Best Investment To Make In Farming In Isaan ?

[jamescollister]

OK the OP says he has 4 mil, Somo you say you can make money with cassava. I am not cassava farmer, tried some years back and ended up letting it rot in the ground. Anyway how many rai would you need to make a living, without getting into the land price argument, deduct the land from his 4 mil. Now I am guessing you need more than a spade and a hoe for that size of land, plus a pickup truck to shift fertilizer and take the crop to the buyers. Subtract tractor, truck and and costs for the first harvest.

4 mil Baht is not going to cut it. Jim

You don't need to buy anything other than the land. Rent the tractor tuk tuks etc I own no capital equipment.

1 rai needs about 3,500 (possible 4,000) spent on it to produce about 4 tons of cassava which will then cost about 2000 Baht to harvest and transport to the buyers. So 5,500 total cost. Average price last few years has been about B2.50/kg so one rai returns about 10,000 giving a profit of 4,500/rai

It is however important to be able to choose when to harvest to get a decent price.

It is worth noting that the investment other than land is only about 3,500/rai as the 2000 harvesting cost comes out of the sale of the crop. investing 3,500 for a return of 4,500 is a good return.

On those numbers the OP would need over 200 rai of land to make a reasonable living. Jim

Jim you seemed determined to poo poo any idea of making a go of farming. My figures are pretty much a worse case scenario. If you use the 18 month cycle suggested by khonwan your profit can shoot up. What i described is also a passive income as I farm out everything (pun intended). If I lived there all the time I would have expanded a lot more by now and started with just 500k which now produces an income of 250k/year. Step by step this will increase each year.

Would be interested to know your figures for rubber and how much you invested.

Not trying to poo poo your idea, you would be one of very few who turns a profit as an absentee farmer, good for you, it shows you have the get up and go.

Seen over the years so many come with a dream of a rural farming life, but not the funds to do the years to get it up and running. If you want to buy a money making farm it will cost a lot.

As for rubber, I don't class that as farming, rubber is a long term investment and as such, you get a return on that investment, just like any investment the returns are subject to the market.

How much has it cost over the years, I would hate to add it up, but a lot. The factory and processing license cost more than the OP has to invest. It has made no real profit as of yet, but the value of the license and industrial zoned land has continue to climb. The rubber plantations provide my only income and we do not live on sticky rice and frogs.

My only real attempts at farming, have all been failures, the cassava trial was a total loss, duck farming fail, chickens and fish fail. So I take my hat off to anyone who can turn a profit as a real farmer. Jim

[somo]

James it would appear from what you say that you have either invested about 50 million Baht or are just wasting your time.

If you were right then 99% of the posters here may as well give up trying to make a success of things. I dabble in farming because I am busy with other things but at some stage I want to live in the house we have built in the village. I am still on a learning path and taking my own advice ie step by step but I am proof that you do not need to have loads of dosh to make a go of it.

My small outlay is now making 50%/year for me and this will only increase without any further outlay as everything is reinvested. In about 3 or 4 years it will be producing a lot more.

I really don't understand why you should be so dismissive of others efforts. Maybe you are so disillusioned with your farming that you assume it is the same for everyone. I don't know but I am happy with mine and will gladly encourage anyone who want to have a go.

[jubby]

your both making sense in your own ways Guys. maybe its time for the OP to give us some more input because we all make a few assumptions based on our own experiences.

[RedBullHorn]

I'm Back ! ... What did i miss !!!

Oh~ That ? I make between 750'000 - 900'000 Baht per year with my Pla Duk farm ... if no drought of course.

Tell them Jubby, you saw my farm...the ponds stink remember

Edited July 21, 2012 by RedBullHorn

[jamescollister]

James it would appear from what you say that you have either invested about 50 million Baht or are just wasting your time.

If you were right then 99% of the posters here may as well give up trying to make a success of things. I dabble in farming because I am busy with other things but at some stage I want to live in the house we have built in the village. I am still on a learning path and taking my own advice ie step by step but I am proof that you do not need to have loads of dosh to make a go of it.

My small outlay is now making 50%/year for me and this will only increase without any further outlay as everything is reinvested. In about 3 or 4 years it will be producing a lot more.

