Which animals to farm ?

[noopin2014]

Hi there,

My wife has around 10 rai in Issan. What do you think is the more profitable to farm ? Cow, pork, chicken, ducks ?

Thanks in advance to share your experience and your advices

[cooked]

I have found that beef farming is our solution after having chickens and ducks. Takes about three years to start making a little money and you have to think about fodder.

[noopin2014]

Really, how many cow do you have ? Only for the meat trade ? You buy the fodder or you get it from your fields ?

Edited May 12, 2016 by noopin2014

[kickstart]

10 Rie in English money is about 4 acres , in the uk they say 1 cow per acre ,for grazing and conservation ,that is enough grass for the grazing season ,and making enough forage to last the winter , or here in Thailand the dry season .

Here in Thailand I would say the same ,growing the right type of grass not easy ,as grassland management in Thailand is not easy ,we rear a few beef cattle ,and last year our grazing season was no more than 2 months , no rain .this year is looking no better. with no water to irrigate ,and if we did have water for irrigation what would it do to the profit margin.Irragation might work for you , but for us it would hardly pay for itself.

You could put a few rie down to grass for graizing and grow say Naipper grass and make make that in to silage for feeding in the dry season , that is what we do .

With good graizing You could rear 4 beef cows and they calves ,you would probably have to feed them some suppermentry feed most of the time.it helps to keep them going , and will help with the fertility of the cows , a big problem in Thailand with all cows dairy and beef .

If you buy cattle breed is important especially in Thailand , the most popular breed is the Ino Brazil ,the thin long eared things you see ,not a lot of use for anything ,look for cattle with shorter ears ,and short legs ,they are an easy breed to rear ,you can sell the calves at about 1 year old , at the present time ,say a non Ind Brazil cow ,with say a Brahman , or an Angus or Charolais cross bull calf ,you could sell for about 35 000 Baht either for beef , or for some one else to finish ,one of our Angus cross bulls a local cattle dealer said he was going to use him as a stock bull. A heifer keep a bit longer ,get it in calf and sell her ,that is what we are going to do soon with one of our heifers.

If you go for cattle you will need a shed to keep them in , and grazing cattle will need fencing in, cash flow is not good ,lot of investment ,before you get any return

As cooked said it will take 2-3 years ,if you buy your cows/ heifers in calf ,a bit less than 2 year ,but a more expensive out lay , if you buy your breeding heifers ,get them in calf yourself ,then at least 3 years , but initial out lay will be less .

Or, or , a Thai friend of mine has started up a free range egg business ,runs it along his small herd of dairy cows ,not seem him for a while ,but seems to be doing ok , could be worth a look at .

To rear cattle to make any money you must grow as much of your feed as you can ,they is no money to be made doing what a lot of Thai's do buying in everything .

[Speedo1968]

There are many things you need to look at but whatever you farm you will need water !

I have been in farming since 1960, originally UK then in many different countries, including 15 + years in Thailand.

Please note I worked freelance here as elsewhere, had my own land in South America a long time ago. Retired last year.

The Thai climate does seem to be changing, Isaan could become more arid in the future.

Just some ideas - what do your neighbours grow, this may give you and idea of land suitability; if livestock what and where do they sell; if you had improved farm conditions over your neighbours could you produce something that others did not have available t certain times; if your neighbours have livestock what is the disease situation like ( especially with poultry and ducks ); are you willing / able to wait on a return on investment; do you intend to have a quick return with other with things growing in the background for later; the question has to be asked - family relationship in relation to the property / land ??????

From my own experience I would go for a mixed farm so that if something fails, for any reason, there is something left to sell - or eat !

I think it really depends on what I have written as my first sentence.

Good luck in whatever you do - enjoy !

[Mr Kie]

my parent got 5 Rai which is only half of your land, located in Yasothon province with long dry season. in the past we grew only rice and able to convert it into money around 20000-30000 Baht/year coz we able to grow only once a year, the rest just leave it doing nothing.

