Looking for ideas on alternative rice field crops

[DumbFalang]

My son's father in law grows one crop a year of organic Riceberry in Sakon Nakhon and I am wondering what other crops might be suitable for growing between December and April when the rice fields are not in use?

Edited November 13, 2014 by DumbFalang

[cooked]

How much water do you have?

[DumbFalang]

We have a borehole and pump about 20 metres away from the first field, so water should not be a problem. There's also a fair sized pond right next to the fields as well.

[pigeonjake]

maybe they dont want the work,

i told my inlaws i would have a large pond dug in the middle of there land to irigate another rice crop,,

never got back to me,,

it might not be the same, but youll find a lot dont want the work, they are happy the way they are, living from day to day, never thinking of trying to save a little money for the future,,

[DumbFalang]

It may very well be like that, but I think it's more likely that they are unable to fund anything. Anyway, my son and his wife are going to slowly take things over, so it's more for them really. As luck would have it, we just popped into B2S in Central Chon Buri and there was a selection of 80 farming magazines. OK, 20 of them were on how to grow limes, but the rest covered everything from farming bugs and frogs to hydroponics. There was one on what to grow in rice fields in the off-season, so we'll see what ideas the wife can get out of it.

[slapout]

I do not think your winter time temp. is low enough for garlic, potato, or onion but I am just comparing to Fang area where this is 3 common winter crop when rice land is idle, they are abou 6 or 7 degree cooler and can get close to the freeze mark but its not often.

Peanuts or beans may work, chilis, bell peppers, corn , just some thoughts.

[farmerjo]

Slow down mate.

Get a rice crop in first.

I know your excited but rome(thailand) wasnt built in a day.

Question your going to grow rice,how do you know what the moisture is when you harvest?

[kickstart]

Here in central Lopburi Sunflowers are a popular crop,they are a dry season crop, farmers grow them and some have open days ,people come and vist to look at the sunflowers,it is a big photo opportunity , call it Agritourism

But you could have a problem finding the seeds for planting,and a market to sell the crop where you are.

Or Mung Beans,a few farmers round here have grown them as a dry season crop on heavier land .

I said to the misses about Sesame seed ,she said that does need some water,not a lot ,now the price is about 60 Baht/Kg ,a good price ,would pay for the cost of watering

But again is there a market for the crop, where you are.

You will have to do some homework,before you decide.

[mike123ca]

After the rice has been harvested, my wife's family starts to grow chilies. The paddyland is dry, but they do have access to groundwater.

[DumbFalang]

Slow down mate.

Get a rice crop in first.

I know your excited but rome(thailand) wasnt built in a day.

Question your going to grow rice,how do you know what the moisture is when you harvest?

I will not be getting involved in the rice crops - the sons FIL takes care of all that. Its just that when we are up there between November and March and see all the idle fields, it seems like we could do something with them rather than clearing out the forest.

[DumbFalang]

Here in central Lopburi Sunflowers are a popular crop,they are a dry season crop, farmers grow them and some have open days ,people come and vist to look at the sunflowers,it is a big photo opportunity , call it Agritourism

There you go. That's exactly what the wife wants to do. She's also talking about setting up an English Garden too, but the weather in Sakon Nakhon might have something to say about that.

[Thai at Heart]

My son's father in law grows one crop a year of organic Riceberry in Sakon Nakhon and I am wondering what other crops might be suitable for growing between December and April when the rice fields are not in use?

Possibly oriental tobacco

[farmerjo]

Slow down mate.

Get a rice crop in first.

I know your excited but rome(thailand) wasnt built in a day.

Question your going to grow rice,how do you know what the moisture is when you harvest?

I will not be getting involved in the rice crops - the sons FIL takes care of all that. Its just that when we are up there between November and March and see all the idle fields, it seems like we could do something with them rather than clearing out the forest.

There's a reason they are being left idle,a good farmer would put in a legume crop for a nitrogen fix or green manure it however these crops are prone to water logging with the crust left from the rice planting so of value for the next crop but not as a cash crop.

The simple solution would be to have the rice harvested with a harvester then direct seed in another short season variety of rice utilising the sub soil moisture as long as your water pumping costs dont outway your profit margin at the end of the growing period.

Food for thought.

[BSJ]

The wife is retiring 20 rai of paddy for a few year....or longer and she has the same problem. What do you plant? I suggested mung beans, but corn is the usual favourite around here for the rotation....but it's not a good policy to grow corn all the time or 2 crops a year.

[kickstart]

The wife is retiring 20 rai of paddy for a few year....or longer and she has the same problem. What do you plant? I suggested mung beans, but corn is the usual favourite around here for the rotation....but it's not a good policy to grow corn all the time or 2 crops a year.

