Thailand to develop improved cattle breeding

[webfact]

Thailand to develop improved cattle breeding
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, June 9 -- The National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) is pushing research strategies for better cattle breeding, as their number in the country has dwindled by almost 2 million since 2011.

Academicians, researchers, and relevant agencies from both the public and private sectors were present to voice their opinions and thoughts on the drafting of research strategies to improve the breeding of cattle in the country, to boost the numbers of livestock, as well as income.

The strategy should help stimulate and set boundaries for further research funding, as well as annual and targeted research, within the three key areas of production, management and marketing standards.

NRCT deputy secretary-general Kritawat Noppanakeepong said the Research Council internal network has planned to request a budget of more than Bt100 million during the 2015 fiscal year from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to use it to develop domestic livestock breeding, particularly cattle.

Beef cattle have reeled in an income of no less than Bt65 billion a year and creates jobs for over 1 million families.

The NRCT executive noted, however, that Thailand currently faces a declining population of cattle, the overall herd size decreasing by about 2 million since 2011, which also prompted lower export values, due to the limited experience of cattle breeders, a lack of cattle fodder and breeding areas, a lack of breeding development, increasing disease in cows, as well as non-continuous policies to promote cattle breeding. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-06-09

[chotthee]

Stupid cows need to bend over more often.

[DrTuner]

They might think of getting breeds that produce meat not resembling rubber boots first.

[1plumber]

seems the ol' "you reap what you sow" hasn't caught on here. It helps to feed cattle to realise a return on investment

[marcusd]

With all the waste from rice fields instead of burning why not rotate and move cows around? In Australia we have DROVERS and cattle are lead on long walks for feed and we have good meat. There is nO REASON this could not occur in many parts of thailand. We also have BRAHMAN cows which are in our tropical areas which temperatures are just like here.

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

[antimedia]

Thought they were talking about the Miss Universe Thailand entrants when I first read the headlines.

[Tokay]

Hub of cattle breeding?

[DrTuner]

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

I asked around at my MIL's place in Isaan after the villagers had sold the last of their rubber buffaloes. The answer was, nobody knows how to take care of cattle meant for meat production or dairy. The expertise they have has been handed down in the families, very few have any education in farming.

[BillyBobThai]

They need to get a few like this bad boy.

[ChrisY1]

Bring in some real bulls........bloody old skin and bone Brahman cross bush beasts just don't cut it and more......500kg beast...350kg bones and skin!

[seajae]

maybe if the actually fed the cattle they wouldnt be so sick and skinny producing absolutely crap meat. To top it off they want 100 million baht to teach them how to have sex, thai men have enough problems with this themselves and have to jump from one female to the next because they dont know what they are doing but they want to teach cows, what a joke. Good cattle and meat requires good feed and enough to fatten them up, if they are well fed they will be healthier and able to produce more calves. Instead of making excuses they really need to get some proper cattle people in from overseas where they know what they are doing unlike here, waiting for them to start up herds of sheep next

Edited June 9, 2014 by seajae

[aarn]

This is a somewhat unexpected report, as I thought Thailand had quite an advanced cattle-breeding industry, to say nothing of the cowboy culture. Maybe cheap beef imports have put everything on the backburner???

I am a retired aussie farm animal vet. I saw a lot of charolais (?) blood infusion among local stock (Prachuap to Chumphon) during the last 15 years. Some of the beasts are monsters! Also tucked away down here are quite a few dairy cattle, obviously at least 50% holstein-freisian. No idea what their daily milk production would be, but they look sleek.

For sure mum/dad farmers probably only pushing on with those skinny white things (which survive in the dry season), but there are fawking monster cows down here. AA

[kuiburi]

They need to get a few like this bad boy.

Thats what i though't , problem is most kalves have get birth by caesarean , not many vets around in Thailand

The bull is probably partly belge bleu blanc

[kuiburi]

This is a somewhat unexpected report, as I thought Thailand had quite an advanced cattle-breeding industry, to say nothing of the cowboy culture. Maybe cheap beef imports have put everything on the backburner???