....Now i'm changing the way my parent did in the past and in stead of having only rice we're growing more than 50 different types of crops and vegetable and few species of livestock including cattle, layer, broiler and duck. we also have some of fish cultured here. from what i heard if we go for a mixed farm we will be able to make up to 100 thousand Baht per Rai and you will have a great food everyday throughout the year like at 5 star hotel.

or if you really want to raise single type of livestock i would suggest to raise pigs or chicken better than cattle coz you have too small piece of land for growing roughage and even worst if you are out of irrigation the dry season is too long here in Esaan.

another thing market price of pig and cattle are up and down pretty much unlike chicken. all in all it's up to what you like most. good luck!

Edited May 26, 2016 by Mr Kie

[slapout]

Kie, the 20 to 30,000 baht off 1 rice crop on 5 rai would indicate about 1 ton/rai harvest. good production, depending on type of

of rice, what was kept for home consumption, its more than many rice paddy land make for the farmer.

The 100,000 income/rai by going mixed farm sounds like someone is pulling your leg /joking. What does you father say about this figure? Do not forget the pheasant, crab, etc to eat like a 5 star. Its good to have goals, but its better if those goals are obtainable.

have a good day

[Mr Kie]

Kie, the 20 to 30,000 baht off 1 rice crop on 5 rai would indicate about 1 ton/rai harvest. good production, depending on type of

of rice, what was kept for home consumption, its more than many rice paddy land make for the farmer.

The 100,000 income/rai by going mixed farm sounds like someone is pulling your leg /joking. What does you father say about this figure? Do not forget the pheasant, crab, etc to eat like a 5 star. Its good to have goals, but its better if those goals are obtainable.

have a good day

Well that was the actual income from rice farm in the past, we go for organic, so price is still guaranteed at 15000 Baht/tone, production was not so good from the beginning but later it's getting better. we keep part of it for home consumption which is more than enough. out of rice growing season my father worked on something else for additional income. i would say total income is round 60-80 thousand baht/year, pretty low but able to feed all 3 people in the family coz we have lower expenses.

changing the way my parent did in the past is also challenging but possible for me and exiting to see things are growing and we don't need to buy too much from outside. eating like a 5 star mean we have fresh and healthy food everyday, Of course not having everything like 5 star but we can have better food everyday compare to those middle class living in the city. that was my opinion coz i used to leave in the city and i spent around 200-300 Baht for food a day, which is pretty high (for me) and don't know how it being grown and how it's cooked and so on....... another thing Don't for get i'm Thais and with the salary i got is not high enough to effort a nice meal everyday in the city like Bangkok.

i'm working on a mixed farm right now, already been running for about 3 months, already harvested some of it and many more will be soon ready to harvest. just started raising young layers. i spent around 20 thousand to set up the irrigation system and buy some animals. i'm going to grow lemonade coz price is never go down. instead of selling the egg at 2-3 Baht each, i will rather sell the fertilized egg or the day old chick for a better price around 10 - 30 Baht each...etc.

So i think 100 thousand per rai is not the difficult goal. Anyways thanks for comments and sharing your idea, i also love to see and hear from other members as i'm also starting things similar, probably?

[Speedo1968]

Hello Mr Kie

"Well that was the actual income from rice farm in the past, we go for organic, so price is still guaranteed at 15000 Baht/tone, production was not ...."

What exactly is "organic" for field crops and livestock production in Thailand ?

How will you know the eggs are fertilized, do you candle the eggs ?

What did you mean "growing lemonade" - did you mean you would grow lemons or limes ?

If layers are to be a considerable part of your future income have you assessed the local disease status of the area you farm in ?

You mentioned you have made investment in irrigation but say that you are reducing the area of rice you grew due to insufficient water.

Do you have enough water all of the year for all the different crops you have / intend to grow and livestock you have / intend to raise ?

5 rai is relatively small you will have to manage it very well. Both pigs and ducks can damage the land rapidly.

If you grow paddy rice, is it near your livestock ? Do you have the white egrets ( birds ) coming to your rice paddy ?