The thing about Mung Beans, is that they are a legume,and will put something back in the soil and are fairly drought resistant ,and they are a combinable crop ,if you can not find the pickers.

Mung beans can be direct drilled,very little soil disturbance,no cost of ploughing,

Maize is often grown around here for 2 crops a year,but a lot of farmers will often lose a crop ,rains coming late ,or finishing early leaving the crop in limbo,as feed for the local cattle, on light land it is a problem.

A few years ago a local farmer put in a crop of Thai pumkins, umm, fuk tong in Thai, as a dry season crop, did well out of it ,but he had some water,from the local stream.

[farmerjo]

The wife is retiring 20 rai of paddy for a few year....or longer and she has the same problem. What do you plant? I suggested mung beans, but corn is the usual favourite around here for the rotation....but it's not a good policy to grow corn all the time or 2 crops a year.

You can only rape the soil for so long before yeilds drop unless you put the fertiliser back.

Thats why the op's fil would be reluctant to use his fields for a second crop.

I put a minimum of 50 kg a rai of fertilser for whatever is grown,it might be excessive but i've never lost on a crop.

In the old days you would fallow and rest land and if you can its a bonus but when you only have a little bit and need to utilise it every year,

Lime ,gypsum and fertiliser play there part.

Ploughing land is an evil as it takes away your topsoil which your trying to build with nutrients.

Rotation cropping is mainly to control weed growth with different herbicides.

So i say grow what you want but fertilise and water well.

[craighj]

Another question for all of you.

I am not a farmer by any stretch of the imagination. However we have some rice farms just outside of Mukdahan, wet season there is plenty of water and like many places in Issan dry season there is little to no water. What could I do with some of the rice paddies other than planting rice. That is rather than plant rice what else could I grow as alternative?

Craig

[kickstart]

Another question for all of you.

I am not a farmer by any stretch of the imagination. However we have some rice farms just outside of Mukdahan, wet season there is plenty of water and like many places in Issan dry season there is little to no water. What could I do with some of the rice paddies other than planting rice. That is rather than plant rice what else could I grow as alternative?

Craig

I agree with you for an alternative to rice,here in Lopburi ,about 25-30 years ago,it was rice,maize and cotton,it was the cotton that ,made people change their minds,all that spray for insecticides about buggered the land,the then government extension officers said cows ,which a lot did ,and still are ,some say the jury is still out on having cows in a hot country with very little cow welfare, and management,but it does pay compared to crops,and people are willing to change,or more to the point ,the banks where/ are willing to lend the money for that change.

Where you are it is a bit different,a lot more set in they ways,as has been said on TV many a time,(they are some dairy co-op's in isan),also a rice paddy is designed to keep water in ,to grow other crops you need to get rid of the water when the rains come,that might not be easy as said than done,it will need a bit more than a 3 and 7 disc plough.some of my land has not seen rice for 15 years,and some of it still sits water after a lot of rain.

If you can get over the above, could try soya bean,or the more traditional way maize then (,as has been said ,) mung bean.

Or, could try grass seed production, ( contact TV's Michael Hare for more information ).or cassava

TV's Farmerjo is doing Ok growing maize on a direct drill system,so alternatives can be done.

Good luck

KS

[farmerjo]

Another question for all of you.

I am not a farmer by any stretch of the imagination. However we have some rice farms just outside of Mukdahan, wet season there is plenty of water and like many places in Issan dry season there is little to no water. What could I do with some of the rice paddies other than planting rice. That is rather than plant rice what else could I grow as alternative?

Craig

I agree with you for an alternative to rice,here in Lopburi ,about 25-30 years ago,it was rice,maize and cotton,it was the cotton that ,made people change their minds,all that spray for insecticides about buggered the land,the then government extension officers said cows ,which a lot did ,and still are ,some say the jury is still out on having cows in a hot country with very little cow welfare, and management,but it does pay compared to crops,and people are willing to change,or more to the point ,the banks where/ are willing to lend the money for that change.

Where you are it is a bit different,a lot more set in they ways,as has been said on TV many a time,(they are some dairy co-op's in isan),also a rice paddy is designed to keep water in ,to grow other crops you need to get rid of the water when the rains come,that might not be easy as said than done,it will need a bit more than a 3 and 7 disc plough.some of my land has not seen rice for 15 years,and some of it still sits water after a lot of rain.

If you can get over the above, could try soya bean,or the more traditional way maize then (,as has been said ,) mung bean.

Or, could try grass seed production, ( contact TV's Michael Hare for more information ).or cassava

TV's Farmerjo is doing Ok growing maize on a direct drill system,so alternatives can be done.

Good luck

KS

I would love a few cows again KS to fit in the system.

