Dairy Farms in LOS?

[briando]

I have just arrived in Thailand and my thai wife and I are staying at the Wishing Tree Resort about 16 kms from Khon Kaen and not 300m from here is a big diary.My wife told me that her cousin used to work there.She said the locals bring the milk in drums of some kind and sometimes in trucks.The "cow" in the photo is definitely a steer.

[masuk]

I am so embarrassed - yes, it's a guy alright. I milked cows, but never this kind!!

Much as I like fresh milk, I only drank my own untreated milk, which had been tested in a laboratory. We shared this milk with neighbours all around us for some years, and in return had good supplies of apples, cherries, lamb, in the summer months.

[belg]

if those cold country cows cannot thrive in this tropical season, why not cross breed them with some water buffalo ?

possible ?

the last one being always sick + a cold cow

cow krung ?

[masuk]

Quite correct belg.

In Australia the traditional cattle, (shorthorn I believe), were cross bred with Brahman, and this gave them resistance to ticks and also strong for the tropics.

This is the main export from the Australian tropics.

[kickstart]

Quite correct belg.

In Australia the traditional cattle, (shorthorn I believe), were cross bred with Brahman, and this gave them resistance to ticks and also strong for the tropics.

This is the main export from the Australian tropic

True it use to be the shrothorn imported from the UK, and ticks where a problem,now in Oz in the Top End where ticks are problem, they cross the black and whites with a Sahiwal bull, gives you good tick restance,the breed known as the AFS Australian Frisian Sahiwal, I meet an Oz dairy guy he said, AFSKB,KB being kicking Bar....s as the Sahiwal breed is known as being a bit stroppy.

20 years ago Thailand imported some AFS's from NZ, again tick restance all so there butter fat is high,crossed them with local semen, and imported seamen, thay did OK, some of there grandaughters are still around still doing OK a lot better than some of the black and whites.I have seen some Thia AFS's reach 15 years old

I have done some foot triming job's on a few AFSKB's and can they can kick.

The bull in the photo, not a steer, Thai's do not castrate bulls, will be about2- 3 years old, the owner will put him out to grass in the morning,bring him home at night ,he will not get a lot of feed ,he will end up on market stall some time if the owner is shot of a bob or two.

We think it is bordering on cruel,but it is the Thai way same as the local beef cattle out grazing the road sides,never any meat on them,

There never has been a lot of money in Thai beef ,so there is is not a lot of investment,not counting the Thai/French in Yasorthon? and a simular outfit in Supanburi

Yours Regs

KS

[masuk]

Seems cattle breeding is not a big thing here in Thailand. Same in Indonesia, where they import most of their beef from Oz, but there have been problems due to the cruel way they were being slaughtered.

The Oz Govt banned exports overnight, and of course, the Indos said they didn't want Oz beef anyway.

Tempers have cooled and the Indos have their act together a bit more, and exports have started up again, much to the cattle breeders relief no doubt.

On the local scene, it seems strange to me that the Thais use pure Frisians and not cross breeds.

[Windhorse]

Having worked for Australian/Thai dairies (Mali) and also having run another dairy plant in Malaysia, I would answer the questions raised as follows.

1. There are plenty of dairy farms in Thailand.

2. The farmers Co-operative mainly collect the "fresh milk" from the farms and either pasteurise it for the schools and for sale under their brand names and/or send it to the Major Milk packers.

3. The quality of the milk is not bad but contains higher levels of bacteria and other contaminants than would be tolerated in UK where you are not allowed to buy fresh milk from the farmers.

4. All milk is usually "Standardised" so that "Whole Milk" of "Full Cream Milk" is not whole milk or full cream as received from a particular herd of cows. Jerseys can give 5% cream for instance. The milk is skimmed to 3% so that full cream milk is a standard 3% solids from fat.

5. UHT milk is mostly made from imported milk powder and again is standardised at 3% or less for semi skimmed and skimmed milk. If we manufacture UHT from Thai farmers milk, there is sometimes a problem with the fat content being only 2 - 2.5%, in that case milk powder with a high fat content has to be blended to raise the fat content to 3% for full fat milk.

I would not advise anyone to drink milk directly from the farm. If you must drink it, heat it to at least 72 Deg. C for 16 seconds to kill the pathogens, and then place it in a refrigerator at 4 Deg C.

would contaminants be antibiotic and or chlorine...that would explain some of my failed cheese

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Having worked for Australian/Thai dairies (Mali) and also having run another dairy plant in Malaysia, I would answer the questions raised as follows.

1. There are plenty of dairy farms in Thailand.

2. The farmers Co-operative mainly collect the "fresh milk" from the farms and either pasteurise it for the schools and for sale under their brand names and/or send it to the Major Milk packers.

3. The quality of the milk is not bad but contains higher levels of bacteria and other contaminants than would be tolerated in UK where you are not allowed to buy fresh milk from the farmers.