Lets hope the weather brings rain and the "right type" of rain.

Good luck.

[cooked]

Really, how many cow do you have ? Only for the meat trade ? You buy the fodder or you get it from your fields ?

Sorry, you didn't quote me so I didn't come back to this posting.

The son in law had to sell one cow plus calf after rebuilding his house. We then had one beast strangle itself so we were down to four cows. That's when I decided to take a hand in what was basically subsistence cattle husbandry.

I bought a yearling for further breeding, plus a fine looking animal that has just now had a calf, bringing us up to seven again. I reckon we have enough room to shelter a further 4 animals before we start extending and I don't intend selling any this year at least. We have water enough, two Rai of a rubbishy grass that I will be replacing with Napier grass soon, and the rough grazing out in the rice fields (one crop a year) plus molasses and occasional corn leftovers as a supplement seems to be doing them good.

I don't intend to go beyond the point where we have to buy in fodder to any extent.

Outlay for me up to now: ฿52 000.- for bought in cattle, ฿1000.- for molasses, and of course the son in law does all the work. I reckon to sell a yearling or two end of next year for ฿10 - 12 000 or maybe wait for Song Kran when the price is better. No profit to be reckoned with before 2018 anyway.

We sell to the butchers of course, all the women here cry a little and I go off for the day until they have gone.

[Gary A]

Maybe I'm just lazy. No way would I consider trying to make a living farming. My wife has a few chickens, maybe 40 or so and farms 60 rai. If we had to live off her income, we would be in poverty. As far as animals, I would never be tied to a low income job 24/7. Animals need to be looked after every day and sometime nights also. An animal disease could put you out of business quickly. Not worth taking a chance for me. I like my freedom too much.

My wife considers her farm land as her future security. i won't be around forever. Making mortgage payments takes nearly everything she makes. When her land is paid for she will be able to get along fine without me. That is her plan. She also works part time for the electric company to make ends meet. She also has MANY fruit trees and is continually planting more. She doesn't make any money from those trees either. Farming in Thailand is not the way to get rich.

[noopin2014]

Really, how many cow do you have ? Only for the meat trade ? You buy the fodder or you get it from your fields ?

Sorry, you didn't quote me so I didn't come back to this posting.

The son in law had to sell one cow plus calf after rebuilding his house. We then had one beast strangle itself so we were down to four cows. That's when I decided to take a hand in what was basically subsistence cattle husbandry.

I bought a yearling for further breeding, plus a fine looking animal that has just now had a calf, bringing us up to seven again. I reckon we have enough room to shelter a further 4 animals before we start extending and I don't intend selling any this year at least. We have water enough, two Rai of a rubbishy grass that I will be replacing with Napier grass soon, and the rough grazing out in the rice fields (one crop a year) plus molasses and occasional corn leftovers as a supplement seems to be doing them good.

I don't intend to go beyond the point where we have to buy in fodder to any extent.

Outlay for me up to now: ฿52 000.- for bought in cattle, ฿1000.- for molasses, and of course the son in law does all the work. I reckon to sell a yearling or two end of next year for ฿10 - 12 000 or maybe wait for Song Kran when the price is better. No profit to be reckoned with before 2018 anyway.

We sell to the butchers of course, all the women here cry a little and I go off for the day until they have gone.

that's interesting, thanks mate

[Mr Kie]

Hello Mr Kie

"Well that was the actual income from rice farm in the past, we go for organic, so price is still guaranteed at 15000 Baht/tone, production was not ...."

What exactly is "organic" for field crops and livestock production in Thailand ?

How will you know the eggs are fertilized, do you candle the eggs ?

What did you mean "growing lemonade" - did you mean you would grow lemons or limes ?

If layers are to be a considerable part of your future income have you assessed the local disease status of the area you farm in ?

You mentioned you have made investment in irrigation but say that you are reducing the area of rice you grew due to insufficient water.

Do you have enough water all of the year for all the different crops you have / intend to grow and livestock you have / intend to raise ?

