Dairy Farming Returns In Thailand

[tebee]

Now my wife has been wanting to move out of Bangkok since the floods last year and has been looking for somewhere with a little land. As we have found a buyer for another of the Bangkok houses she went off this weekend to Lopburi with one of her staff who come from there to look for somewhere.

What she has come back with is a 100 rai Dairy Farm complete with 11 cows. Now this not what I was expecting and although I have lived in the country and kept animals, dairy cows are a long way outside my comfort zone.

I don't think there is too many dairy farmers on here, but maybe someone can give me a little advice. They are saying the farm is making 60,000 a month. I would guess this is gross income rather than profit, but does this sound a realistic figure?

I don't know who she is expecting to run this as neither of us have any experience in this field, unless she is expecting me to move full time to thailand and do it. If not is it possible to hire someone to run it for us and how much would we have to pay to find a conscientious person ( ignoring for the moment if it's possible to find a conscientious person in Thailand)

Any info online about dairy farming in Thailand ?

[grimleybob]

I am, and probably always will be a risk-taker. In my 62 years I've done many things, made money, lost money, but one thing I have consistently learned is that if you invest in something you know nothing about you've iether got to learn dam_n quick or lose the lot.

If you can't swim would you willingly jump into the deep end of a pool?

My advise, do 12 months research,look at the milk product production (cheese etc), visit a few farms, talk to people in the business, then think again.

Bob

Edited September 23, 2012 by grimleybob

[andycrosby]

You should be making 10,000 baht per cow in milk after everything is paid

So something is not running quite right, but not far away

Training can be taken and the people who are selling should be able to help there

Dairy farming is a winner if you have land and can find someone to sell female cows

[andycrosby]

You should be making 10,000 baht per cow in milk after everything is paid

So something is not running quite right, but not far away

Training can be taken and the people who are selling should be able to help there

Dairy farming is a winner if you have land and can find someone to sell female cows

[jamescollister]

You should be making 10,000 baht per cow in milk after everything is paid

So something is not running quite right, but not far away

Training can be taken and the people who are selling should be able to help there

Dairy farming is a winner if you have land and can find someone to sell female cows

Andy, no nothing about cows or milkers but seems very simplistic to me, one cow makes 10,000 a month. You have a bucket and pale, 10 cows and you are made.

What do you do with the milk, who buys it and do cows really produce that much milk. Jim

[andycrosby]

Hi Jim, I did not make it up off the top of my head, a large amount of food is key and the right food so the land to grow the food is very important.

Cows are milked at 5 am and 5 pm kiss your nights out bye bye Thai workers dont last long and you have to keep the cows pregnant all the time.

Yes if you have the land you can be on easy street in a few years, its not for everyone and most fail to feeding cheap food.

Milk is sold to a local Co -Op

Problem is female cows are hard to find and when you do there expensive.

I keep a few Dairy cows to breed to beef breeds as the calves grow fast and large amounts of milk

I would also like to say I do not run a dairy farm, but have many Thai friends here that do.

[jamescollister]

Hi Jim, I did not make it up off the top of my head, a large amount of food is key and the right food so the land to grow the food is very important.

Cows are milked at 5 am and 5 pm kiss your nights out bye bye Thai workers dont last long and you have to keep the cows pregnant all the time.

Yes if you have the land you can be on easy street in a few years, its not for everyone and most fail to feeding cheap food.

Milk is sold to a local Co -Op

Problem is female cows are hard to find and when you do there expensive.

I keep a few Dairy cows to breed to beef breeds as the calves grow fast and large amounts of milk

I would also like to say I do not run a dairy farm, but have many Thai friends here that do.

