opening the Farm

[alvinlight]

hi guys,

Thinking to build a farm in Petchburi like a education farm for opening public

- I have 50 heads of sheep

- Ducks

- Horse

anyone have any ideas what should i put ? or you guys interested in my project ?

the land located in Petchburi , 6 Rai

will update the photo soon

[David48]

Alvin, before I even comment, I want to see a Business Plan.

I want to see cash flow projections, existing and competitive nearby Farms, Tourist profile analysis.

Location of your Farm to the nearest major road.

That's my starting point.

Other may say ... build it and they will come ...

.

[alvinlight]

We have invest over few million baht on this project, excluding the land value.

Located 100kms from Bangkok, competitor will be Swiss sheep farm ( another 60 KMS）

The farm is just right on the main road, every one will pass my farm before go to Hua Hin.

In the farm, i want to have something the kids can learn something from, not just take photo and go back home.

any ideas guyss?

[Jotham79]

Hi Alvin,

There are others doing this as I have seen them on Thai television shows and utube. The member "Latis" of the pink buffalo thread is doing something along those lines : http://www.latis.co/Latis/Welcome.html or you can PM him. 6 rai is not very much land so you will have to be careful. I will PM you with some ideas in a few days."

[cdmtdm]

Aquaponics farming if you want to really educate them in sustainable food production ..... pm me

[pigeonjake]

im not trying to put a dampner on it,

but what about insurance here ? what if your horse kicked a child,? what if a child fell of a swing,?

i dont think its a case of lets get loads of animals and open a strocking farm, petting farm,

i dont think you have thought about this very much, else you wouldnt be on here asking for advice, just my thoughts others might say as david says build it, itll be great,

again if it was that easy many would be doing it and the thais would of done it,

you feed costs in my opinion would far exceed your entrence costs,

jake

[kickstart]

Have you ever been to Chok-chie farm near Pachon,Korat.? Thay have been doing the farm open day thing for some years,and have won awards from the TOT,I went once looked at cows been milked ,a cowboy on a horse, lassoing calves, and prerforming toy dogs ,not forgting the monkey show, not my cup of tea, but the Thai's liked it. Just asked the wife,remember Chok Chie?, she said yes,free ice cream, tractor and trailer to ferry you abuot,no walking,lots of things to look at ,as above,needless to say the thing she did remember was the 200 bart each, to get in ,we thought OTT.

I worked on a arable/dairy farm in the UK and we adopted a school, they use to come and look at the cows being milked,a few calves,and a short tour of the arable side of the farm, ie "there is a crop of wheat ,and wheat makes bread" ect.it worked out well.

In london they are city farms ,might be a somthing on u-tube,for idears.The wife did say why pay to see some sheep when you can see them on the tv ,or out in a field,Thai thinking,something I think, you will have to think about a lot.

Thai thinking, farming is for the poorer people,who can not do any thing else,so why go and see what poor people do ,people have said to me why are in farming,go make some money teaching english.

The area I live in is known for its sunflows,every year farms have open days, to look at the sunflowers especially new year,they sell kites, plastic sunflowers, umbrella's, displays ect, this being LOS food/drinks,compleat with concrete elephants ,and concrete sunflowers, all a photograph opportunity ,this only lasts a few weeks while the sun flowers are in flower.seems to do Ok, see pick-ups /cars ect, from BKK ,Chonburi only charges 10 bart to get in,hopes to make money selling his trinklets ect ,should say they then all go on, and look at the Pasak Dam ,one of HM Kings projects,only another 12 Km up the road. Our PJ has raised some good points,must aggee

I wish you well, but,a bid but.....

Yours Regs

KS

[Fapington]

You won't find many words of encouragement here Alvinlight.

Mostly pessimists who have tried and failed, sometimes repeatedly, and those who simply aren't willing to assume any risk what so ever, and will never try.

It sounds as though you are already heavily invested into the project, so go forth and do good things. As cdmtdm mentioned, aquaponics can be a fascinating aspect of agriculture, and the interest is growing at a rapid rate here in Thailand. If nothing else, it would certainly compliment the livestock you have.

[David48]

^^ Mate, I take umbrage with what you write above.

First off, your aquaponics thread is excellent and I follow and like the contributions.

But what you write above I simply can't agree with.