5 rai is relatively small you will have to manage it very well. Both pigs and ducks can damage the land rapidly.

If you grow paddy rice, is it near your livestock ? Do you have the white egrets ( birds ) coming to your rice paddy ?

Lets hope the weather brings rain and the "right type" of rain.

Good luck.

Organic means not using any synthetic fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, none GMO, no antibiotic are applied for promoting the grow of the animal. there will be government officer checking your farm every year. To start you need to register to be an organic farm and then after 3 years you will be certified.

Right candle the egg is the most easiest way, i haven't done this yet mean sell the fertile egg.

just did a mistake, actually i mean growing the lime.

well i haven't seen even one commercial layer farm in that province so i think it not gonna be a problem. to prevent the outbreak the birds are all vaccinated already

right! we don't have enough water to grow rice but that is just one reason. there is a liver passing the village closed to the farm, but due to the summer time the local governor doesn't allow you to use that water for growing rice coz it gonna affect other neighbors. But for other crops and raising animal are not a problem. in the picture this was in Feb 14 and used to be a rice field.

right if you manage well, 5 rai is already enough. of course if you have many of those animals they will definitely damage the land. will have not more than 4 sows and 20 ducks. what we got already are 4 cows and 100 young layers.

right we do grow rice closed to the livestock but not many of those type of birds are around.

first picture was in Feb and the second one is last week.

[edwinchester]

Friend of ours buys young cows for about 15k bht each. Keeps them in a shed and sells them four months later for between 25-30k bht each. She has ample water and grows her own baby corn as feed. Nice little earner but hard work too.

[kickstart]

Friend of ours buys young cows for about 15k bht each. Keeps them in a shed and sells them four months later for between 25-30k bht each. She has ample water and grows her own baby corn as feed. Nice little earner but hard work too.

A cow is a female animal that has had a calf, or is rearing a calf , I would say your friend is buying in young bulls( you could never buy a cow for 15 000 Baht) , as for making 10 -15 000 Bart in 4 months takes some doing /believing ,she can not do it by feeding only baby sweetcorn ,diet would be shot or energy and protein , must be feeding some form of concentrate/ minerals ,at a starting price of 7 baht /kg ,the costs soon add up .

Also the breed of the cattle if there is any Indo Brazil in the breed ,then it would be difficult to fatten ,they grow up not out ,and are difficult/ impossible to fatten , I would say it would take at least 6 months ,longer if they is any Indo in the breeding .

If you where buying say Charolais or Angus cross cattle( they would be more expensive to buy in ) ,it could be done ,but feeding would have to be good , and that would take away a lot of the profit , then take out labour costs ,not a lot of profit ,but any other breed can not see it,

[edwinchester]

Friend of ours buys young cows for about 15k bht each. Keeps them in a shed and sells them four months later for between 25-30k bht each. She has ample water and grows her own baby corn as feed. Nice little earner but hard work too.

A cow is a female animal that has had a calf, or is rearing a calf , I would say your friend is buying in young bulls( you could never buy a cow for 15 000 Baht) , as for making 10 -15 000 Bart in 4 months takes some doing /believing ,she can not do it by feeding only baby sweetcorn ,diet would be shot or energy and protein , must be feeding some form of concentrate/ minerals ,at a starting price of 7 baht /kg ,the costs soon add up .

Also the breed of the cattle if there is any Indo Brazil in the breed ,then it would be difficult to fatten ,they grow up not out ,and are difficult/ impossible to fatten , I would say it would take at least 6 months ,longer if they is any Indo in the breeding .

If you where buying say Charolais or Angus cross cattle( they would be more expensive to buy in ) ,it could be done ,but feeding would have to be good , and that would take away a lot of the profit , then take out labour costs ,not a lot of profit ,but any other breed can not see it,

Hi. Yes I could have been a little clearer in my original reply

You're right, bull calves.

4 months....really.

Yes she does feed concentrate but mainly baby corn.

Minimal labour costs as she does virtually all the work herself.