We can have a chat about cows at the next farmers meeting. Jim

[bina]

there was a legendary thai visa member who had a running cow dairy farm; sold and moved cause he couldnt stand the amount of problems vx the results, amng other things... he had the knowlege, the breeds, the sperm (to breed for milchers), the food, the family, the workers, but as others will say: you either love being in deep shit, or u are in deep shit and hate it...

cows do not get milked in buckets but need machinery, sterilizing equipment, good livestock vet or fast learning curve for doing injections/teat treatments; good buildings, and remote control doesnt work well...

random chances was the guy's handle; i think there was someone else; doing beef cows, but similar health problems and food problems...

i think we also had a pinned topic? on dairy farms? cant remember, the last time anyone here talked milk, maybe about a year ago?

goats and cows are not similar but some of the vet work/feed problems/thai worker problems are similar and there is someone or two here that have goat farms,try to find them....

good luck

bina

israel

[ozzydom]

there was a legendary thai visa member who had a running cow dairy farm; sold and moved cause he couldnt stand the amount of problems vx the results, amng other things... he had the knowlege, the breeds, the sperm (to breed for milchers), the food, the family, the workers, but as others will say: you either love being in deep shit, or u are in deep shit and hate it...

cows do not get milked in buckets but need machinery, sterilizing equipment, good livestock vet or fast learning curve for doing injections/teat treatments; good buildings, and remote control doesnt work well...

random chances was the guy's handle; i think there was someone else; doing beef cows, but similar health problems and food problems...

i think we also had a pinned topic? on dairy farms? cant remember, the last time anyone here talked milk, maybe about a year ago?

goats and cows are not similar but some of the vet work/feed problems/thai worker problems are similar and there is someone or two here that have goat farms,try to find them....

good luck

bina

israel

My memory may be failing me ,but I thought RC,s quitting was because of Tuberculosis in his herd.

[David Peters]

Dairy farming in tropical Thailand is very difficult. The average milk production per cow per day is only 7-8 litres of milk. Compare that with NZ where cows eating grass and clover average 18-20 litres/day/cow and in Europe, where with concentrate feeding and being inside sheds average up to 30 litres/cow/day. Another factor in Thailand is the heat which pure Freisian cows from temperate areas find difficult.

I have consulted on dairy farms in Thailand and Vietnam and for the most part, cows have to be reared in yards, fed huge amounts of concentrates mixed with fresh grass and silage just to get the average milk yield up to say 15 litres/cow/day.

There are all sorts of political problems with milk production in Thailand. I wouldn't get involved at all unless you really were into accepting losses for a few years, had vast experience with dairy cow husbandry and were young and fit. Thai workers for the most part know nothing about looking after dairy cows and dairy cow health and hygiene.

Dairy farming is a 7 day a week job with no holidays.

[andycrosby]

Great post David the only thing I would say the milk yield depends on what you are feeding and how good your stock is Concentrates are key to high milk production in Thailand.

All the Farmers I know are in the upper 18-22 range

Top milker in my area is doing 27 per day

I totally agree its not for arm chair farmers, but what type of farming does well with remote in one hand and a can of beer in the other.

A little brahman blood does no harm in tropical milking and aids poor feed conversion, helps them with the heat and biting pests

[Michael Hare]

I think David is talking about the season average of 7-8 litres/cow/day. For sure many cows hit 20 litres+ after calving but they don't maintain this production for very long. Massive amounts of concentrates costing between 5-8 baht/kg must be fed. I believe farmers feed at a ratio of 2 kg of concentrates/4 litres of milk. So a 20 litre cow needs 10 kg of concentrate/day. That costs say 50-80 baht. What do they get for their milk nowadays. 15 baht/litre? Okay that is 300 baht/cow/day. But this soon drops to 200 baht/cow/day but the farmers still feed the same amount of concentrate. The main problem in Thailand is feeding supplements. The cows need good fresh, high protein forage to reduce costs.

I won't say much more except dairy farming is a business and very hard work. However, the Thai government subsidizes local milk production in Thailand (like in Europe and Canada and the USA), otherwise all milk in Thailand would come from Australian and NZ.