I really don't understand why you should be so dismissive of others efforts. Maybe you are so disillusioned with your farming that you assume it is the same for everyone. I don't know but I am happy with mine and will gladly encourage anyone who want to have a go.

Sorry don't really follow what you are saying, you don't need loads of dosh, how do you live on the cassava money or do you have another income.

As for 50 mil, if I had ever seen that kind of money I would be living on an Island in the med with a big yacht.

Most of the posters here who have made it into profit, either have an extra income from overseas or have worked off shore for years building up a viable farm.

Question, if you rent the land and hire the workers and make a profit, while living in BKK what's to stop the Thai owner of the land doing the same. Jim

[RedBullHorn]

I just like to add that for my case (if the OP is reading), among many things, farming is farming and farming is big business... the right contact and securing terms and credit is some of them... i'm making big profit from my farm and it is my main business and i use those profit to build other businesses, not the other way round. Ultimately if you're going toward the farming path you need to be passionate at what you do, half hearted effort will not make it and it helps a lot to have an acute business sense too.

Edited July 21, 2012 by RedBullHorn

[sjefrie]

OK the OP says he has 4 mil, Somo you say you can make money with cassava. I am not cassava farmer, tried some years back and ended up letting it rot in the ground. Anyway how many rai would you need to make a living, without getting into the land price argument, deduct the land from his 4 mil. Now I am guessing you need more than a spade and a hoe for that size of land, plus a pickup truck to shift fertilizer and take the crop to the buyers. Subtract tractor, truck and and costs for the first harvest.

4 mil Baht is not going to cut it. Jim

You don't need to buy anything other than the land. Rent the tractor tuk tuks etc I own no capital equipment.

1 rai needs about 3,500 (possible 4,000) spent on it to produce about 4 tons of cassava which will then cost about 2000 Baht to harvest and transport to the buyers. So 5,500 total cost. Average price last few years has been about B2.50/kg so one rai returns about 10,000 giving a profit of 4,500/rai

It is however important to be able to choose when to harvest to get a decent price.

It is worth noting that the investment other than land is only about 3,500/rai as the 2000 harvesting cost comes out of the sale of the crop. investing 3,500 for a return of 4,500 is a good return.

On those numbers the OP would need over 200 rai of land to make a reasonable living. Jim

Jim you seemed determined to poo poo any idea of making a go of farming. My figures are pretty much a worse case scenario. If you use the 18 month cycle suggested by khonwan your profit can shoot up. What i described is also a passive income as I farm out everything (pun intended). If I lived there all the time I would have expanded a lot more by now and started with just 500k which now produces an income of 250k/year. Step by step this will increase each year.

Would be interested to know your figures for rubber and how much you invested.

http://bit.ly/Nojpa6

[somo]

Sorry I thought you were saying that anything small time is bound to fail because Thais

will already be doing it better or cheaper. I produce cassava better than most Thais and

there is no reason others can't do the same.

I don't live off the cassava money which is why I can reinvest the profits.

It now costs me nothing and annual earnings will grow. I could have invested a lot more but chose not to

because as I say I take my own advice.

From day one I was determined the village earnings would be self financing after

the initial investment

Regarding rented land Thais do the same. I just happened to be there when

it came up as the owner was going abroad to work.

Funny you mention the med. I used to live on a yacht there in the 80,s mostly around Greece and Turkey.

Wonderful places/times screwed up now I hear.

[jubby]

I just like to add that for my case (if the OP is reading), among many things, farming is farming and farming is big business... the right contact and securing terms and credit is some of them... i'm making big profit from my farm and it is my main business and i use those profit to build other businesses, not the other way round. Ultimately if you're going toward the farming path you need to be passionate at what you do, half hearted effort will not make it and it helps a lot to have an acute business sense too.

I think you are a shining example of what can be achieved on a relatively small plot. you do seem to have the right connections though, and know when to buy or sell, and I'm sure you had to work at getting those connections and I'm sure you put in 20 hours a day , either working or planning work . I think the Chinese work ethic helps you with this too

I don't have what it takes , and self awareness is important

I think about 'other things' 20 hours a day unfortunately

hey Hows that Kukri and do you get much use out of it, and can my wife borrow it

Edited July 21, 2012 by jubby

[David48]

I'm Back ! ... What did i miss !!!

