Rubber Trees

[cobbler]

I've got the weeds fairly well taken care of care of kids and self with weedwackers. Like I said, wife had the area tilled/plowed whatever the correct term is, tractor that has the angled row of discs behind which overturn the topsoil along with all weeds and grasses. Unless I hear a good reason to do this again I will not. So,

other than weed suppression, is there another reason FOR tilling? seems to me all it does is build mounds of dirt and make walking through the plot double tough, and I really question the benefit.

Glenn B ,Spraying seems to be standard procedure to take care of weeds if a cutter or slasher is not used.1 thing that may be of help to you is this.I use a mop dip it into a bucket of mixed weed killer ,mixed at normal strength to kill weeds and wipe it over weeds around veggies and young bananas and such to take care of any thick weed problem.Works a treat as there is no spray mist floating around ,landing on leaves to kill your plants.I'm far too lazey to weed everything.I'm Australian.Screw that.

Cheers Cobbler

[glennb6]

Cob.

I did some spraying too, kept well away from the trees and where I suspect the roots might be. did help down the center paths. a guy from the south said NEVER spray as it can easily kill those small surface roots, which sounded about the same as don't till the ground, however the 'locals' hook the 200 liter tanks filled with Dow Chemicals best on the back of their tractors and go nuts with the stuff right up to and on the tree trunks. another nearby farm with what looked like 2-3 yr old trees with dirt tilled with inches of the trunks.

this is why wife yammers at me about we MUST DO yada yada yada %^&*()_+

I cannot see the logic or reason to risk tearing up roots or poisoning them just because the neighbor does.

arrrrgggghhhhH!!!!!

[kwonitoy]

we have a plot of 6 rai, 3 yr old trees that are doing alright. about 10 mths ago we had the space between the trees tilled. that went ok. during most of the year the ground is fairly hard and firm but during the rainy season it is easy to sink ankle deep in mud. Wife now says to again till in between the trees and I say why bother as we've kept the weeds down and trees in the forest grow fine without tilling, plus tilling is bound to tear up some roots.

what y'all doing on your farms ?

Glenn:

I use a rototiller behind my tractor only, no plowing.

I just got through doing the 1, 2, and 3 year old trees. The rototiller doesn't go very deep so I can go quite close to the trees and where the planting is right I go between the rows, 6 meter spread and do a cross hatch the other direction where the trees are 3 m apart. The rototiller is 2.2m wide so fits easily. I have the hand labour do a 1 m cirlce of clearing around the trees and after I go through the land is spotless. I do this twice a year. The rest of the time I cut the grass with a mower attachment with the tractor.

Because we clean around the tree I'm not to worried about how high the grass gets once the trees are up and the rototiller chops the highest, nastiest grass right into the soil.

The first photo is after going through with the rototiller on some stuff we put in May 2011. Second photo is the same piece after cutting the grass last summer.

Been doing this for 3 years now and it doesn't hurt the root system at all.

Ken

Ken,

Roots of the rubber trees are surface roots with only 1 major tap root(if it wasn't broken during planting.)These surface roots will be very fine while the tree is still very young .Be very careful.You maybe hurting your trees by cutting them without even knowing it..Really not recommended.. Everything will look great ,clean and very pretty.Problem is you can be stunting the growth of your trees.I'm not trying to hurt your feelings ,but I feel sorry for you if you waste your time and money ploughing when slashing will do a good enough job.

Cheers cobbler

Cobbler:

You're not going to hurt my feeling, this forum is for advice of all kinds.

As I said I've been doing the rototilling for 3 years now and the 2 year old trees that I did then are now 5 years old and definatley not stunted or damaged.

There is always a slight tilt away from the trees and the blades on the tree side barely even penetrate the soil, believe me I've gotten off and checked many a time under different circumstances.

Nobody else I've seen use's a rototiller, only plowing. It falls into that Thai " thats the way everyone does it"

I have been asked to do other rubber fields with my equipment but they MUST be clear of stumps and roots and large rocks, so far nobody has qualified.