[soi41]

@OP. If I remember correctly, you were the guy in another thread, where your wife wanted to a piece of land without title and making it "legal" by letting the seller default on a loan. And now a new masterplan: 100 rai with only 11 cows?? Excuse me for being frank, but I smell a rat or two here. Are you 100% sure that your wife has your common future in mind? Or??

As for the dairycows, check Thai-Denmark Dairy (goggle), they are big on milkproduction. In Palau, 60 kms west of Hua Hin, there are hundreds small and big dairyfarms under the umbrella of Thai-Denmark. we did some farming out there years ago and knew most of the "milkfarmers" and NO WAY they were making 10.000/head/month.

[andycrosby]

Some years ago and some years ago It is now 2012....So one of three things, I am not telling the truth or your out of date or you need to get your facts stright

Up untill last year I worked for the Thai Ag department, and went on more farm visits in a month than you have done in your life. I am one of the few that does know what I am talking about, plus 10 years working for world wide sires google it.

So now give us the sums to prove you know what your talking about include the curent Gov subs, feed cost , av milk yield, dry time, up to date wholesale milk price....waiting with baited breath.....Mr Soi 41.

[soi41]

Some years ago and some years ago It is now 2012....So one of three things, I am not telling the truth or your out of date or you need to get your facts stright

Up untill last year I worked for the Thai Ag department, and went on more farm visits in a month than you have done in your life. I am one of the few that does know what I am talking about, plus 10 years working for world wide sires google it.

So now give us the sums to prove you know what your talking about include the curent Gov subs, feed cost , av milk yield, dry time, up to date wholesale milk price....waiting with baited breath.....Mr Soi 41.

Had a bad hairday Mr Andy ? First of all my post was clearly directed to the OP, secondly no doubt that you know a lot more about farming than I do. But that doesn't change the fact, that the milkfarmers in Palau 5-6 years ago, even the bigger and more proffessional run farms were making nowhere near 10000 per cow/month, despite having supervision from Thai-Denmark! Would be interesting to know what farmers under the T/D umbrella actually are making TODAY per "unit" netto?

On a sidenote, land in the lopburi area is about 200k/rai, so the total cost would be 20M for a best case scenario return of 1.3M. Buy propertyfunds=less headache and higher return!

[andycrosby]

Some years ago and some years ago It is now 2012....So one of three things, I am not telling the truth or your out of date or you need to get your facts stright

Up untill last year I worked for the Thai Ag department, and went on more farm visits in a month than you have done in your life. I am one of the few that does know what I am talking about, plus 10 years working for world wide sires google it.

So now give us the sums to prove you know what your talking about include the curent Gov subs, feed cost , av milk yield, dry time, up to date wholesale milk price....waiting with baited breath.....Mr Soi 41.

Had a bad hairday Mr Andy ? First of all my post was clearly directed to the OP, secondly no doubt that you know a lot more about farming than I do. But that doesn't change the fact, that the milkfarmers in Palau 5-6 years ago, even the bigger and more proffessional run farms were making nowhere near 10000 per cow/month, despite having supervision from Thai-Denmark! Would be interesting to know what farmers under the T/D umbrella actually are making TODAY per "unit" netto?

On a sidenote, land in the lopburi area is about 200k/rai, so the total cost would be 20M for a best case scenario return of 1.3M. Buy propertyfunds=less headache and higher return!

No bad hair day I dont have any ...I think farming anything is also about lifestyle and is not as clear cut as just money, I do not dairy farm because its a 24-7-365, but I have a few dairy cows to cross with beef cows, I do milk one If i beat the calf to the milk, but teaching 3 days a week and running a car lot uses more of my time than I want as it is.

Times have changed in Dairy farming, thai farmers are making large money as for going under an umbrella tell me anyone who has made any money for lets say rasing chickens or pigs for that matter for any large corps

You do not make money by working for these people, they make money you end up with a large feed bill At the end of the day making very little to nothing and you may even loose money.