The 10-15k bht is not all profit, she says between 5 and 6k bht for each cow.

Usually keeps 20 of them at a time so about 100 k bht over 4 months.

[Speedo1968]

Hello Mr Kie

Sorry I should explain why I have so many questions, and I do appreciate very much you answering them.

Firstly I don't have a farm myself.

I started working in farming in 1960 ( I was 15 ) in the UK, I have spent about 50 years in farming, including my own farm in South America and, working as a freelance consultant in many different countries. I retired a couple of years ago but continue to miss farming so like to read the postings in thaivisa.

A clip from your reply below ......

"Organic means not using any synthetic fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, none GMO, no antibiotic are applied for promoting the grow of the animal. there will be government officer checking your farm every year. To start you need to register to be an organic farm and then after 3 years you will be certified.

Right candle the egg is the most easiest way, i haven't done this yet mean sell the fertile egg.

just did a mistake, actually i mean growing the lime.

well i haven't seen even one commercial layer farm in that province so i think it not gonna be a problem. to prevent the outbreak the birds are all vaccinated already

right! we don't have enough water to grow rice but that is just one reason. there is a liver passing the village closed to the farm, but due to the summer time the local governor doesn't allow you to use that water for growing rice coz it gonna affect other neighbors. But for other crops and raising animal are not a problem. in the picture this was in Feb 14 and used to be a rice field.

right if you manage well, 5 rai is already enough. of course if you have many of those animals they will definitely damage the land. will have not more than 4 sows and 20 ducks. what we got already are 4 cows and 100 young layers.

right we do grow rice closed to the livestock but not many of those type of birds are around.

first picture was in Feb and the second one is last week."

Thank you for your informative reply and the photos.

I believe "organic" also means that any animals grazing / scavenging from the land ( where you will grow "organic" produce ) should be fed only organic feeds so that their faeces are organic.

Happy to read you are already vaccinating your chickens. Out of curiosity do any of your hens lay blue eggs ?

I mentioned the white birds called egrets, not seen many last / this year, mainly around buffalo and in rice paddies. These birds have been proven to carry DVH, and can lead to infection of ducks. Are the ducks for commercial use only or do you have some parent stock ? If you keep them housed on cement they will need good clean water, deep enough to cover their head ( dipping ) so that they can clean their eyes and nostrils, this will keep their immune system higher. Rice shell ( used as litter ) has been in short supply, much of it now goes to the market gardens that are becoming popular. If you use, the waste can be put on your land, beware of the nitrogen content around plants. What breed do you have ?

So water does not seem to be a problem - is that all seasons and with the expectation of climate change and continuing expansion of crops in Thailand ? Are you using deep well or hand dug ? Where the crops in the photo watered with the sprinklers ? If yes do you spray in the morning or evening ?

Pigs - 4 sows plus followers - are they free range ? What breed ? They do a good job of clearing land ! About 18 months ago I did some work for a farm where all the pigs had / were reverting to natural wild behaviour as they had no proper housing, just a big pond, food being dumped over the wall and fights for whatever housing there was available. Mixed ages, nest building and farrowing outside, strange but interesting for me.

Do you make your own compost ?

Regards

Speedo1968

[pigeonjake]

This is the first time I have logged on firba very long time as I got so dissolutioned with what was being written in the farming section,

Seams to me that the internet and Google are taking over farming, yes I agree Google can help in looking at some things, but it's experience through time farming here and listening to them that have farmed here that will help more,

The farming conditions here can be hard, find something that fits in around you, one poster said he was lazy, well that's him, I was from farming stock in the UK so it's nothing to me to be farming,

Have a look on YouTube, under Ron jackson and thaifarmlife.com to see what we have done on 2 rai that's including our house and 2 new guest rooms

The more land you have the more work you have,

We also have had a shop now for about a year, butchers shop as we only sell meat, pork from our own pigs, some ducks and a few chickens and fish,

Take a look, I think there is 13 videos

Jake

[Mr Kie]

Thank you for your informative reply and the photos.