Oh~ That ? I make between 750'000 - 900'000 Baht per year with my Pla Duk farm ... if no drought of course.

Tell them Jubby, you saw my farm...the ponds stink remember

Welcome back RedBullHorn ... good to know the caped crusader didn't fly off into the sunset and not remember us ...

[David48]

Somehow, I think we are doing an injustice to the OP and answering our own questions in his Thread..

May I politely suggest, if we wish to discuss the various merits of Farming then we do it over at this new Thread started titled ... A Farming Myth

.

Edited July 21, 2012 by David48

[David Peters]

Up in Mukdahan and Roi-et, farmers in some villages have turned their backs on growing cassava. They are now producing grass seed and making an annual net profit of more than 10,000 baht/rai. They grow a range of grass species. I posted about this in an earlier topic last month but no one was interested.

[somo]

Up in Mukdahan and Roi-et, farmers in some villages have turned their backs on growing cassava. They are now producing grass seed and making an annual net profit of more than 10,000 baht/rai. They grow a range of grass species. I posted about this in an earlier topic last month but no one was interested.

Hey, I am interested and this could be just what the OP is looking for.

Please give us more detail as I know nothing about producing grass seed.

You could maybe open a new thread about it.

[RedBullHorn]

I just like to add that for my case (if the OP is reading), among many things, farming is farming and farming is big business... the right contact and securing terms and credit is some of them... i'm making big profit from my farm and it is my main business and i use those profit to build other businesses, not the other way round. Ultimately if you're going toward the farming path you need to be passionate at what you do, half hearted effort will not make it and it helps a lot to have an acute business sense too.

I think you are a shining example of what can be achieved on a relatively small plot. you do seem to have the right connections though, and know when to buy or sell, and I'm sure you had to work at getting those connections and I'm sure you put in 20 hours a day , either working or planning work . I think the Chinese work ethic helps you with this too

I don't have what it takes , and self awareness is important

I think about 'other things' 20 hours a day unfortunately

hey Hows that Kukri and do you get much use out of it, and can my wife borrow it

That's the mistake i made, lending it to my wife.... i had to hide in a far away temple for 3 months

[ozzydom]

Now I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer,but I have real troubles reconciling somo,s stated profit margins.

From his figures it costs approx 4000 baht/rai to plant and grow his cassava,plus 2000 baht harvesting cost.

His return is 10,000 baht or 4000baht "profit"BUT ,it then costs the 4000 baht "profit "to plant and grow the next seasons crop,so there is no retained profit.

To my mind this is a dog chasing its tail scenario and the only time you could show a retained profit is the time you do not replant another crop.

Renting land , owning no equipment and relying on hiring labour and equipment means you have virtually no control over costs and certainly none over commodity prices..

[somo]

Now I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer,but I have real troubles reconciling somo,s stated profit margins.

From his figures it costs approx 4000 baht/rai to plant and grow his cassava,plus 2000 baht harvesting cost.

His return is 10,000 baht or 4000baht "profit"BUT ,it then costs the 4000 baht "profit "to plant and grow the next seasons crop,so there is no retained profit.

To my mind this is a dog chasing its tail scenario and the only time you could show a retained profit is the time you do not replant another crop.

Renting land , owning no equipment and relying on hiring labour and equipment means you have virtually no control over costs and certainly none over commodity prices..

You may well be right about yourself.

It ain't rocket science. It costs me 5.500 to produce and I sell it for 10,000 = 4,500 profit.

Or to put it another way. Once I sell for 10,000 I pay the 2000 costs of harvesting leaving me 8,000.

I put 4,500 in my pocket and the other 3,500 is used for the next harvest. Got it?

Renting land for ay B800/year is usually a cheaper option than buying it.

My tractor expenses are 36,000/year so why spend a million baht on buying one?

Spending loads of money on expensive equipment that is not needed is possibly why many farmers struggle.

By hiring rather than buying I am controlling my costs and not throwing money away.

How does hiring rather than buying mean I will have no control over commodity prices?

None of us can control them and spending silly money on capital equipment won't help.

[David Peters]

Up in Mukdahan and Roi-et, farmers in some villages have turned their backs on growing cassava. They are now producing grass seed and making an annual net profit of more than 10,000 baht/rai. They grow a range of grass species. I posted about this in an earlier topic last month but no one was interested.