No ground work after 3 years, and after that only grass cutting. I used to spray the grass but prefer to keep it now for erosion control

Ken

[ClausGS]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

[Mark1971]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

Claus,

3 to 5 Kg / Tree / Year is DRC.

Personally I wouldn't pay any premium over the price of empty land, for land with 5 to 6 year old Rubber trees.

I am sure that the trees won't be the type I want & won't be planted & cared for the way I expect.

Bad decisions & poor treatment of trees in the first few years can never be recovered.

[Mark1971]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

The wife bought our land nearly 2 years ago.

At that time we were offered 10 Rai of non chanote land, with 6 year old RRIM 600's for 1.5 Million Baht. (It was sold before she could go & see it).

She bought 5 separate plots of non chanote empty land in the same area, totaling 200 Rai for just under 2 Million Baht.

[David006]

I've got the weeds fairly well taken care of care of kids and self with weedwackers. Like I said, wife had the area tilled/plowed whatever the correct term is, tractor that has the angled row of discs behind which overturn the topsoil along with all weeds and grasses. Unless I hear a good reason to do this again I will not. So,

other than weed suppression, is there another reason FOR tilling? seems to me all it does is build mounds of dirt and make walking through the plot double tough, and I really question the benefit.

Glenn B ,Spraying seems to be standard procedure to take care of weeds if a cutter or slasher is not used.1 thing that may be of help to you is this.I use a mop dip it into a bucket of mixed weed killer ,mixed at normal strength to kill weeds and wipe it over weeds around veggies and young bananas and such to take care of any thick weed problem.Works a treat as there is no spray mist floating around ,landing on leaves to kill your plants.I'm far too lazey to weed everything.I'm Australian.Screw that.

Cheers Cobbler

555 clever!..glyphosphate or ?

[ClausGS]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

Claus,

3 to 5 Kg / Tree / Year is DRC.

Personally I wouldn't pay any premium over the price of empty land, for land with 5 to 6 year old Rubber trees.

I am sure that the trees won't be the type I want & won't be planted & cared for the way I expect.

Bad decisions & poor treatment of trees in the first few years can never be recovered.

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

The wife bought our land nearly 2 years ago.

At that time we were offered 10 Rai of non chanote land, with 6 year old RRIM 600's for 1.5 Million Baht. (It was sold before she could go & see it).

She bought 5 separate plots of non chanote empty land in the same area, totaling 200 Rai for just under 2 Million Baht.

Sure, you dont know what you are buying, but it seams that locals buy land with rubber in this way, 5 to 7 years old trees. I was just thinking that i might be better of selling my rubber land at 150000 tbh / rai. If i consider the average income to be about 70 trees x 4 kg x 50 TBH = 14000 TBH per rai per year. I will have to share 50 of that with the tappers, so left for me is 7000 TBH. If i do that for 10 years I will have a income of about 70000 TBH. This is all average and could be higher or even lower. If i sell at 150000 TBH / Rai i will have the same profit as i estimate my cost until now at about 80000 TBH / Rai.

Any thoughts to this???

Claus

[cobbler]

Cob.

I did some spraying too, kept well away from the trees and where I suspect the roots might be. did help down the center paths. a guy from the south said NEVER spray as it can easily kill those small surface roots, which sounded about the same as don't till the ground, however the 'locals' hook the 200 liter tanks filled with Dow Chemicals best on the back of their tractors and go nuts with the stuff right up to and on the tree trunks. another nearby farm with what looked like 2-3 yr old trees with dirt tilled with inches of the trunks.

this is why wife yammers at me about we MUST DO yada yada yada %^&*()_+

I cannot see the logic or reason to risk tearing up roots or poisoning them just because the neighbor does.

arrrrgggghhhhH!!!!!

Good call,don't follow like sheep.However,some weed killers only activate on the leaves not the ground to kill roots.When in doubt ''DON'T""

Good luck with it all and keep your sense of humour,this will save you putting dents in your head banging tree,.

