Sugar Cane Harvesting

[wayned]

The cane harvest has drastically changed this year, mostly due to the perceived crackdown on illegal workers. In the past migrants, entire families, would come from Laos and Cambodia and reside in local migrant camps from November until just before Songkran. This year the camps are basically empty. The lack of migrants has changed the entire cane cutting scenario. In the past, fields would be burnt at night, cut and stacked the next day and hauled to the mill when trucks became available. This year things have drastically changed. Most of the labor is now Thai and they don’t want to cut burnt cane. Why ? Cutting burnt cane is dirty work and the pay is less than that for cutting cane that is not burnt. Workers get paid 1.3 baht for cutting, cleaning, tying and stacking 20 stalks of burnt cane, but get paid 3.5 baht for cutting, cleaning, tying and stacking 10 stalks of cane that has not been burnt. The cane that is not burnt weighs more and we get more at the mill but it takes a lot longer to harvest and with the lack of labor it’s doubtful that the harvest will be completed by mid April and it’s a unknown if the added harvest cost will be offset by the higher selling price at the mill.

[farmerjo]

I think thats why so many weigh stations have opened up now.

Around here its probably on a smaller scale but not uncommon to see farmers cutting their unburnt cane by the iron buffalo trailer load and taking it to the nearest weigh station.

Its after that they burn,water and fertilize.

Most weigh stations are offering 850 baht so i guess they make a little out of transport to factory and the ccs value.

Yes i could never work harvest out,100 rai with average 15/ton/rai. 1500 ton with a quota of 10 ton a day to factory,thats 150 days for harvest and the factory was only open from december to april.

[kickstart]

Here in central lopburi most cane is still burnt ,look at our black house in the mornig,cutting is done by Thai's and outsiders price is about 2 bart /bundle.

But now more cane is being havested by machine ,the machine owner cutts his own cane then cuts cane for the small say 20 rie farmers,this year 350 bart/ton cut and hauled to the mill, they all say the same can not get the labour,it is mib Feb and a lot of cane to cut,and the hot eason is allmost upon us,labour.will not get any better.

This has been another bad year round here,very littal rain ,cane for those who are growing it on light land will not make a lot of money to dry,I think the machine oppraters will allmost make more money cuting /hauling ,for others than growing it them selfs with fule being cheap to,one large grower near here is building a new shead for his equipment,looking at it ,it must cost at least 400k+,and at 350 bart / ton,it was same price as last year.

Intresting, the weigh stations must be an Issan thing,we have none round here.

Re labour, a lot of cassava is still harevsed by Cambodian's and wokers from Issan,they have they own Rot Itans,as you said they have they own camps,I would have thouht harvesting cassava would be a better job than cutting burnt cain.

Near here is a large eletronics factory ,making coputer parts ect,I was doing my 90 day at immagration, when in walked a group of girls all in factory uniform,I thought what the... ,then they produced there passports Cambodain and Burmese,all working at the factory,( and more than likey getting paid a lot lass than Thai's),they where doing they 90 day.

A lot,lot,better job than working in the fields,these are going to be the better educated ones,to work at the factory,but it makes you wonder how many use to cut cane ect.

Piece from the BBC last week, "of the developing countrys in south-east Asia, Thailand now has the highest minium wage,at 10 USD/ 300 bart/day".

Who wants to work in fields ,when you can do a clean job for 300 bart/day, a few of Cambodain's I have spoke to said visas,where not a problem.

[farmerjo]

Ive got 6 stations within 3 kilometres of my place without mitr phol thats seven,

just another way the middle man can step in

I do agree with the burning,my wife's an angry ant if her washing is black,

Edited February 14, 2015 by farmerjo

[kickstart]

I was looking at tv's photos and a tv member put in a photo report about seting up a weigh station ,I thought what is he going to do act as middle man for cassava, then a photo of a JD tractor and grab , then the penney droped, for cane.

Round here we are only 140 kg from BKK and all it entails,work wise,allso in this area it is getting like the Eastern sea board regarding industry we have 2 big chicken factorys and a pork factory, known localy as the "look chin" meat ball factory, and a large feed mill producing feed for all livestock and fish ,owned by Beatagro,and a steel mill that produces rebo bar and steel rods for renforcing concret,all from scap steel, plus other industrys.

Farming it is a big dairy area,and they say they are about 3 millon chickens at any one time on big company farms and independet farms and sugar cane and cassava .

I know of 3 dairy farmers that rear the cows on a few rie and put the rest down the cane,they get a local cane farmers with all the equipmert to do all the work and charges acordingly, plus intrest, plus a lot of another small growers who will do the same thing.

You could say that the area is well off ,i suppose it is,with a lot of family members working in the above industrys. to help the family income.