Hey, I am interested and this could be just what the OP is looking for.

Please give us more detail as I know nothing about producing grass seed.

You could maybe open a new thread about it.

I did open a thread about it last month. No interest whatsoever.

Here are two sites that provide information.

One in English and one in Thai.

From my understanding is that the grass seed markets are guaranteed and not volatile like other agricultural commodities.

Good luck and good hunting.

http://www.tropseeds.com/

http://info.agri.ubu.ac.th/~ubuforage/

[somo]

David, do you do this yourself.

If yes perhaps you could give us a step by step set of instructions.

Just how straight forward is it to start up doing etc.

I would have no idea where to start but have 5 rai that I can use to experiment with.

Is there anyone in Chayapoum I could go see about it?

[David48]

Up in Mukdahan and Roi-et, farmers in some villages have turned their backs on growing cassava. They are now producing grass seed and making an annual net profit of more than 10,000 baht/rai. They grow a range of grass species. I posted about this in an earlier topic last month but no one was interested.

Hey, I am interested and this could be just what the OP is looking for.

Please give us more detail as I know nothing about producing grass seed.

You could maybe open a new thread about it.

I did open a thread about it last month. No interest whatsoever.

Here are two sites that provide information.

One in English and one in Thai.

From my understanding is that the grass seed markets are guaranteed and not volatile like other agricultural commodities.

Good luck and good hunting.

http://www.tropseeds.com/

http://info.agri.ubu.ac.th/~ubuforage/

David, I for one, read your posting with interest.

I also look at a new car brochure with interest.

Just it means that you can not do everything ... but respect the information supplied to the Forum.

[RedBullHorn]

My understanding is that ya rusi (spelling ?) is very popular among cattles farmers. A villager planted the seed by spreading and herding his 200 cattles in and out different plot when the grasses are ready.

[ozzydom]

Now I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer,but I have real troubles reconciling somo,s stated profit margins.

From his figures it costs approx 4000 baht/rai to plant and grow his cassava,plus 2000 baht harvesting cost.

His return is 10,000 baht or 4000baht "profit"BUT ,it then costs the 4000 baht "profit "to plant and grow the next seasons crop,so there is no retained profit.

To my mind this is a dog chasing its tail scenario and the only time you could show a retained profit is the time you do not replant another crop.

Renting land , owning no equipment and relying on hiring labour and equipment means you have virtually no control over costs and certainly none over commodity prices..

You may well be right about yourself.

It ain't rocket science. It costs me 5.500 to produce and I sell it for 10,000 = 4,500 profit.

Or to put it another way. Once I sell for 10,000 I pay the 2000 costs of harvesting leaving me 8,000.

I put 4,500 in my pocket and the other 3,500 is used for the next harvest. Got it?

Renting land for ay B800/year is usually a cheaper option than buying it.

My tractor expenses are 36,000/year so why spend a million baht on buying one?

Spending loads of money on expensive equipment that is not needed is possibly why many farmers struggle.

By hiring rather than buying I am controlling my costs and not throwing money away.

How does hiring rather than buying mean I will have no control over commodity prices?

None of us can control them and spending silly money on capital equipment won't help.

Your claims seem to conflict with your recent post in the cassava thread.

"For me to pay everyone plus fertilizer,tractor harvesting etc it costs me about Baht 1.30/kilo to produce and deliver all in. At the current price of 1.80 (2.00 less 10% for dirt) I will make only about 500 Baht/ton (about 2000 Baht/rai farmed) Hardly worth bothering with"

[aussieruss]

Hi all this is from left field 1 marry the rite girl 2put Thai step kids through school and uni in oz done:rolleyes: 3start to buy land 1_5rai at a time 4 get inlaws on side 5 have some investment property in oz 6wait 2 more years then here I come 7 just before we land think about the 5 years of posts and stories I have read on TV this is what I have invested in to Thai farming over the last 15 years and I haven't grown a thing yet but now have 150 rai I have some things in the pipe line but you boys still scare me with the stories:o regards Russell

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

[aussieruss]

mod please Dell post above Aussie russ

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Thaivisa Connect App

[somo]

Now I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer,but I have real troubles reconciling somo,s stated profit margins.