So when you tell me these farmers were not making 10k I know they were not, but I also know the reason why

Go solo or keep your money in the bank

[grimleybob]

soi41

You cannot compare any 5-6 year old financial data to the present day. It's a complete waste of time and ink. It bears no relevence to todays market other than an historical snap-shot..

You could buy a brand new pickup for 350k then and the average wage for a hotel worker in a resort was 4k a month.

Bob

[pigeonjake]

cows. dairy or beef are hard work, and need a lot of land, not as if you could barn them as in uk, my mum used to have aberdeen angus, in the barn most of the time, only out in the field now and again when the horses were in,

pigs,chickens, mushrooms or any other thing you want to farm i would say have a go at it, alone as andy says, you dont need the volume of land that you need for cows,

we have 2 rai and make a little bit from the pigs, im going to build her a mushroom shed, we have a few chickens for eggs,

but in my opinion, and im no expert, to much land needed for cows and the set up with land and good cows is to much,

jake

[somo]

soi41

You cannot compare any 5-6 year old financial data to the present day. It's a complete waste of time and ink. It bears no relevence to todays market other than an historical snap-shot..

You could buy a brand new pickup for 350k then and the average wage for a hotel worker in a resort was 4k a month.

Bob

So everything has doubled in price in the last 5 years as have farming costs but has the price of milk doubled? It may have but It seems from figures above a cow would have to produce well over 20litres/day just to gross 10k/month. Take off the cost of feeding it, labour and amortizing capital equipment and land purchase and I can't see much left.

[soi41]

soi41

You cannot compare any 5-6 year old financial data to the present day. It's a complete waste of time and ink. It bears no relevence to todays market other than an historical snap-shot..

You could buy a brand new pickup for 350k then and the average wage for a hotel worker in a resort was 4k a month.

Bob

So everything has doubled in price in the last 5 years as have farming costs but has the price of milk doubled? It may have but It seems from figures above a cow would have to produce well over 20litres/day just to gross 10k/month. Take off the cost of feeding it, labour and amortizing capital equipment and land purchase and I can't see much left.

It seems like our friend Andy's neighbours have some supercows!

Some facts from a "Milk Forum" held June 22 2012, and published in The Nation the following day:

"According to Vorathep Ranchaikul, managing director of Dairy Plus: The cost of Thai dairy products is now higher than that of competitors, while efficiency is also lower. For instance, the productioncapacity of each cow in in Thailand is only 10 kilograms a day, while the average is 15-16 kg a day, some countries produce 25-30 kg per animal." Straigt from the cows mouth!

On AEC, Khun Vorathep continues: "The local dairy industry, which is worth Bt60 billion a year, could be seriously affected because of increased competition, as Thai milk is more expensive" He urged Thai farmers to develop their competivness and production. Otherwise more than 20.000 dairyfarmers could be forced out of the industry.

So maybe not the best time for a novice farmer to buy 100 rai in Lopburi??

As for the dairyfarmers getting rich (according to Andy), it was only a couple of months ago the very same farmers blocked a highway, pouring out their milk as a protest, because they could not make ends meet!

[IsaanAussie]

I find this most interesting. I have been thinking of getting a house cow as a milker myself for helping feeding weaned pigs and grass mowing duties. It appears that milk production has the same variations as pig growth rates. I have seen some great results posted on pigs reaching target weight very early and it seems that it takes a fortunate combination of feed and conditions to do it. I have one boar that just shot up and was over 100kg at 4 months (about the only thing he has done right though) I suppose the same for milk yields.

One thing I do know is the "super" grass that I got for Andy some time ago is a real favourite with the local cows here and I have never seen grass grow that fast. Perhaps simple things are enough without all the science?

