then dried or fermented. Straw is what remains of the mature leaves and flower stems after they start to senesce (grow old) at the time of harvesting the grain. Straw is okay as a roughage but you should also give your cattle other supplements like concentrate and corn, but the latter are expensive hence hay and silage are often used.

JB.

Hi Junglebiker

Thanks for your advice.

At our area ,normally the farmers will keep a few and sell it when need some extra cash They also don't have so much time or financial to take care .

nitecm

[somo]

Bought about 10 cows some years back. At the time we figured cows would produce offspring. Population would increase. sell surplus. Make a few baht.

What has happened is, time is spent bringing cows to feed everyday. Growing special grass. We now hear prices are very low. Have decided to sell all and cut losses. Otherwise could be feeding them eveyday and selling at a loss anyway. They require attention 7 days a week and make it difficult to do other things.

Don't expect any comments nor am I looking for advice. Just shooting the breeze a bit. I'm more interested in hearing views on Sticky rice and eucalyptus prices. I have posted 2 posts on these subjects earlier.

Hi. I too have a few cows (8 in all) and have done a deal with a villager who has his own herd of about 30. He looks after and feeds my cows and in return we share the offspring. This way it costs me nothing in time and money and over time my little herd will grow. I think you have to take a long term view and as prices are low this may be the time to add to your stock rather than get out at the bottom of the market. I intend to buy more (pregnant females seemthe best deal)

I would be very interested to learn more about the pros and cons of planting eucalyptus trees and the possible returns. My family have about 40 rai that needs utilising and I am considering a few options but quite like the idea of eucalyptus. Any advice or pointers as to where I can investigate further would be much appreciated.

Steve

[distortedlink]

Bought about 10 cows some years back. At the time we figured cows would produce offspring. Population would increase. sell surplus. Make a few baht.

What has happened is, time is spent bringing cows to feed everyday. Growing special grass. We now hear prices are very low. Have decided to sell all and cut losses. Otherwise could be feeding them eveyday and selling at a loss anyway. They require attention 7 days a week and make it difficult to do other things.

Don't expect any comments nor am I looking for advice. Just shooting the breeze a bit. I'm more interested in hearing views on Sticky rice and eucalyptus prices. I have posted 2 posts on these subjects earlier.

I got rid of my old cow a year ago.

Decided that a bag of rice is cheaper and never gets headaches.

Stick with the rice.

[jubby]

We've got 30 cows at the moment, I bought approx 20 last year to keep the grass down on 50 rai of Lamyai and Teak. I have had ten Calves this year for free. The land is fenced and the Cows do not seem to make too much damage to the trees, offcourse they eat some of the friut and leaves but the fruits are worth very little anyway. They seem to get enough grass and (fruit) most of the year, were now taking advantage of the free Rice straw and will have to put them in the rice paddy for the worst of the dry season, but all in all very little work. I give them mineral blocks occasionally and all in all they appear very healthy, much much better than the other cows I see around the village. They have saved me a great deal of Labour and fuel this year and therefore it works for me. You've only got to look around you if you live in the countryside to realise there's very little money to be made in Farming in Thailand. Any money that is made is by the middleman. But If you have the Land then you have to do something with it ;-)

[bubbaba]

We've got 30 cows at the moment, I bought approx 20 last year to keep the grass down on 50 rai of Lamyai and Teak. I have had ten Calves this year for free. The land is fenced and the Cows do not seem to make too much damage to the trees, offcourse they eat some of the friut and leaves but the fruits are worth very little anyway. They seem to get enough grass and (fruit) most of the year, were now taking advantage of the free Rice straw and will have to put them in the rice paddy for the worst of the dry season, but all in all very little work. I give them mineral blocks occasionally and all in all they appear very healthy, much much better than the other cows I see around the village. They have saved me a great deal of Labour and fuel this year and therefore it works for me. You've only got to look around you if you live in the countryside to realise there's very little money to be made in Farming in Thailand. Any money that is made is by the middleman. But If you have the Land then you have to do something with it ;-)

You are so correct. In America, in the past, a man could have 40 to 80 acres and run a family farm with crops, livestock, the works. He and his family could have a decent lifestyle even if not rich. However, that was 50 to 100 years ago. Today, as you said, look around you, only the big corp. farms make money. The small man can only make some money if he works for them. If you love farming as I do, then do it for yourself. Doing it for yourself is "big profit", Recreation, fresh, high quality food, exercise, great hobby, wonderful for the development of children, on and on.

[apetley]

A friend of my wifes keeps cows in a shed for about 6 months at a time,usually about 10 of them, fattening them up to sell.

Buys a largish calf for about 13k bht and then sells each one for about 19k.

Alot of work involved imo as she also plants, grows and harvests the sweetcorn used to feed them.

[gordman]

It's all a matter of timing, these things happen quite often and they can be included in a general pattern.

[Bullacious]

Question for you Isaan farangs: I want to buy a nice bull as a (surprise) birthday gift for my father-in-law in Surin. I know zilch about farming/ranching. I want to know about the general process for buying a quality bull. Are there bull brokers...? Are there markets where stock is regularly bought and sold...? I am looking for any insights -- anything that is Surin-specific would be useful, because I don't envision transporting this beast across the wilds of Isaan. But... general insights on this topic would be useful.

Also, any thoughts on how much one should expect to pay for a quality bull in today's market...???

Kawp khun khap.

[ozzydom]

Question for you Isaan farangs: I want to buy a nice bull as a (surprise) birthday gift for my father-in-law in Surin. I know zilch about farming/ranching. I want to know about the general process for buying a quality bull. Are there bull brokers...? Are there markets where stock is regularly bought and sold...? I am looking for any insights -- anything that is Surin-specific would be useful, because I don't envision transporting this beast across the wilds of Isaan. But... general insights on this topic would be useful.

Also, any thoughts on how much one should expect to pay for a quality bull in today's market...???

Kawp khun khap.

Too little information, what breed are you looking at? any male bovine that still has his crown jewels is a bull, or are you thinking about a registered ,fertility tested top line animal.

The range is 20k---20 million.

[bannork]

What I don't get is that in spite of the drastic drop in price for cattle, the price of beef hasn't declined at 120 baht or more per kilo.