From his figures it costs approx 4000 baht/rai to plant and grow his cassava,plus 2000 baht harvesting cost.

His return is 10,000 baht or 4000baht "profit"BUT ,it then costs the 4000 baht "profit "to plant and grow the next seasons crop,so there is no retained profit.

To my mind this is a dog chasing its tail scenario and the only time you could show a retained profit is the time you do not replant another crop.

Renting land , owning no equipment and relying on hiring labour and equipment means you have virtually no control over costs and certainly none over commodity prices..

You may well be right about yourself.

It ain't rocket science. It costs me 5.500 to produce and I sell it for 10,000 = 4,500 profit.

Or to put it another way. Once I sell for 10,000 I pay the 2000 costs of harvesting leaving me 8,000.

I put 4,500 in my pocket and the other 3,500 is used for the next harvest. Got it?

Renting land for ay B800/year is usually a cheaper option than buying it.

My tractor expenses are 36,000/year so why spend a million baht on buying one?

Spending loads of money on expensive equipment that is not needed is possibly why many farmers struggle.

By hiring rather than buying I am controlling my costs and not throwing money away.

How does hiring rather than buying mean I will have no control over commodity prices?

None of us can control them and spending silly money on capital equipment won't help.

Your claims seem to conflict with your recent post in the cassava thread.

"For me to pay everyone plus fertilizer,tractor harvesting etc it costs me about Baht 1.30/kilo to produce and deliver all in. At the current price of 1.80 (2.00 less 10% for dirt) I will make only about 500 Baht/ton (about 2000 Baht/rai farmed) Hardly worth bothering with"

How does this conflict? All I was saying was that at a price of 1.80 the profit would be 2000/rai which is entirely consistent with 4.500/rai at a price of 2.50 which is what i have based my figures on above. As I also said in my post above you must be able to wait for a decent price. Currently it is 2.65 and I will harvest some soon at this price or better and make over 7000 profit per rai. (the cassava is now 14 months old and should give me about 6 tons/rai)

You have already shown you cannot recognise a profit from some simple figures and this latest poor attempt to for some reason discredit me is equally ridiculous. I am not sure why you should do this but I have no interest in making false profit claims as I have nothing to gain from doing so.

[ozzydom]

Now I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer,but I have real troubles reconciling somo,s stated profit margins.

From his figures it costs approx 4000 baht/rai to plant and grow his cassava,plus 2000 baht harvesting cost.

His return is 10,000 baht or 4000baht "profit"BUT ,it then costs the 4000 baht "profit "to plant and grow the next seasons crop,so there is no retained profit.

To my mind this is a dog chasing its tail scenario and the only time you could show a retained profit is the time you do not replant another crop.

Renting land , owning no equipment and relying on hiring labour and equipment means you have virtually no control over costs and certainly none over commodity prices..

You may well be right about yourself.

It ain't rocket science. It costs me 5.500 to produce and I sell it for 10,000 = 4,500 profit.

Or to put it another way. Once I sell for 10,000 I pay the 2000 costs of harvesting leaving me 8,000.

I put 4,500 in my pocket and the other 3,500 is used for the next harvest. Got it?

Renting land for ay B800/year is usually a cheaper option than buying it.

My tractor expenses are 36,000/year so why spend a million baht on buying one?

Spending loads of money on expensive equipment that is not needed is possibly why many farmers struggle.

By hiring rather than buying I am controlling my costs and not throwing money away.

How does hiring rather than buying mean I will have no control over commodity prices?

None of us can control them and spending silly money on capital equipment won't help.

Your claims seem to conflict with your recent post in the cassava thread.

"For me to pay everyone plus fertilizer,tractor harvesting etc it costs me about Baht 1.30/kilo to produce and deliver all in. At the current price of 1.80 (2.00 less 10% for dirt) I will make only about 500 Baht/ton (about 2000 Baht/rai farmed) Hardly worth bothering with"

How does this conflict? All I was saying was that at a price of 1.80 the profit would be 2000/rai which is entirely consistent with 4.500/rai at a price of 2.50 which is what i have based my figures on above. As I also said in my post above you must be able to wait for a decent price. Currently it is 2.65 and I will harvest some soon at this price or better and make over 7000 profit per rai. (the cassava is now 14 months old and should give me about 6 tons/rai)

You have already shown you cannot recognise a profit from some simple figures and this latest poor attempt to for some reason discredit me is equally ridiculous. I am not sure why you should do this but I have no interest in making false profit claims as I have nothing to gain from doing so.