I believe "organic" also means that any animals grazing / scavenging from the land ( where you will grow "organic" produce ) should be fed only organic feeds so that their faeces are organic.

Happy to read you are already vaccinating your chickens. Out of curiosity do any of your hens lay blue eggs ?

I mentioned the white birds called egrets, not seen many last / this year, mainly around buffalo and in rice paddies. These birds have been proven to carry DVH, and can lead to infection of ducks. Are the ducks for commercial use only or do you have some parent stock ? If you keep them housed on cement they will need good clean water, deep enough to cover their head ( dipping ) so that they can clean their eyes and nostrils, this will keep their immune system higher. Rice shell ( used as litter ) has been in short supply, much of it now goes to the market gardens that are becoming popular. If you use, the waste can be put on your land, beware of the nitrogen content around plants. What breed do you have ?

So water does not seem to be a problem - is that all seasons and with the expectation of climate change and continuing expansion of crops in Thailand ? Are you using deep well or hand dug ? Where the crops in the photo watered with the sprinklers ? If yes do you spray in the morning or evening ?

Pigs - 4 sows plus followers - are they free range ? What breed ? They do a good job of clearing land ! About 18 months ago I did some work for a farm where all the pigs had / were reverting to natural wild behaviour as they had no proper housing, just a big pond, food being dumped over the wall and fights for whatever housing there was available. Mixed ages, nest building and farrowing outside, strange but interesting for me.

Do you make your own compost ?

Regards

Speedo1968

Right!... organic is also referred to feeding with organic feed or otherwise there is a certain percentage of how much feed ingredient that is from organic produce have to be added into the formula.

For layer i just started and not yet starting laying so don't know now. In the past my mom used to raise laying duck and i have seen about 3-5% instead of write it turns light blue. for chicken i haven't seen something like blue egg, except they spray on it.

I know you mean the white birds and mostly i see this in the central part of Thailand where they grow rice whole year round.

Duck will be raised on the ground floor and will keep them closed to the pond, will have few of them as it will damage the ground and the surrounding

I think on my land it lack of Nitrogen, it would be great if we can have all the animal manure and put on the land.

what do you mean rice shell, i think you mean rice husk... right? Well it has been used a lot in the poultry farm especially in broiler and they keep using it for every rearing cycle and price is getting more expensive nowadays.

Climate change is affecting a lot of things not only crops but also animals, like normally mango tree will flower in Nov to Dec coz that time is considered as winter in Thailand, temp is quite cool than any other season and starting to dry so the plant (mango tree) will have to be survived and that's why they start to flower. And last year the season was quite strange as the winter lasted up to the beginning of March and that was the first time i saw the same mango tree flowing in March.

In the past we drilled the well for water, but it was really salty like sea water and cannot be used for plant or even not for cattle. The ground water is okay, but the water if it from about 5 meters deep already tastes like fluoride….

But then we just use water from pond, we got 2 ponds, size 20x20x4 m and another one 10x20x4m. Normally water will be filled during rainy season and then will last up to Jan but then between Jan and May we get the pond filled once a month from the river.

Crop you mentioned in the picture is actually the Napier grass for 4 cows total 0.5 rai, when it’s young will water it both in the early morning and late afternoon and then when it gets older will only water it in the afternoon.

For the pig we used to have only 4 piglets, it is like a wild pig and raised them for few months then sold. They are kept in a ground floor fenced with the concrete block, they dig and damaging the block as well as the ground. So right now we haven’t got new pig in yet will wait and see how the other animal perform and will figure out whether having fattening pigs or having sows is better. Raising sows will only sell the piglets not sell directly to the slaughterhouse.

picture is our new day old chick (to be layer) they are very happy and just sleeping after eating and will be kept outside in the pasture whey they get older in the larger space and fenced with the net. I will do the home mixed feed with the organic ingredients that locally available.

