What type of "machine"are you talking about? A rotary hoe (kubota two-wheeled/paddle-bladed) to till the earth? A tractor from which (many) will drag large tractor tires to level out the tilled earth? A seed-spreader; a two-stroke backpack pump used for spreading seed more efficiently? A harvester for actually reaping what you sow? or A rice husker to peel the "grap" (rice husk) off the germ to leave you the white rice? If the in-laws (I assume you mean your wife's siblings, not her parents) are happy doing what they're doing, don't change it. It's only 10-15 rai which equates to roughly 4 to 6 -ish acres / 1.6 to 2.4 hectares. The most versatile piece of equiment is the two-wheeled rotary hoe i n Thai called a "rot eegong" which I think is what you're referring to as an "iron buffalo. They have all sorts of attachments and belts for the engine to run pumps and saws and whatnot, attach a (often hand built) dray or flatbed to the back of it and you have a fairly handy (but unwieldy to steer as the handlebars are more like a ship's tiller and you have to swing waaaay out to go around a corner. You must have seen them around the village. New ones a re sold with bladed front wheels (toop) which till the field , grip the grip the mud and pull you along. Behind you can run a plough for you furrows. A plough is called a "kunn tai" or just "tai" - which is why tractors are called "rot-tai" (plough vehicle). The next beneficial, and a possible income earner, is the rice husker. You can do your own husking and also then rent out the service to other local small farmers (on-site; they come to you. don't let it out of your sight) and charge by the ton/tonne. You can also (if the farmer surprisingly doesn't take it with them) sell the "grap"- the rice husks - for pig/chicken/fish feed or, as is used a lot around here, because they waste nothing it is used to slow-burn logs to make charcoal "tahn" which is sold for 20-30 baht a bag ~5kg or so. Rice harvesters are extremely expensive and sit around for half the year but can be quite lucrative for the harvesting season when it does come around. Backpack seed-spreaders are cheap and your inlaws, for the 10-15 rai, would surely already use them. And a tractor? If that 10-15 rai is all you have, and you don't plant corn or cucumber in the rice off-season, it's a waste of money.
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