Why do we not have weigh stations,I would they are lazy with other farm income, and out side income why cut and do the haulage of your own cane, when some one can do it for you, and still make some money, and while someone else in the family is working to pay off the jazz /pickup.

It has been a long time since I have been to Issan,I would say it is still very much farming orientated, with there debt burden,not unlike round here, the more they do them selfs, the more thay can make ,with out other local industrys.to help out

What F J was saying about being 7 weigh stations in 3 km's, that sounds like what my freind calls "gwittiy-ow syndrome"one person opens a noddle stall, then all of a sudden they is 4-5 in the same area,then suply and demand brakes down, and no one makes any money,time wil tell.

My observations.

Yours KS

[loong]

Why are the posts in this thread suddenly 3 times wider than my screen?

Makes them very difficult to read.

Anyone else seeing this?

[RedBullHorn]

Me but it is 5 times wider...

[farmerjo]

I see today price has gone up to 860/baht/ton

[wayned]

The cane here has virtually come to a standstill here. Every year we contract he cutting out to one of the places that actually have migrant camps set up,

but this year they are virtually empty.

They have hired Thai's but the Thai's don't want to cut burnt cane. Less black rain. We have about 50 rai that they started cutting about 10 days ago, not burnt.

They cut about 3 rai one day and then disappeared and haven't returned.

The guy is doing it all over the place to insure that he doesn't loose his contracts to "roving" crews that come and go.

One farmer contracted a "roving" crew with a big cane cutter. They cut about 10 rai in a week because the beast is usually broken down in the field waitng

for parts from somewhere. I'm sure that it all will eventually get cut but doubt that will happen before Songkran as it normally does. The mills opened late

Iand suspect that they will have to close late.

[loong]

I don't know what is happening with the land opposite our house. It has been planted with sugarcane for the last 2 years, burnt and hand cut

6 weeks or so ago.

A guy has been grazing his cows and now all the regrowth has been eaten. I can only think that the tenant has not renewed the rental as I

cannot imagine the cows being allowed on there otherwise.

Makes me think that there is not so much profit in sugarcane now.

By the way, the headman hits cow owners with quite heavy fines if their cattle damages crops, so they wouldn't risk grazing without permission.

Moderators- please get your tech department to investigate why this page is so wide!!!

[wayned]

Cane needs to be replanted about every 5 years. It could be that it's that time and he has not started the replanting until he is paid for his last crop.

..

[wayned]

I see what you mean about wide, the post button is in the next province. I hit enter when the text reaches the right edge of the screen to make it

easier!

[thoongfoned]

around us people are getting into second gear at the mo, loads of burning off at night then cutting the next day, grab tractors picking up most straight into the large lorries and drag units. after new year

people were mainly just cutting (not burning) brother in law made a bit of money off his third year sugar (mainly cos he cuts transports himself and the wife has been letting him use land for free) have even heard

people admitting to loosing money this year.......... loads of weigh stations about, only one is really busy, always many vehicles waiting day and night to be tipped.

have been looking at the possibility of doing sugar for a number of years now, not going down that road...... wife is managing to rent land out at 1000 baht a rai per year now, so this is good.

most of the sugar in are area is very sub standard (udon thani) still some people must be making money, only the ones that look are the crop.

[kickstart]

For a lot of the small growers who sub contract everything out it is decision time,this is the the 3ed/4th year since the start of the cane boom, plough out the old crop and replant ,or for a lot cut they losses ,and go back to maize,or try cassava at 2.30-2.50 baht /kg,some are doing OK.

A lot only made real money on the first ,and second year,past two years very dry,not a lot of money made,even some of the bigger growers will be thinking is it worth it ,especially when a block of 25 rie, with a 4 year,have heard of a 3 year ,lease, for 100,000 baht,paid up front,and then you have not got out of bed in the morning yet. to start thinking about growing the cane.

Our local town is an Ampure town,with a BAAC,walking past it ,it is also one of the busiest places in town, I think a lot of farmers decision will be made inside those hallowed doors.

[thoongfoned]

around us I see a lot of second year cane that is just burnt off then ploughed into the ground coz it is that bad. over the past week I have been watching people try and burn off the cane,

that simply will not burn, again really bad harvest, some of this stuff is not even 2 meters high, hate to think what the average per rai would be.........people who the wife has rented land

out to farm on a massive scale, but to me even there sugar is a long way short of 10 ton rai.

[farmerjo]

You only get out what you are prepared to spend and in most cases on rented land they dont apply enough fertilizer.

Just looking around my area,lots of white dead cane that will not reproduce through lack of moisture.

Cane is the major crop here now with around 25 percent rice,not to many bodies sitting around in the villages anymore,everyone seems to be busy.

Which is a good thing.