Cheers Cobbler

[Mosha]

Not all products that Thais use as weed killers are weed killers. eg Gramoxone. It becomes inert on contact with soil. Also Reglone, which was designed to kill off potato tops, to make harvesting easier.

[cobbler]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

Claus,

3 to 5 Kg / Tree / Year is DRC.

Personally I wouldn't pay any premium over the price of empty land, for land with 5 to 6 year old Rubber trees.

I am sure that the trees won't be the type I want & won't be planted & cared for the way I expect.

Bad decisions & poor treatment of trees in the first few years can never be recovered.

Clause,

Mark 1971 has only seen shit trees taken care of by people who only planted them with the plan of selling them with minimum expense ,so of course the trees will be shit.I've seen many good 5,6 year old trees sell here in this area for100K to 200K per rai depending on if the paper is torbor ha or full paper .If the trees are torbor ha in a mountain around this area you can get 100K per rai,for good trees.However if right time right place you can get it for lessEG if owner needs money.I know of 1 farm here for sale on the side of a mountain ,24 rai torbor ha producing 30 KG to 35KG of dry sheet per day for sale for 2.5 million baht,so for sure you'd get it for 2.4 million,These trees are 8years old perfect trees.So it's a great buy.They are tapped 10 months of the year,So it's an extra 2 months tapping period than a dry area.Has electric and dam fed by spring for water.This is a better buy than 5 or 6 year old trees because first 2 years at least will give less rubber.So this farm can give you a great return from day 1.Just an example of what is around in this area.

Have another 20 rai for sale in this area,torbor ha 10 year old trees, 38 to 40 kilo of dry sheet per day,flat land small slope up in the back quarter of land.Has water electric and million baht house on it.So this is a bargain priced at 5million baht .tapped 10 months per year.Has extra 3 raia cleared behind farm allready with trees on it.Many people in this area mix bananas with the rubber,between the rows for extra income..This farm has 500 approx ,banana trees on it .Has other fruit trees on it also.

Had 25 rai torbor ha, sold not long ago here 6million baht.Trees 15 years old no electric These prices are normal in this area

Hope this is of help for you.

Cobbler

P.S. all farms in this area are shared at a 60% for owner and 40 % for worker

[ClausGS]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

Claus,

3 to 5 Kg / Tree / Year is DRC.

Personally I wouldn't pay any premium over the price of empty land, for land with 5 to 6 year old Rubber trees.

I am sure that the trees won't be the type I want & won't be planted & cared for the way I expect.

Bad decisions & poor treatment of trees in the first few years can never be recovered.

Clause,

Mark 1971 has only seen shit trees taken care of by people who only planted them with the plan of selling them with minimum expense ,so of course the trees will be shit.I've seen many good 5,6 year old trees sell here in this area for100K to 200K per rai depending on if the paper is torbor ha or full paper .If the trees are torbor ha in a mountain around this area you can get 100K per rai,for good trees.However if right time right place you can get it for lessEG if owner needs money.I know of 1 farm here for sale on the side of a mountain ,24 rai torbor ha producing 30 KG to 35KG of dry sheet per day for sale for 2.5 million baht,so for sure you'd get it for 2.4 million,These trees are 8years old perfect trees.So it's a great buy.They are tapped 10 months of the year,So it's an extra 2 months tapping period than a dry area.Has electric and dam fed by spring for water.This is a better buy than 5 or 6 year old trees because first 2 years at least will give less rubber.So this farm can give you a great return from day 1.Just an example of what is around in this area.

Have another 20 rai for sale in this area,torbor ha 10 year old trees, 38 to 40 kilo of dry sheet per day,flat land small slope up in the back quarter of land.Has water electric and million baht house on it.So this is a bargain priced at 5million baht .tapped 10 months per year.Has extra 3 raia cleared behind farm allready with trees on it.Many people in this area mix bananas with the rubber,between the rows for extra income..This farm has 500 approx ,banana trees on it .Has other fruit trees on it also.