[andycrosby]

2lts of milk is 85 baht in the shops these days 25 baht a Litre wholesale

25 baht x 20 litres a day = 500 baht a day 30 days = 15,000 baht a month -5k in con food is 10,000 baht per month per cow in milk

More profit can be made by making your own products Cheese, yogarts , ect

I know there are now many people who now buy direct from dairy farms to make there own products and thus the milk is sold at an even higher cost

Not all cows give 20 litres a day these are av figures it is farming and has other factors incl good stockmen and poor stockmen good and poor pasture, Chiang rai is cooler than issan there for pure cattle do better there in issan a little brahman blood goes a long way but cuts the milk yield down.

We can now go into Gov Subs for reg dairy farms but that is a little hard to work out its works on rai times cattle land per head plus milk yield but works out at about an extra 1,600 to 1,800 per head per month

Equipment costs are not taken in to account nor is labour nor is electric nor is the fuel in the pick up to get your next bottle of chang

Profit is made by being a family run farm. labour = less profit and people who dont care less about your live stock.

[andycrosby]

soi41

You cannot compare any 5-6 year old financial data to the present day. It's a complete waste of time and ink. It bears no relevence to todays market other than an historical snap-shot..

You could buy a brand new pickup for 350k then and the average wage for a hotel worker in a resort was 4k a month.

Bob

So everything has doubled in price in the last 5 years as have farming costs but has the price of milk doubled? It may have but It seems from figures above a cow would have to produce well over 20litres/day just to gross 10k/month. Take off the cost of feeding it, labour and amortizing capital equipment and land purchase and I can't see much left.

It seems like our friend Andy's neighbours have some supercows!

Some facts from a "Milk Forum" held June 22 2012, and published in The Nation the following day:

"According to Vorathep Ranchaikul, managing director of Dairy Plus: The cost of Thai dairy products is now higher than that of competitors, while efficiency is also lower. For instance, the productioncapacity of each cow in in Thailand is only 10 kilograms a day, while the average is 15-16 kg a day, some countries produce 25-30 kg per animal." Straigt from the cows mouth!

On AEC, Khun Vorathep continues: "The local dairy industry, which is worth Bt60 billion a year, could be seriously affected because of increased competition, as Thai milk is more expensive" He urged Thai farmers to develop their competivness and production. Otherwise more than 20.000 dairyfarmers could be forced out of the industry.

So maybe not the best time for a novice farmer to buy 100 rai in Lopburi??

As for the dairyfarmers getting rich (according to Andy), it was only a couple of months ago the very same farmers blocked a highway, pouring out their milk as a protest, because they could not make ends meet!

crack on quote the internet better you talk to people who farm gov subs are now in order for every neg thing you can find on the net there is a pos as well and as that your not a dairy farmer

So tell us the facts, what do you know from your personal dairy farm here in Thailand mr internet how are you finding your farm doing these days .

[soi41]

So Mr hobbyfarmer is the real expert here!! All knowledge based on his 2 animals in the shed on his 1 rai "farm". Ofcourse Khun Vorathep don't know what he is talking about, he should recomend to his members to join Thaivisa, log on to the farming subforum, and become REAL farmers!

Don't worry Andy, I am out. You will stay the alpha on this subforum, factually correct or not, who cares, as long as your groupies are happy!

[pigeonjake]

soi41, please dont be so childish, we are all here to try and help each other, if you want to call us hobby farmers so be it, but we are giving it a go,

i would call myself more of a smallholder, but there you go,

[loong]

soi41

You cannot compare any 5-6 year old financial data to the present day. It's a complete waste of time and ink. It bears no relevence to todays market other than an historical snap-shot..

You could buy a brand new pickup for 350k then and the average wage for a hotel worker in a resort was 4k a month.

Bob

So everything has doubled in price in the last 5 years as have farming costs but has the price of milk doubled? It may have but It seems from figures above a cow would have to produce well over 20litres/day just to gross 10k/month. Take off the cost of feeding it, labour and amortizing capital equipment and land purchase and I can't see much left.

It seems like our friend Andy's neighbours have some supercows!