[Gary A]

I'm retired and I have earned the right to be lazy. I do take advantage of it. I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. That said, if you did not have a high paying job offshore, could you have done what you have done? Could you have earned a decent living out of your farming ventures? I have seen too many dreamers put all their eggs in one basket and fail miserably. Hobby farming is one thing but expecting to earn a liveable wage is another thing. I'm not saying it is impossible but you need a very accurately researched business plan and a sizable investment. I'm just advising people to give it a lot of thought and be very careful.

[thoongfoned]

i agree, to expect, or i should say for your wife to expect to earn ok money per month per year year in year out (depending what you call ok money- say gov pension money your home country) is very hard, not impossible but hard. most would have to start with a large -ish budget, have knowledge in said "game" and a good degree of luck.... if one achieves making a "living" from farming in Thailand it is very rewarding..... if you like the thai country way of life.

another idea could be to buy large plots of land (if happy to do so in wifes name) say today and speculate on the land appreciation of the next X amount of years, in the mean time rent said land out to "joe" farmer and sit back..... the reason i say this is because over the year my wife and i have under taken many a project. example. rubber trees - convert land into a plantations - plant - feed -maintain land for say 7 years. "open" trees at 7.5 years, start to have money come back. IF and a big if you can get and keep workers. year 11 fire comes, wipes out plantation. this happened last year, lost 1m baht up. but still have the land..... and a load of dead trees, but no weeds for a few weeks.5555

to "pinch" in your pocket 100 thousand baht per rai per year is not easy, on even a couple of rai. if you can achieve this year in year out please post back and tell all, im sure it will inspire many a new well heeled farmer into getting down in the mud.

most people "hobby farm", in places around the world for a reason...... farming aint an easy game anywhere.....

[Gary A]

Double post

Edited May 30, 2016 by Gary A

[Gary A]

My wife would be VERY happy to gross much less net 15,000 baht per rai. She must be doing something wrong?

[thoongfoned]

My wife would be VERY happy to gross much less net 15,000 baht per rai. She must be doing something wrong?

working the land in either crop or animal is very difficult from what i have seen over many years here. what i have seen and experienced if you were to net 15 thousand a rai year in year out you would be doing very well, the rubber we had did not earn this... and that was a large investment and sort of passive income. the sugar cane that we have does not earn this, rice does not do it either.... the land in the wife amper is not that great to be honest, maybe nor is the work-effort we have put into the crops either? but the wife does have one business that is off the scale money wise per rai, and that is pigs...........also she has done very well with land speculation, and also rents large plots of land to people who farm sugar cane and does ok from this too, passive income at its best.

[Speedo1968]

To MR KIE

Hello from Speedo1968 sorry for late reply.

Thanks for the interesting details about your farm an how you intend to slowly build it up.

Glad you are trying to keep organic, you are lucky here compared with being in the EU with all its restrictions and regulations.

Duck eggs can be various colours, the blue / green can be a throw back to the original Indian River and found in most cross breeds. The Pekin generally remains true to its line, being a white egg layer.

As for blue eggs from hens, in one country I worked these eggs always hatched out as a broody, a bird suitable for sitting on eggs, the eggs fetched a high premium price.

The white wild birds, egrets, often fly in from Vietnam, they have proved to be carriers of a specific duck disease. Not as many now in Thailand as 15 years ago, maybe change in the keeping of livestock or use of land or often shot.

Rice shell - yes rice husk - shortage due to the increase of large scale market gardening where rice shell is used to help bind soil. Its also widely used in the duck growing industry as other waste products are not suitable ( .e.g. paper, straw, wood shavings or sawdust. ) I can see the price going up even more in the next couple of years.

Excellent that you noticed changes in animal behaviour due to climate change; being an animal behaviourist is part of my role as a consultant, such ideas are still thought of being rather strange. My concern for this year is the shortage of bees following the types of rain / storms end last and early this year that seemed to have decimated the bee populations three times within a few months. Very interested in your comments about the mango tree flowering.

Be careful of algae in your duck pond.

The Napier grass looks good, nice to read you water in early morning and late afternoon, not when its hot.

Have you thought of growing green fodder indoors ? It will be 100% organic and can be fed to all livestock.