But unfortunatly i had 35 when i first moved here and they nearly broke the missus mentally so no more.

Funny,back then no fences so we had to shepard them,first day she helped till lunchtime then never came back.

Have fences now but still told no.

[farmerjo]

Another question for all of you.

I am not a farmer by any stretch of the imagination. However we have some rice farms just outside of Mukdahan, wet season there is plenty of water and like many places in Issan dry season there is little to no water. What could I do with some of the rice paddies other than planting rice. That is rather than plant rice what else could I grow as alternative?

Craig

I agree with you for an alternative to rice,here in Lopburi ,about 25-30 years ago,it was rice,maize and cotton,it was the cotton that ,made people change their minds,all that spray for insecticides about buggered the land,the then government extension officers said cows ,which a lot did ,and still are ,some say the jury is still out on having cows in a hot country with very little cow welfare, and management,but it does pay compared to crops,and people are willing to change,or more to the point ,the banks where/ are willing to lend the money for that change.

Where you are it is a bit different,a lot more set in they ways,as has been said on TV many a time,(they are some dairy co-op's in isan),also a rice paddy is designed to keep water in ,to grow other crops you need to get rid of the water when the rains come,that might not be easy as said than done,it will need a bit more than a 3 and 7 disc plough.some of my land has not seen rice for 15 years,and some of it still sits water after a lot of rain.

If you can get over the above, could try soya bean,or the more traditional way maize then (,as has been said ,) mung bean.

Or, could try grass seed production, ( contact TV's Michael Hare for more information ).or cassava

TV's Farmerjo is doing Ok growing maize on a direct drill system,so alternatives can be done.

Good luck

KS

Double post

Edited November 19, 2014 by farmerjo

[craighj]

Thanks.

We have just completed the rice harvest and looking at the cost of planting and then harvesting, it seems to me that we would be better off buying rice from Tesco or Big C rather than growing it ourselves. Even if we sell some of it, it makes little sense commercially. However this is obvioulsy not my wife's opinion!

Anyway, with retirement (from my job in Bangkok) around the corner and full time living in Issan also around the corner I'm trying to determine if some of the rice land we have could be put to a better more sensible use.

Craig

[slapout]

Diversify so you have at least 2 or 3 crops that generate cash for your farm life. Many of the farmers in the US raise wheat and run a cow/calf beef cattle operation. Seldomn do both go tits up price wise at the same time. They even let the cattle graze the growing wheat for 3 to 4 months to cut down on purchasing hay for the winter when grass has frozen back. This has worked for several decades but this is confined to strigent guidelines and farms that have grass pasture for the summer months in included acreage, I have seen this done with small grain crops thru several states.

Here some farmers run/raise ducks to supplement their rice crop as well as leting the ducks feed in the growing rice for pests that way cutting his expense for pesticides.Most farmers who have been farming for their life time use some form of this idea just due to the years of drought, flood, grasshopper infestation, etc, They have learned from the old farmers school ""hard knocks"

[farmerjo]

Yes diversify if you can.

We also have pappaya,bananas,chilli's,charcoal and fish that the fil plotters around with to make a few extra baht.

Not for me,i like machinery,.

Interesting what is said about rice prices.

I've just told my mob no more growing sticky rice,we will buy that.

And grow the more expensive varieties as the costs are the same to produce.

[Michael Hare]

Try growing sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) for seed. Plant immediately after rice and harvest for seed in January-February.

I will buy all the seed you produce but it must be clean.

[craighj]

What about the different types of rice, again I'm no farmer but is there a market for the more unique types, brown, black etc. Can they be grown easily in standard Issan paddies?

Craig

[farmerjo]

What about the different types of rice, again I'm no farmer but is there a market for the more unique types, brown, black etc. Can they be grown easily in standard Issan paddies?

Craig

Maybe someoneone will come to the four here.

All i know about rice is sticky rice is fetching us 9 baht a kilo this year.

I;m sure hom mali 105(jasmine) would go close to double that..

[OLDMANHARRY]

I TO ARE LOOKING FOR CROP OPTIONS KHON KAEN AREA ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A NEASH MARKET I HAVE PLENTY OF WATER.

DOSE ANY BODY KNOW WERE I CAN BUY STEEL STAR PICKETS FOR FENCING IN STOCK 2.0 MTR'S LONG NEED 500 PLUS I CURRENTLY HAVE WOOD POST'S RATHER OLD AND THE STOCK ARE BULLDOZING THEM OVER.

THE OTHER ITEM IM CHASING IS A REFRIGERATED COOL ROOM 3.0 X 4.O APPROX TO HANG BY BEEF AND PIGS IN FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE THEY GET CAVED UP.

CHEER'S