The 500k nett that we do annually from 5 rai would show that I recognise profits. It is not my intention to discredit you personally but I do take exception to posters giving newbies false impressions of large profits to be had from little input especially in the farming arena.

Everybody actively engaged in farming in Thailand knows that profits come from lots of hard work and skills, with a bit of luck thrown in.

Claims of 50% profit margins from rented land with no personal labour input always arouses the skeptic in me.

[somo]

ozzydom

"The 500k nett that we do annually from 5 rai would show that I recognise profits. It is not my intention to discredit you personally but I do take exception to posters giving newbies false impressions of large profits to be had from little input especially in the farming arena.

Everybody actively engaged in farming in Thailand knows that profits come from lots of hard work and skills, with a bit of luck thrown in.

Claims of 50% profit margins from rented land with no personal labour input always arouses the skeptic in me."

I have no idea what you farm for your money but I suspect you have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to cassava or you would know straight away that my figures are realistic.

What you find difficult to believe is that I do it without personally lifting a finger or buying lots of expensive equipment.

OK initially my wife and I were careful not to be ripped of but we have built a good team in our village and can get most

things done by phone from Bangkok.

You don't like it that I do it with ease and you feel you have to work hard and spend lots of money.

Well I am sorry about that but it is how it is. I only rent 15 rai, the rest I own.

Earning 4/5k Baht/rai from cassava is not a ridiculous claim and in fact khonwan earns a lot more. soidog also does very

well out of it as far as I know.

Your scepticism is misplaced and has turned to cynicism which is unhealthy. Trying every which way to discredit me does you no credit! It also smacks of desperation when you trip up over your own calculations of my profit then come back with more rubbish using a different set of figures.

My intention in posting here was to give the OP an alternative to the negativity that met him and show that money can be made with relatively little initial outlay.

Why does everyone think they have to spend millions on capital equipment and work 20 hours a day

to make a success of growing a few plants in a field. It just ain't that difficult.

Statements such as "Everybody actively engaged in farming in Thailand knows that profits come from lots of hard work and skills, with a bit of luck thrown in." are total rubbish. A bit of good luck is always welcome but sod the hard work. Skills can only be learnt by giving it a go. Work smart not hard should be our motto.

OP - Ignore all the cynics here and go for it, just do it slowly and learn as you go.

[loong]

Up in Mukdahan and Roi-et, farmers in some villages have turned their backs on growing cassava. They are now producing grass seed and making an annual net profit of more than 10,000 baht/rai. They grow a range of grass species. I posted about this in an earlier topic last month but no one was interested.

I was interested and asked you in the other thread what grass you were referring to, but you didn't reply.

[David Peters]

My understanding is that ya rusi (spelling ?) is very popular among cattles farmers. A villager planted the seed by spreading and herding his 200 cattles in and out different plot when the grasses are ready.

Ruzi grass is an inferior species. Many better cultivars and species around. Lots of very good money to be made.

Chaiyaphum in the past produced good grass seed but unfortunately is a little off the beaten track for markets, However, you can contact your local Dept of Livestock Development to see if they are giving out grass seed contracts but I doubt it.

Best to contact Ubon Forage Seeds at the website I provided above.

I know this for a fact. Once farmers start producing grass sees they never never return to producing cassava or sugarcane.

[David48]

...............................................Raising

Direct Costs ....Ploughing .. furrows

Rice.........................500.......

Cassava..................500.........500

Ubon paspalum.......500.......

Mulato II...................500.......

Ubon stylo...............500.......

Mombasa guinea....500.......

David Peters ... the 'Preview Post' function is much underrated, don't you think.

I would have kept going with the above table ... but I did not wish to be inaccurate if I made a mistake from your data.

Maybe if yours is a Word Document or an Excel Spreadsheet ... might be simpler to attach it ...

.

[David48]

Might be a wise idea to ask a Mod to delete your two posts with the wacky table and supply an attachment?