Contract ploughing, tilling, seed drilling and fertiliser application price

[JungleBiker]

Can any of you kindly share current prices for hiring contractors (with tractors and equipment) to carry out field operations like ploughing, tilling, seed drilling and fertiliser application? Plus some indications of how many hours per rai to do these jobs?

Many thanks.

JB.

[gerry123]

my first reaction /question what /which crops?? it will vary greatly

[JungleBiker]

my first reaction /question what /which crops?? it will vary greatly

I didn't think it would vary too much and I doubt many members have experience of the specific crops I am interested in (e.g. Mulato II grass); but if I could get prices for tractor work on crops such as corn, sunflowers and soybeans perhaps the numbers wouldn't be too far off. I'm not talking about the costs of the inputs like seeds and fertilisers but just the costs of having the contracted tractor run up and down the field with various implements behind.

[pigeonjake]

at a guess i would say not more then 1000baht a rai,

jake,

it was 500 when i had a tractor in but that was a few years ago

Edited May 19, 2014 by pigeonjake

[gerry123]

my first reaction /question what /which crops?? it will vary greatly

I didn't think it would vary too much and I doubt many members have experience of the specific crops I am interested in (e.g. Mulato II grass); but if I could get prices for tractor work on crops such as corn, sunflowers and soybeans perhaps the numbers wouldn't be too far off. I'm not talking about the costs of the inputs like seeds and fertilisers but just the costs of having the contracted tractor run up and down the field with various implements behind.

seed drilling and fertiliser application / I'm not talking about the costs of the inputs like seeds and fertilisers

​about 700/900 per rai

[khwaibah]

Kap Choeng. 200 baht per rai for each application the op mentioned.

[Jotham79]

For discing I would expect around 700 baht per rai. You may need to disc a couple of times or even more to get things right. Planting (broadcasting) will probably be done by hand so you can either contract per rai or per day. We do have an attachment that goes on a kwia lek that broadcasts rice so there are machines available. I imagine the price per rai will be about 700 baht too as it is pretty easy work but could be cheaper. One person at 300 baht per day can do a lot of rai so it will definitely cheaper by hand.

Just curious, is this for cows?

[Canada]

I'd say about 300 per rai for each pass of the tractor with whatever attachment you've got on it. That seems to be the minimum in our area and pretty much the standard. Out of the normal range is 3 disc first pass. That'll cost you about 700. Planting cane runs 1000.

Discing is priced per pass. You want a guy to run over the field a couple or a few passes....you pay "per pass". If it's just some areas (rather than the whole field) that need more than one pass, you could make a deal with guy to do that.

[JungleBiker]

Thanks Jake, Gerry, KB, Jotham and Canada for the info. And in the cassava thread Somo recently mentioned 300 baht/pass.

That's a fair range of prices - 200 - 700/rai. (and 1,000 for cane planting - that's also handy to know because I am considering planting napier using canes). I guess there is some variation depending on factors such as kind of soil (e.g. sandy versus clayey) and the area to be worked (e.g. larger area is probably cheaper per rai), time of the year (sometimes everybody needs a tractor at the same time), distance from the contractors base to the customer, and so on.

I agree that an initial deep ploughing with 3 discs should be more expensive than the other operations. I think the fertilizer spreading could be the cheapest operation - I think those spreaders (that broadcast the granules) can cover quite a few metres of width so not so many runs up and down the field would be needed. For sowing the Mulato II grass seed, you're right Jotham that it could be broadcast (by hand or machine) rather than drilled in rows, though it would still need a light harrowing to cover the seed slightly - that could be done by dragging a sheet of chain link fencing if not a proper harrow, or it could be done by hand dragging some tree branches over the soil. For the kenaf, I believe drilling is recommended and this also would allow for some mechanical weeding between the rows during the early stages.

To answer Jotham's question - yes it would be for feeding cows but the cows would be at a different location and belong to somebody else.

Thanks again for the numbers; very helpful.

JB.

[Canada]

Fetilizer application in our area for cane is usually by hand. 50 baht per bag. I have and use a sub-soil applicator which if contracting out goes at 300 per rai

Cheers

[kickstart]

Fetilizer application in our area for cane is usually by hand. 50 baht per bag. I have and use a sub-soil applicator which if contracting out goes at 300 per rai

Cheers

Some of these prices seem expencive ,or am I out of touch,round here a 3 disc is about 450 bart /rie 7 disc 300 Bart/rie ,drilling about 150 Bart /rie .

For grass seed you will need a fine seed bed ,I have a dutch harrow, home made, that works well,after a 7 disc plough, your way would work, some years ago we used the tree branches after a 7 dics plough to cover the grass seed, before I got the tractor.