Had 25 rai torbor ha, sold not long ago here 6million baht.Trees 15 years old no electric These prices are normal in this area

Hope this is of help for you.

Cobbler

P.S. all farms in this area are shared at a 60% for owner and 40 % for worker

HI Cobbler

thanks for the info.

I think maybe my estimations are wrong then if i compare the KG per day you are talking about. A fast calculation, using you KG per day give an average of about 5 to 7 KG / tree / year.

What is your average income / rai / year, with the current rubber price about 50 TBH / KG???

I know it might be hard to say and depend on many factor's.

Claus

[Mark1971]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

Claus,

3 to 5 Kg / Tree / Year is DRC.

Personally I wouldn't pay any premium over the price of empty land, for land with 5 to 6 year old Rubber trees.

I am sure that the trees won't be the type I want & won't be planted & cared for the way I expect.

Bad decisions & poor treatment of trees in the first few years can never be recovered.

Clause,

Mark 1971 has only seen shit trees taken care of by people who only planted them with the plan of selling them with minimum expense ,so of course the trees will be shit.I've seen many good 5,6 year old trees sell here in this area for100K to 200K per rai depending on if the paper is torbor ha or full paper .If the trees are torbor ha in a mountain around this area you can get 100K per rai,for good trees.However if right time right place you can get it for lessEG if owner needs money.I know of 1 farm here for sale on the side of a mountain ,24 rai torbor ha producing 30 KG to 35KG of dry sheet per day for sale for 2.5 million baht,so for sure you'd get it for 2.4 million,These trees are 8years old perfect trees.So it's a great buy.They are tapped 10 months of the year,So it's an extra 2 months tapping period than a dry area.Has electric and dam fed by spring for water.This is a better buy than 5 or 6 year old trees because first 2 years at least will give less rubber.So this farm can give you a great return from day 1.Just an example of what is around in this area.

Have another 20 rai for sale in this area,torbor ha 10 year old trees, 38 to 40 kilo of dry sheet per day,flat land small slope up in the back quarter of land.Has water electric and million baht house on it.So this is a bargain priced at 5million baht .tapped 10 months per year.Has extra 3 raia cleared behind farm allready with trees on it.Many people in this area mix bananas with the rubber,between the rows for extra income..This farm has 500 approx ,banana trees on it .Has other fruit trees on it also.

Had 25 rai torbor ha, sold not long ago here 6million baht.Trees 15 years old no electric These prices are normal in this area

Hope this is of help for you.

Cobbler

P.S. all farms in this area are shared at a 60% for owner and 40 % for worker

HI Cobbler

thanks for the info.

I think maybe my estimations are wrong then if i compare the KG per day you are talking about. A fast calculation, using you KG per day give an average of about 5 to 7 KG / tree / year.

What is your average income / rai / year, with the current rubber price about 50 TBH / KG???

I know it might be hard to say and depend on many factor's.

Claus

Claus,

How many tapping days per year did you use in your calculation?

Here is my quick calculation using Cobblers numbers, I have filled in a few numbers where information was not provided.

Cobbler,

Please feel free to change my assumptions if they are incorrect.

2 month deciduous period where you shouldn't tap. = 60 days

Assume you loose 5 days per month in the other 10 months due to rain / weather = 50 days

Total tapping days would be around 255 / Year

35 Kg Sheet / Tapping day = 8925 Kg Sheet / Year

70 Baht / Kg Sheet Rubber = 624,750 Baht / Year @ 60% = 374,850 Baht

24 Rai @ 80 trees / Rai = 1920 trees

8925 Kg / 1920 trees = 4.65 Kg tree / year

(To calculate your actual ROI, you need to understand who is paying for fertilizer, maintenance, labour & materials for sheet).

[Mosha]

Mark you forgot to account for rest days, 1 in 3 or 1 in 4, depending how you arrange it.. 170 days would be nearer the mark.

[David006]

5555 yup we can have all spreadsheets,guesstimates and business plans ....but unfortunately the unknowns screw us in the end..ie rain, drought, storm/pest damage, labor issues, theft,produce price fluctuations.Guess you can factor some of it in but....