I am a retired aussie farm animal vet. I saw a lot of charolais (?) blood infusion among local stock (Prachuap to Chumphon) during the last 15 years. Some of the beasts are monsters! Also tucked away down here are quite a few dairy cattle, obviously at least 50% holstein-freisian. No idea what their daily milk production would be, but they look sleek.

For sure mum/dad farmers probably only pushing on with those skinny white things (which survive in the dry season), but there are fawking monster cows down here. AA

Lot of nice cows and bulls here in Prachuap , diary and for meat . Feeling bloody well at home here with the frisian cows as a dutchy .

[Robby nz]

Now if they were to put some research into breeding honest politicians.

Na, that would cost a lot more than 100 million and probably take at least 10 generations.

[northernjohn]

Why not just hire an expert in cattle breeding and raising. They want to spend 100 million baht to learn what the cattle industry out side of Thailand already knows.

Just goes too show how stupid Thai Academicians, researchers can be.

Always trying to reinvent the wheel.

[KhunBENQ]

In our family they sold a herd of about 25 animals simply to make way for (even) more sugar cane production.

Beef prices reaching ever new highs.

300 Baht per kilo on the market.

Impossible to buy frequently for avarage Somchai.

[NeverSure]

Thais don't have the facilities to finish a beef after it is killed. They'd need refrigerated hanging rooms.

The beef has to hang in a cold room, just a couple of degrees above freezing for at least a few days until rigor mortis passes or the meat will be very tough. If not refrigerated of course the meat would spoil. Hanging for another couple of weeks will allow the natural enzymes to break down connective tissue and further tenderize the meat. In places that produce the best beef the carcass may hang for 21 days before being cut up, packaged and perhaps frozen.

Any warmer than a degree or two above freezing and the meat will spoil. Any colder and it will freeze and the process will stop.

I don't buy beef in a restaurant in Thailand, and I don't buy it in a store unless it's clear it was grown in Australia. To be sure I get good beef it needs to come from Canada or America or Australia or Argentina. Thai beef is crap.

[givenall]

Stupid cows need to bend over more often.

Actually, It turns out more cows are turning gay

[Gonsalviz]

With all the waste from rice fields instead of burning why not rotate and move cows around? In Australia we have DROVERS and cattle are lead on long walks for feed and we have good meat. There is nO REASON this could not occur in many parts of thailand. We also have BRAHMAN cows which are in our tropical areas which temperatures are just like here.

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

The waste from rice fiels is just that, waste. The straw is used as cover for veggie farmers and some animal husbandries as bedding. That is all it is good for. No nutritional value.

[NeverSure]

Beef needs to eat grain for the last 90 days for fattening and flavor and tenderizing. It also needs to be penned up so it doesn't get exercise that would toughen muscles (the beef) or burn off weight.

Grass fed cattle is OK for those who like the leanest meat, but the flavor and part of the tenderness is in the fat marbling. It can still be pretty good if hung in a cold room for 2 or 3 weeks - something I've never heard of Thais doing.

You actually need a lot of fairly non productive land to raise cattle. There are more profitable things to do with really good farmland. We looked at cattle as a way to harvest grass that was growing in rocky or steep places and in canyons. That was "free" feed until they were one year old. Then they either got sold to a feedlot for finishing, or we finished them ourselves in a corral for our own table.

[northernjohn]

With all the waste from rice fields instead of burning why not rotate and move cows around? In Australia we have DROVERS and cattle are lead on long walks for feed and we have good meat. There is nO REASON this could not occur in many parts of thailand. We also have BRAHMAN cows which are in our tropical areas which temperatures are just like here.

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

The waste from rice fiels is just that, waste. The straw is used as cover for veggie farmers and some animal husbandries as bedding. That is all it is good for. No nutritional value.

I had been told that when they were using the buffalos for rice farming they would eat it. I know they are similar but could there not be a difference in their digestive systems?

Would it not be usable in a compost pile? Don't know much about that. Have heard you have to put water on it every so often.