Some facts from a "Milk Forum" held June 22 2012, and published in The Nation the following day:

"According to Vorathep Ranchaikul, managing director of Dairy Plus: The cost of Thai dairy products is now higher than that of competitors, while efficiency is also lower. For instance, the productioncapacity of each cow in in Thailand is only 10 kilograms a day, while the average is 15-16 kg a day, some countries produce 25-30 kg per animal." Straigt from the cows mouth!

On AEC, Khun Vorathep continues: "The local dairy industry, which is worth Bt60 billion a year, could be seriously affected because of increased competition, as Thai milk is more expensive" He urged Thai farmers to develop their competivness and production. Otherwise more than 20.000 dairyfarmers could be forced out of the industry.

So maybe not the best time for a novice farmer to buy 100 rai in Lopburi??

As for the dairyfarmers getting rich (according to Andy), it was only a couple of months ago the very same farmers blocked a highway, pouring out their milk as a protest, because they could not make ends meet!

Is it only me that considers it strange that average milk yield is reported here in Kgs? Surely, milk being a liquid, it would be in litres?

I would have thought that creamier milk would be more expensive, but the more cream there is in milk, the lighter it is for the same volume. So creamier milk would be cheaper because it would be lighter for the same volume.

[loong]

I have to say that this is one of the most interesting topics on the forum at the mo.

I know of one fellow in this village that keeps dairy cows (there's a very sizeable dairy co-operative nearby). I'm certain that he doesn't clear anything like 10,000 Bt per head. I'm sure that he would appear more affluent if he did

I see him and his wife go out every day with a strimmer and return with cut grass. I guess that this means that he is probably not giving the correct feed to maximise yields. Shame as he is a hard working little fellow and although he invests plenty of effort, maybe he doesn't have the cashflow to buy the more expensive feed.

I would have thought that the co-operative would have the necessary knowledge to help the local farmers operate more efficiently, but maybe not.

So what does a good quality dairy cow cost to buy nowadays?

[andycrosby]

So Mr hobbyfarmer is the real expert here!! All knowledge based on his 2 animals in the shed on his 1 rai "farm". Ofcourse Khun Vorathep don't know what he is talking about, he should recomend to his members to join Thaivisa, log on to the farming subforum, and become REAL farmers!

Don't worry Andy, I am out. You will stay the alpha on this subforum, factually correct or not, who cares, as long as your groupies are happy!

As quoted you are a child grow up again get your facts right before spouting your mouth off

I live on one rai, because I live on a lake. Land is a little expensive here. I farm 127 on the other side of the road bit more than a hobby farm one thinks and its mind over matter because I dont mind because you dont matter.

[somo]

So Mr hobbyfarmer is the real expert here!! All knowledge based on his 2 animals in the shed on his 1 rai "farm". Ofcourse Khun Vorathep don't know what he is talking about, he should recomend to his members to join Thaivisa, log on to the farming subforum, and become REAL farmers!

Don't worry Andy, I am out. You will stay the alpha on this subforum, factually correct or not, who cares, as long as your groupies are happy!

As quoted you are a child grow up again get your facts right before spouting your mouth off

I live on one rai, because I live on a lake. Land is a little expensive here. I farm 127 on the other side of the road bit more than a hobby farm one thinks and its mind over matter because I dont mind because you dont matter.

déjà vu

[andycrosby]

So Mr hobbyfarmer is the real expert here!! All knowledge based on his 2 animals in the shed on his 1 rai "farm". Ofcourse Khun Vorathep don't know what he is talking about, he should recomend to his members to join Thaivisa, log on to the farming subforum, and become REAL farmers!

Don't worry Andy, I am out. You will stay the alpha on this subforum, factually correct or not, who cares, as long as your groupies are happy!

As quoted you are a child grow up again get your facts right before spouting your mouth off

I live on one rai, because I live on a lake. Land is a little expensive here. I farm 127 on the other side of the road bit more than a hobby farm one thinks and its mind over matter because I dont mind because you dont matter.

déjà vu

O hold the phone here comes guest star troll