Had all the spreadsheets yadda yadda set up on the basis of western style business plans etc..very pretty pretty and positive outlook.....frickin waste of time ..sadly it all becomes "suck it and see" in the end.

Probably true of all small time farming anyplace and many a businesses..."cannot f..k with mother nature".

Bit like trying to balance a cheque book with software..frickin depressing

[Mark1971]

5555 yup we can have all spreadsheets,guesstimates and business plans ....but unfortunately the unknowns screw us in the end..ie rain, drought, storm/pest damage, labor issues, theft,produce price fluctuations.Guess you can factor some of it in but....

Had all the spreadsheets yadda yadda set up on the basis of western style business plans etc..very pretty pretty and positive outlook.....frickin waste of time ..sadly it all becomes "suck it and see" in the end.

Probably true of all small time farming anyplace and many a businesses..."cannot f..k with mother nature".

Bit like trying to balance a cheque book with software..frickin depressing

555

Yes there are too many variables to ever calculate this type of thing perfectly.

The only thing that is certain is that what you actually receive will be different from your initial calculation.

[Mosha]

Reminds me if a chat I had with another expat in Ranong. Reckoned he'd done his home work, and allowed for 9 months tapping. I asked him where he got 9 months. He says 2 on 1 off. "Brilliant!" I exclaimed. "Now to that 3 months, add 2 for leaf change. Then allow for being in Ranong's wettest province. Knock off another 3, you'll get 4 months if you are lucky. I'm a cup is half empty type, when it comes to money coming in from the rubber. That way I don't get too disappointed, when it's really wet.Last year the 1st 3 months of the wet season, it rained continiously every day. This year has been wetter, but more totally dry days.

[jamescollister]

As I have said time and time again, the only way to know how much you get is at the end of the season when you add it all up.

Last year too much rain, but a better price, we made after costs $36,000. US.

This season, poor prices, not enough rain, more out put, but lots of problems with tappers and labor in general. Will know how well in March, whether it beer and Tesco's through the down time or Lao Kow and sticky rice. Small farming same world over. jim

[ClausGS]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

[jamescollister]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

Have chickens on every plantation, don't do much in the way of weed control. They fend for themselves, wild and if you want chicken tonight shoot one. Sure the passing tribes of wandering Thais take more than us. Jim

[David006]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

Rubber chickens....

my imagination running away with me.....wish I was a cartoonist.....

We have a few wild/feral chickens around our farm..chucked gun toting kids off a couple of times....

[ClausGS]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

Rubber chickens....

my imagination running away with me.....wish I was a cartoonist.....

We have a few wild/feral chickens around our farm..chucked gun toting kids off a couple of times....

Hi

You guys can make fun of me, I just try to come up with some out of the box ideas, I think i will try it any way some time in the future, maybe with some other animals as well, you never know it might work in some way.

By the way any of you guys have any Agarwood planted on your land??, we have some planted and they are now 8 years old and ready for the inducement process. We are trying to find the inducement kit to do it but would like to have more options. any knowledge in this forum?

Claus

[jamescollister]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

Rubber chickens....

my imagination running away with me.....wish I was a cartoonist.....

We have a few wild/feral chickens around our farm..chucked gun toting kids off a couple of times....

Hi

You guys can make fun of me, I just try to come up with some out of the box ideas, I think i will try it any way some time in the future, maybe with some other animals as well, you never know it might work in some way.

By the way any of you guys have any Agarwood planted on your land??, we have some planted and they are now 8 years old and ready for the inducement process. We are trying to find the inducement kit to do it but would like to have more options. any knowledge in this forum?

Claus

Sorry to tell you the Agarwood subject has been up before, seems that those who went into it now find there is no market, no buyers.

Interesting to hear if anyone has found a buyer.. .

I looked into it years ago and if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Jim

[cobbler]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

Rubber chickens....

my imagination running away with me.....wish I was a cartoonist.....