4. All milk is usually "Standardised" so that "Whole Milk" of "Full Cream Milk" is not whole milk or full cream as received from a particular herd of cows. Jerseys can give 5% cream for instance. The milk is skimmed to 3% so that full cream milk is a standard 3% solids from fat.

5. UHT milk is mostly made from imported milk powder and again is standardised at 3% or less for semi skimmed and skimmed milk. If we manufacture UHT from Thai farmers milk, there is sometimes a problem with the fat content being only 2 - 2.5%, in that case milk powder with a high fat content has to be blended to raise the fat content to 3% for full fat milk.

I would not advise anyone to drink milk directly from the farm. If you must drink it, heat it to at least 72 Deg. C for 16 seconds to kill the pathogens, and then place it in a refrigerator at 4 Deg C.

would contaminants be antibiotic and or chlorine...that would explain some of my failed cheese

More like infections of TB and mastitus.

[kickstart]

Windhorse

At last the Thai dairy industry is getting its act together,farmers found with antibiotics in there milk wil be now fined up to 60 days production of milk which is enough to put any one out of business,so they are now getting very carefull about sending milk from cows that have been injected.

As for TB, the DLD is suppose to blood test for TB ,most offices do not. one near here dose, as far as I know they have not had a case for some years .

Why your cheese dose not work out,I am no expert,but the contaminants would be bacteria manly from mastitis, that would give high TBC, total bacteria count and high somatic cell count, mastitis and dirty conditions, as Estrada said low butter fat ,due to the por diet, allso low milk protein ,again diret and mastitis.

All this would not help in making cheese.

Yours Regards

KS

[Windhorse]

KS

good to know that there strict with the antibiotics at least that.

I always thought that there was a problem with low protein as the yogurt i make is very liquid. .

Last week i tried 5l of milk from makro,it said 100% fresh milk and the yogurt came out perfect.

The milk is not one of the big brands but must be a smaller dairy from the look of the packaging

So their must fixed it up with protein powders .Or their might be in an area where the pasture is ok.

Quiet frustrating getting "better" milk from makro then from the local dairy.

But enyway most cheese turns out ok even if the yield is low and there is not much flavor,still better then those plastic blocks in supermarket

[masuk]

KS

good to know that there strict with the antibiotics at least that.

I always thought that there was a problem with low protein as the yogurt i make is very liquid. .

Last week i tried 5l of milk from makro,it said 100% fresh milk and the yogurt came out perfect.

The milk is not one of the big brands but must be a smaller dairy from the look of the packaging

So their must fixed it up with protein powders .Or their might be in an area where the pasture is ok.

Quiet frustrating getting "better" milk from makro then from the local dairy.

But enyway most cheese turns out ok even if the yield is low and there is not much flavor,still better then those plastic blocks in supermarket

If a cow has mastitis, it is normally given a dose of antibiotic in the affected quarter. This goes directly into the teat, and the stuff I used once was coloured blue. no way could that milk be slipped in with other milk! However, non-coloured treatment (this is Thailand) could result in antibiotics in the milk, which would no doubt mess up cheese and yoghurt cultures.

When I bought a set of yoghurt cultures in Australia, the instructions told me to add powdered milk to thicken up the Greek yoghurt. I searched for weeks before finding a tin of powdered milk, and it's a low-fat type, not full cream.

[Windhorse]

Masuk

using powder milk,with is a terribly DE-naturalised product is not a option for me,then i might as well buy the stuff.

I drain some of the way using a muslin cloth .

Greek yoghurt was originally made with sheeps milk,and that is rich so the thick yoghurt

[masuk]

agreed: but the only choice I have is to use UHT milk (less than 3% fat) and add powdered milk to try to bring the butter fat up. However, the supermarkets here only seem to sell skim powdered milk.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

KS

good to know that there strict with the antibiotics at least that.

I always thought that there was a problem with low protein as the yogurt i make is very liquid. .

Last week i tried 5l of milk from makro,it said 100% fresh milk and the yogurt came out perfect.

The milk is not one of the big brands but must be a smaller dairy from the look of the packaging

So their must fixed it up with protein powders .Or their might be in an area where the pasture is ok.

Quiet frustrating getting "better" milk from makro then from the local dairy.

But enyway most cheese turns out ok even if the yield is low and there is not much flavor,still better then those plastic blocks in supermarket

Runny/thick yoghurt usually depends on starting culture and existing bacteria in the milk.

Use a good starter, natural yoghurt from DelCheeSo, behind SCB bank just after the big Tesco on road to Hang Dong is a perfect live starter. (go into the 'Hideaway Cafe' opposite DelCheeSo Dairy to buy the starter yogurt)

Bacteria in raw milk (this seems like your problem), use pasteurised milk.

Foremost pasteurised full fat milk (75bht/2l) + DelCheeSo yoghurt (40bht/tub) for starter gives perfect results overnight.

Edited July 10, 2013 by AnotherOneAmerican

[JeffreyWitty]

In case nobody mentioned it before - there is a HUGE one up on the way to Korat - Farm Chokchai. It's great.