I can't speak for the other members here but my background is that I worked for the Government for 5 years as a small business adviser.

Five years of trying to assist start-up businesses.

What I wrote in my first reply quote stands ... the OP needs a Business Plan.

WHY?

Because, for him, it's going to be a business.

If it's just going to be a Hobby Farm ... great, go have some fun, enjoy the lifestyle.

But the OP plans to make money from the venture.

Plus, as for dissing what the guys have said above ...

I recommended a business plan ... I did that professionally for 5 years. When I stay in Thailand I live on an income producing (Fish) Farm ... I've seen what it takes to make a profit in Thailand, from a Thai perspective.

Jotham79 has a decade plus experience in Farming and business in Thailand. He offered up a compartive Farm and then offered his time, for free them a PM.

pigeonjake offers a heartfelt comment and he also has a small and profitable small farm holding.

cdmtdm offers a suggestive comment and also offers his time free of charge through a PM

kickstart has a great post full of usefull information.

I reckon that there has been a great contribution from the Farming farterinty in contrary to the thrust of your post.

So Fapington, on this occasion, we will have to disagree.

[Fapington]

Can't and won't argue your valid points and credentials of each of the mentioned contributing members.

I'll only say that I sometimes find the negativity exuded in this forum exhausting. It's never positive energy, but a list of reasons why it shouldn't, can't, and won't work for every single proposed idea. Financials are important, as is due diligence. The aspects of execution, creativity, and quality which are necessary to set ones self apart from the competition never see the light of discussion.

My comment was not intended to make a personal jib at you, or anyone else.

[David48]

^^ Respect ...

I hope we can have a beer one day ... my shout ...

.

[Fapington]

My belly would indicate I love beer, a lot.

Name a time and a place brother.

^^ Respect ...

I hope we can have a beer one day ... my shout ...

.

[pigeonjake]

i only say coments to try and help, im not an expert in any field apart from bloooody welding,

i would help anybody,

jake

[cdmtdm]

anything is possible with good planning .....

[ezzra]

Alvin, by all means go ahead and give it a go... but... have a plan B just incase.....

[alvinlight]

Thanks for advice !

at the moment, i am finding architect and builder, expecting complete at of this year.

anyone would like to come and take a look?

i have many ideas but just need someone like you guys to give me pros and cons.

[pigeonjake]

could have a few ponds around the place with koi carp, theres a place in pattaya if still there that the kois used to be fed by baby bottle,

frogs dont take a lot of room,

pigs dont for that matter, then you can make your own sausages and burgers, make your pork a better profit,

pony rides allways go well in the uk, so i could see that doing ok here,

budgies cheep,,(sorry not expencive) parrots,

there are many things you could do,

i do like koi carp havnt got round to biulding a koi pond yet, had 2 in the uk

jake

[ozzydom]

I gave up as soon as I read that Alvin was going to run 50 head of sheep plus a menagerie on less than a hectare.

[alvinlight]

The farm is completed

We would like to invite your guys come have a look

[itsmylife]

Ostrich will be a selling point

And some hedgehogs

[cooked]

Ostrich will be a selling point

az_ostriches.jpg

And some hedgehogs

imagesh.jpg

Well, if we knew where you are (GPS coordinates) a visit might happen.

[jvs]

Yes i would also like to have a look and i tried to find the place every time i pass there but can not find the place.

I live almost next door to the Pony Valley here near Cha-am and it is(was) a wonderful place,ten different breeds of cows,different ducks,geese,ponies,turkeys,alpacas,camels,

rabbits,guinea pigs,goats,sheep,buffalo,flamingos and a few more i am sure.Also some ideas for growing veggies,solar energy and hydroponics.

When it opened last year there were a lot of people for a few weeks or so.Now the place is always empty and i think no more then 10 visitors a day.

And guess what?it is free to enter for all!!!

A few hundred meters down the road there is the Swiss sheep farm,always busy and really nothing to see there! I think if it was not for facebook the place would not exist but a lot of buses and private cars(mostly from Bangkok)are going there and in the weekends it is packed!

You have to pay to go in but to see what?Oh yes i get it,make selfies and post them on facebook.

Alvin i hope you can get things going but i think it will be tough ,i still want to come see the place if you can let us all now where it is exactly .

What kind of animals do you have?Anything for sale?Anything you are looking for?