We have a few wild/feral chickens around our farm..chucked gun toting kids off a couple of times....

Hi

You guys can make fun of me, I just try to come up with some out of the box ideas, I think i will try it any way some time in the future, maybe with some other animals as well, you never know it might work in some way.

By the way any of you guys have any Agarwood planted on your land??, we have some planted and they are now 8 years old and ready for the inducement process. We are trying to find the inducement kit to do it but would like to have more options. any knowledge in this forum?

Claus

Clause,really this can be done with chickens between the rows.We did it with ducks.(10/4 rubber duck ) No really I did.It works.We have geese too.Excellent watch dogs.In the end we got rid of the fences.They were just blue screen so cheep.

[Mosha]

Claus it's not meant harshly. A friends family keep pigs, and they use the pig shit to feed the trees. The pigs aren't free range though.

[cobbler]

5555 yup we can have all spreadsheets,guesstimates and business plans ....but unfortunately the unknowns screw us in the end..ie rain, drought, storm/pest damage, labor issues, theft,produce price fluctuations.Guess you can factor some of it in but....

Had all the spreadsheets yadda yadda set up on the basis of western style business plans etc..very pretty pretty and positive outlook.....frickin waste of time ..sadly it all becomes "suck it and see" in the end.

Probably true of all small time farming anyplace and many a businesses..."cannot f..k with mother nature".

Bit like trying to balance a cheque book with software..frickin depressing

David 006.Wow you must be my twin.Thats exactly what I did.Good FARKIN LUCK

[cobbler]

HI all

Thanks for all the useful info you fill into this forum.

1 question I have, I think Jim talked about it earlier. It is estimated to harvest about 3 to 5 KG of rubber per tree per year (all depending on age, soil, fertilizer ect. ect.). The question i have is when we say 3 to 5 KG as a estimate is that dry rubber content or is this 3 to 5 KG of wet rubber. ??? (Jim??).

Another question for all of you. If you got a offer to buy land with 5 to 6 year old Yang on it what would you be willing to pay per rai in your area? i know many factors would affect the price but in average.?

By the way i found below link to a web site where people sell secondhand trucks, tractors, farm equipment ect. (all in thai) but easy to get a overview of what stuff cost's in this country.

http://www.truck2hand.com

maybe useful for some.

Claus

Claus,

3 to 5 Kg / Tree / Year is DRC.

Personally I wouldn't pay any premium over the price of empty land, for land with 5 to 6 year old Rubber trees.

I am sure that the trees won't be the type I want & won't be planted & cared for the way I expect.

Bad decisions & poor treatment of trees in the first few years can never be recovered.

Clause,

Mark 1971 has only seen shit trees taken care of by people who only planted them with the plan of selling them with minimum expense ,so of course the trees will be shit.I've seen many good 5,6 year old trees sell here in this area for100K to 200K per rai depending on if the paper is torbor ha or full paper .If the trees are torbor ha in a mountain around this area you can get 100K per rai,for good trees.However if right time right place you can get it for lessEG if owner needs money.I know of 1 farm here for sale on the side of a mountain ,24 rai torbor ha producing 30 KG to 35KG of dry sheet per day for sale for 2.5 million baht,so for sure you'd get it for 2.4 million,These trees are 8years old perfect trees.So it's a great buy.They are tapped 10 months of the year,So it's an extra 2 months tapping period than a dry area.Has electric and dam fed by spring for water.This is a better buy than 5 or 6 year old trees because first 2 years at least will give less rubber.So this farm can give you a great return from day 1.Just an example of what is around in this area.

Have another 20 rai for sale in this area,torbor ha 10 year old trees, 38 to 40 kilo of dry sheet per day,flat land small slope up in the back quarter of land.Has water electric and million baht house on it.So this is a bargain priced at 5million baht .tapped 10 months per year.Has extra 3 raia cleared behind farm allready with trees on it.Many people in this area mix bananas with the rubber,between the rows for extra income..This farm has 500 approx ,banana trees on it .Has other fruit trees on it also.