[GiantFan]

Don Battles was heavily involved in breeding better cattle in Thailand. Brahmangus ( sp?). Weather too hot for Pure angus here.

[NeverSure]

With all the waste from rice fields instead of burning why not rotate and move cows around? In Australia we have DROVERS and cattle are lead on long walks for feed and we have good meat. There is nO REASON this could not occur in many parts of thailand. We also have BRAHMAN cows which are in our tropical areas which temperatures are just like here.

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

The waste from rice fiels is just that, waste. The straw is used as cover for veggie farmers and some animal husbandries as bedding. That is all it is good for. No nutritional value.

I had been told that when they were using the buffalos for rice farming they would eat it. I know they are similar but could there not be a difference in their digestive systems?

Would it not be usable in a compost pile? Don't know much about that. Have heard you have to put water on it every so often.

It's historically natural for a farmer to allow working animals to eat part of the crop. If not, you'd be fighting the animal instead of motivating it to go to work. There is even a Biblical statement saying to not withhold from oxen, so the idea is old.

There is virtually no food value in the stalks and stubble of grains, even though they are grasses.

You not only have to keep the stalks moist to compost them, but you'd need to add nitrogen and bacteria. The bacteria need the nitrogen and moisture for their life cycle and there's virtually none in the stubble. You can get nitrogen and bacteria from fresh manure if the animal was confined and also "P"'d into the manure.

SE Asian water buffalo are ruminants as are cattle. The buffalo actually have a more powerful digestive system than cattle in the sense of stronger bacteria and enzymes. That doesn't help if there's no nutrition in the feed, though.

[englishoak]

Why not just hire an expert in cattle breeding and raising. They want to spend 100 million baht to learn what the cattle industry out side of Thailand already knows.

Just goes too show how stupid Thai Academicians, researchers can be.

Always trying to reinvent the wheel.

This, so simple and just like a lot of other topics lately.... bring in the foreign experts, listen and implement a similar model and end up with a successful result, you dumb stubborn < deleted>

Edited June 10, 2014 by englishoak

[muratremix]

Perhaps govt. support Chockchai more and let them take over all Cattle business!

They seemed to be doing allright, but why not more? Give them more land as gift and subsidies so we can eat beef at 300 baht/kilo.

[shawn11]

A number of Thai universities have both Angus and Brahman sperm freely available to the public. Allowing the development of the Brangus cross bred which is highly suitable to Thai conditions. The average Thai is not interested in putting in the effort to do anything different.And they probably wouldn't get paid any extra for better quality table meat until the consumers buying the end product know the difference.

[Saan]

With all the waste from rice fields instead of burning why not rotate and move cows around? In Australia we have DROVERS and cattle are lead on long walks for feed and we have good meat. There is nO REASON this could not occur in many parts of thailand. We also have BRAHMAN cows which are in our tropical areas which temperatures are just like here.

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

What do you think those things pictured with the hump on their back are. They are bos indicus of which the Brahman is just a variety. If you look at Brahman cattle in Australia that have been on poor feed they don't look any different.

As for droving large herds of cattle in Thailand, good luck, there are no long paddocks here.

[kerrysum]

With all the waste from rice fields instead of burning why not rotate and move cows around? In Australia we have DROVERS and cattle are lead on long walks for feed and we have good meat. There is nO REASON this could not occur in many parts of thailand. We also have BRAHMAN cows which are in our tropical areas which temperatures are just like here.

I am not expert and do not profess to be but just seems if we colonials can do it why Not Thailand with the greener pastures and no droughts like we have at home?

Yes you are correct,

That is how they used to do it, farmers let farmers cattle graze, but then the cattle started eating everything on the neighbors farm... Then neighbors got in fights thus came burning the field.... Put it this way the cattle raisers would release the cattle on your farm, yet never watch them. and as far as cattle go? Never seen this breed too fat in the first place...... Water buffalo were just as bad. Just a thought.....Guess it depends on what part of Thailand, one is accustomed to...... kilosierra

[luckytrev]

Do we really need more cows anyway. Its hot enough in Thailand already.