,We sowed some grass seed last year by hand ,then used the harrow"s to harrow it in , but we did it after some rain, then for almost 2 weeks no rain ,pigeons had a field day,eating the seed that did not get harrowed in well,allso I think some seeds germinated ,no rain and died,I would look at drilling,I would think you would get a better germination rate,but Thai drills are 30 inch rows spacings for maize, ( and if any one has plates with small holes for grass seed),not about 8 inch you need for grass seed ,unless you can find a soybean drill , with closer row spacings.

One farmer near me drilled, then went down the middle again to give a narrower spacings,or drill one way ,then cross the field ,that would help ,use to do that in the UK ,would help with weed control. how you would work out a price per rai for this way ,I do not know.

We grow some Napier grass last year , we did not plough the land ,I used my cultivator ,on my small tractor first off ,1 tine up and down then across,after some rain used 3 tines,then the duch harrow,then after some more rain planted the grass,8-12 weeks after, we make about 3 ton of silage from about1 and a bit rie,(we did put a lot of cow muck on for 6 weeks before ,bot no fert),put fert on after the 1st cut.,by hand.

Yours Regs.

KS

[Canada]

Your 3 disc price, the thais wouldn't get out of bed for in our area. Uses a lot of fuel for a good job. Not to mention wear on tires and clutch if they are running an old 2wd 6600. Even my 4 wd new 6610 is expensive to do nice 3 disc work. I wouldn't touch it at that price. Guys are charging 300 for one pass of the 7 disc.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Canada

[kickstart]

Last year we had 4 rai ploughed, Ford 8210 4 discs,500 bart / Rai,a lot of people said " pang mark",expencive,and he made a crap job,this year still think 450 bart /Rie.

Amazing the country wide variation in prices.

[Canada]

Last year we had 4 rai ploughed, Ford 8210 4 discs,500 bart / Rai,a lot of people said " pang mark",expencive,and he made a crap job,this year still think 450 bart /Rie.

Amazing the country wide variation in prices.

Wow. Can't imagine anyone doing that. Were the people surprised that he did a bad job? First pass uses a lot of fuel if you do a nice job. People are funny.....they want it now, good, and cheap....you can't have all three.

[patongphil]

Kap Choeng. 200 baht per rai for each application the op mentioned.

Same here in Sarakham.

[kickstart]

Last year we had 4 rai ploughed, Ford 8210 4 discs,500 bart / Rai,a lot of people said " pang mark",expencive,and he made a crap job,this year still think 450 bart /Rie.

Amazing the country wide variation in prices.

Wow. Can't imagine anyone doing that. Were the people surprised that he did a bad job? First pass uses a lot of fuel if you do a nice job. People are funny.....they want it now, good, and cheap....you can't have all three.

Wrong, if I payed the guy 1000 bart /rie ,still would have made a crap job,I said do not plough to deep ,will be sowing grass seed,so he droped in as deep a it would go,

The start and finish in the middle of the field,they was a gully ,you could have layed down and no one would have seen you, same as the headlands,big gully's.

All this I had to work it all down to a fine seed bed for grass seed, not cassava or cain, time and money again.

I use to do some ploughing so I like to think what a good job is.

Last week my neighbour had 3 rie done a 25 hp Koboulter pulling 3 ,look like 12 inch discs on hard land that gets waterloged and he make a good job ,would not take a lot of working down to a seed bed for anything 400 Bart/ Rie.

OK not a big 80 hp Ford ,only 3 rie ,the Ford would have done it for 450 Bart /Rie.

It is all right saying 500 bart +/Rie , but if the crop is only maize,that is going to cut margin's to the allready near the bone, even more, do you not think you will do your self out of a job?.

Last year bad year for cain, round here ,no rain, this year a lot more maize grown, ( if we get any rain), will probaly mean a lower price.

Yours Regs

KS

[Canada]

He obviously misunderstood you. Thai tractor drivers do not like to plough deep on their 2 wd 6600's . And if you pay him for one pass, which you did at 500 baht, that's what you get is "gullies" or ditches where he started or left off. The only way to fix those (as you know) is to over them again in the opposite direction, which you did not pay for at 500 baht. If you had paid 1000 baht the field would have looked nice and if you had communicated properly, he would not have gone too deep.

I get tired of hearing people take the piss out of thai farmers. They do well considering what they have to work with. The thai farmer/owners are hard working people.

Sorry mate. Not trying to be argumentative, BUT.....I've seen a lot of thai tractor drivers out there doing a pretty good job considering....but there ain't any one of them that are going to do two passes when you pay for one. One pass of a 3 disc at 500 is a good price considering he understood that you wanted it deep.

I usually here only complaining about them on this forum, nobody ever really sits back and considers the other perspective from the Thais' view.