Had 25 rai torbor ha, sold not long ago here 6million baht.Trees 15 years old no electric These prices are normal in this area

Hope this is of help for you.

Cobbler

P.S. all farms in this area are shared at a 60% for owner and 40 % for worker

HI Cobbler

thanks for the info.

I think maybe my estimations are wrong then if i compare the KG per day you are talking about. A fast calculation, using you KG per day give an average of about 5 to 7 KG / tree / year.

What is your average income / rai / year, with the current rubber price about 50 TBH / KG???

I know it might be hard to say and depend on many factor's.

Claus

Clause ,you are probably not wrong for the area you did your estimate in.Different areas have different rainfall,also some areas close in early december and open in late march because just too dry during these months.EG last season our last day tapping was22nd February 2012.1st day this season was 25th march 2012.Forgive me for being too lazey to work out the average of KG per tree per year.I've got it all in my diary,but after all the bullshit I had to go through with my business in Asstralia for 20 years I swore I was never doing more paperwork than a diary.This is why I love Thailand.A truely free country.

[cobbler]

Claus it's not meant harshly. A friends family keep pigs, and they use the pig shit to feed the trees. The pigs aren't free range though.

Thats good Mosha,if the pigs were free range the trees would have been all rooted

[jamescollister]

On the rubber chicken front, if you have live on site tappers it is worth the effort. We had about 50 chooks on 15 rai, built a coop for them. Fine they could be caged at night and could scratch out enough to eat with out buying food. Trouble was as soon as there is no one there to take care of them the wild dogs, snakes etc come. Rubber trees are to high for them to roost. Have chickens at the factory and 4 dogs, now when people are there the dogs leave the chickens alone. As soon as the place is empty, it's chicken tonight for the dogs. Same goes for the ducks we had, free range doesn't work well if you can't chase off the predictors.

A problem with Thai workers, they just do what they want at the time. If there is a wedding, funeral or party, they will just leave the animals to take care of themselves. Next day the chicken or duck count will be well down. The older birds will find safety, but the young ones get eaten. Jim

[ClausGS]

HI all

Thanks for all your comments, very use full for me.

I know that you can not estimate ROI on rubber plantation to a very precise level, but i can at least get some ides where it could be at.

Just a crazy idea, maybe some of you have some comments on this.?

Would it be possible to have chickens running between the rubber trees???

I was thinking to have a smaller fence made in a smaller area of the rubber plantation. Could the chickens turn the weed into fertilizer.?, in this way no need to cut or deal with the weed problem, and at the same time the chicken shit will fertilize the soil what is good for the rubber trees. you could even sell or eat the chickens.

or will the chickens destroy the trees? if yes i could fence each tree.?

or maybe the locals will "borrow" some of my chickens from time to time.?

Claus

Rubber chickens....

my imagination running away with me.....wish I was a cartoonist.....

We have a few wild/feral chickens around our farm..chucked gun toting kids off a couple of times....

Hi

You guys can make fun of me, I just try to come up with some out of the box ideas, I think i will try it any way some time in the future, maybe with some other animals as well, you never know it might work in some way.

By the way any of you guys have any Agarwood planted on your land??, we have some planted and they are now 8 years old and ready for the inducement process. We are trying to find the inducement kit to do it but would like to have more options. any knowledge in this forum?

Claus

Sorry to tell you the Agarwood subject has been up before, seems that those who went into it now find there is no market, no buyers.

Interesting to hear if anyone has found a buyer.. .

I looked into it years ago and if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Jim

HI Jim

I am in Bangkok at the moment and will go to one of the earlier soi's of sukhumvit next week. There they call it little Istanbul and they have lots of shops selling the black agarwood pcs in many different shops and other agarwood related products. I will try to figure out what the prices are and if any of the shops are willing to buy agarwood. This is for now the only place i know of where there is a lot of trade with this product. you might be correct that the price have droped and not a big market for it any longer, but the fact is that i have some trees that I will try to get the best out of.

Claus