Beef Cattle

[Korat Correct]

I know beef is not widely eaten by Thai's but the country imports a vast amount.

The beef industry here is in a mess. Cattle,mostly Brahman type are kept as a status symbol and for manure. Heifer calves are prized and bulls are sold at 6 months for the local market at 150kg,not hung and tastes pretty bland.

Khon Kaen University have an experimental cattle farm. Does anyone know about it please?

Growing grass here is not popular except around rice fields on the banks.but intensive grass is grown for dairy cows. The flat Issan counrtyside is not suited due to the rainfall and flooding of fields but undulating or sloping land could produce good crops if irrigation is available.

Beef Bull semen to improve conformation and growth needs importing unless someone knows of a beef farm?

Any info on the subject would be welcome or will the response just be a load of bull?

[RamdomChances]

I know beef is not widely eaten by Thai's but the country imports a vast amount.

The beef industry here is in a mess. Cattle,mostly Brahman type are kept as a status symbol and for manure. Heifer calves are prized and bulls are sold at 6 months for the local market at 150kg,not hung and tastes pretty bland.

Khon Kaen University have an experimental cattle farm. Does anyone know about it please?

Growing grass here is not popular except around rice fields on the banks.but intensive grass is grown for dairy cows. The flat Issan counrtyside is not suited due to the rainfall and flooding of fields but undulating or sloping land could produce good crops if irrigation is available.

Beef Bull semen to improve conformation and growth needs importing unless someone knows of a beef farm?

Any info on the subject would be welcome or will the response just be a load of bull?

There are quite a few large beef farms in Thailand and there has been a lot of work done in crossing Brahman with Charolais. There's loads of post here about beef cattle here, I sugest you do a search.

A six month calf sold on the market would usually be sold to an other farm for "fattening up" until its about 14-16 months old. The scrawny looking Brahman"s you see on the sides of the roads are from farms basicaly raising calfs to sell, to the "feed lot" type farms who then fatten them up for selling. I dont know anyone who keeps them for status although some of the long eared , brown Brahman's go for stupid money.

Growing forage is getting increasingly popular (there's loads of stuff on the net about it if you search) although it's still mainly dairy farms that need it. There's loads of impoorted semen in Thailand already your local vet should have some, its a couple of thousand bhat a shot.

RC

[JungleBiker]

Khon Kaen University have an experimental cattle farm. Does anyone know about it please?

Growing grass here is not popular except around rice fields on the banks.but intensive grass is grown for dairy cows. The flat Issan counrtyside is not suited due to the rainfall and flooding of fields but undulating or sloping land could produce good crops if irrigation is available.

It is good, but not necessary to have irrigation to grow forages. There are a range of forage varieties (mainly grasses and legumes) that will survive the dry season. They may not stay green but they will live ready to grow again in the wet season when they will produce many tons of forage per hectare. You would need to conserve some of the production (e.g. as hay, silage) to have feed in the dry season. I and others have posted URLs for forage information in this Isaan forum, as RC suggested do some searches iin the forum (see search tool below) for forage beef etc.

Don't know about the experimental cattle farm, though I have probably cycled past it lots of times (I sometimes ride my bike around the University campus). But in many (all?) provinces there is a Department of Livestock Development (DLD) where they have lots of information and sell seeds for forages, have AI services, etc. I suggest you ask at the "Kaset Changwat" (Provincial Agriculture office) where to find the DLD.

Junglebiker.

[lampard10]

You should have been at the Surin Livestock & Cattle Breeding Open Show, last week. There were some magnificant specimens there. Reminded me of some of the County Shows I used to go to back home in my youth. Now don't take this as a nasty dig, but it does seem strange, seeing a post like this, just after a major show, not a million miles away from you. Reminds me of the " Can't get this in Thailand" posts. When will a lot of you people learn, Thailand is a normal country, with normal everyday happenings that you see back home, with normal imports that you can get back home. Reading some of the past posts, not knowing it I would think that I am stuck in the middle of the Amazon jungle, with one tiny shop that sells nothing but cocoa beans, which are bought on a weekly basis by the band of local headhunters, and are used as currancy to buy and sell each others daughters. I'm afraid Thailand is far from being a third world country.

Another thing. I buy loads of 'hung beef' for my steaks, it's relatively easy to get hold of, but don't look for it in the local market. Weston Foods, Belucky, Yorkies all do good steaks and beef, and ship to anywhere in Thailand.

[jts-khorat]

Now don't take this as a nasty dig, but it does seem strange, seeing a post like this, just after a major show, not a million miles away from you. Reminds me of the " Can't get this in Thailand" posts. When will a lot of you people learn, Thailand is a normal country, with normal everyday happenings that you see back home, with normal imports that you can get back home.

I guess the main problem here is the language barrier for many -- it again shows that YOU MUST MEARN THAI, best in reading and writing, if you want to have a meaningful life out here.

Asking your wife if she "knows something" is mostly a wasted effort, since they either do not know or do not care.

As with so many things here in Thailand, if you want to know something or have something done, rule of thumb is you will have to do it yourself if it should work...

[ray23]

The Thai French beef co-op in the Skunakkorn ( spelling?) seem to be doing well,I like the flavor of the beef. I don't know if the feedlots are really making any money, but they are trying

[JungleBiker]

You should have been at the Surin Livestock & Cattle Breeding Open Show, last week. There were some magnificant specimens there. Reminded me of some of the County Shows I used to go to back home in my youth. Now don't take this as a nasty dig, but it does seem strange, seeing a post like this, just after a major show, not a million miles away from you. Reminds me of the " Can't get this in Thailand" posts. When will a lot of you people learn, Thailand is a normal country, with normal everyday happenings that you see back home, with normal imports that you can get back home. Reading some of the past posts, not knowing it I would think that I am stuck in the middle of the Amazon jungle, with one tiny shop that sells nothing but cocoa beans, which are bought on a weekly basis by the band of local headhunters, and are used as currancy to buy and sell each others daughters. I'm afraid Thailand is far from being a third world country.

Another thing. I buy loads of 'hung beef' for my steaks, it's relatively easy to get hold of, but don't look for it in the local market. Weston Foods, Belucky, Yorkies all do good steaks and beef, and ship to anywhere in Thailand.

Hi Lampard,

I get your point, but I think you are being a little unfair/extreme with Korat. His basic point is that Thai agriculture (and beef production in particular) leaves a lot to be desired. Around my home in Khon Kaen the villagers are raising the scrawny Brahmin cattle that RC says are used to to raise calves for fattening, but that's no excuse for feeding them roadside junk. Imagine what results they would get if they started feeding them some decent forage.

Actually you are almost arguing against yourself when you say don't look for "hung beef" in the local market. I am sure most of use who live in Isaan get our food from the local market and don't order it from Bangkok, so in that sense it is a bit like living in the Amazon jungle!

Junglebiker.

[lampard10]

]

Hi Lampard,

I get your point, but I think you are being a little unfair/extreme with Korat.

[/color]No it was meant for everybody.I made it plain that it wasn't a dig as well, more an observation

Actually you are almost arguing against yourself when you say don't look for "hung beef" in the local market. I am sure most of use who live in Isaan get our food from the local market and don't order it from Bangkok, so in that sense it is a bit like living in the Amazon jungle!

Junglebiker.

Again, market beef can be very edible, it's just that I wouldn't serve it to my customers. My lot get the best Charolet and Argentine Beef.