Pigs great for turning over new un-ploughed land and eating up all the insects but, as you say, can make a real mess. Fencing is difficult especially if using white pig breeds. I noticed piglet prices have been good for the past 18 months.

Nice looking chicks, thanks for the photo, keep them vaccinated. Do you have problems with them being taken by wild birds, or this time of year, snakes ? Try to keep ducks and chickens separate.

[Mr Kie]

To MR KIE

Hello from Speedo1968 sorry for late reply.

Thanks for the interesting details about your farm an how you intend to slowly build it up.

Glad you are trying to keep organic, you are lucky here compared with being in the EU with all its restrictions and regulations.

Duck eggs can be various colours, the blue / green can be a throw back to the original Indian River and found in most cross breeds. The Pekin generally remains true to its line, being a white egg layer.

As for blue eggs from hens, in one country I worked these eggs always hatched out as a broody, a bird suitable for sitting on eggs, the eggs fetched a high premium price.

The white wild birds, egrets, often fly in from Vietnam, they have proved to be carriers of a specific duck disease. Not as many now in Thailand as 15 years ago, maybe change in the keeping of livestock or use of land or often shot.

Rice shell - yes rice husk - shortage due to the increase of large scale market gardening where rice shell is used to help bind soil. Its also widely used in the duck growing industry as other waste products are not suitable ( .e.g. paper, straw, wood shavings or sawdust. ) I can see the price going up even more in the next couple of years.

Excellent that you noticed changes in animal behaviour due to climate change; being an animal behaviourist is part of my role as a consultant, such ideas are still thought of being rather strange. My concern for this year is the shortage of bees following the types of rain / storms end last and early this year that seemed to have decimated the bee populations three times within a few months. Very interested in your comments about the mango tree flowering.

Be careful of algae in your duck pond.

The Napier grass looks good, nice to read you water in early morning and late afternoon, not when its hot.

Have you thought of growing green fodder indoors ? It will be 100% organic and can be fed to all livestock.

Pigs great for turning over new un-ploughed land and eating up all the insects but, as you say, can make a real mess. Fencing is difficult especially if using white pig breeds. I noticed piglet prices have been good for the past 18 months.

Nice looking chicks, thanks for the photo, keep them vaccinated. Do you have problems with them being taken by wild birds, or this time of year, snakes ? Try to keep ducks and chickens separate.

Hi and Thanks for commend....I used to live and study in the Netherlands total 5 years i know exactly how difficult is is to do a farm in EU. I did my Bachelor in animal Science and agriculture there.

what do you mean by fodder indoors? well...so far we only feed our cows with grasses and rice straw and let them grazing outside. in the future they will have some of sugarcane and cassava and both are from our farm with no pesticide or any synthetic chemical applied.

right!...right now price of pig is good...and it's time for farmers to start earning profit.

Birds are already vaccinated now...in the photo is just about 1-2 days old and right now almost 2 weeks old. we will let them go out once they got 1 months or 2 months old....i don't know what way is the best to prevent the birds from snake...someone said having gooses in the farm will help.

[Speedo1968]

To MR KIE

Hello from Speedo1968 sorry for late reply.

Thanks for the interesting details about your farm an how you intend to slowly build it up.

Glad you are trying to keep organic, you are lucky here compared with being in the EU with all its restrictions and regulations.

Duck eggs can be various colours, the blue / green can be a throw back to the original Indian River and found in most cross breeds. The Pekin generally remains true to its line, being a white egg layer.

As for blue eggs from hens, in one country I worked these eggs always hatched out as a broody, a bird suitable for sitting on eggs, the eggs fetched a high premium price.

The white wild birds, egrets, often fly in from Vietnam, they have proved to be carriers of a specific duck disease. Not as many now in Thailand as 15 years ago, maybe change in the keeping of livestock or use of land or often shot.

Rice shell - yes rice husk - shortage due to the increase of large scale market gardening where rice shell is used to help bind soil. Its also widely used in the duck growing industry as other waste products are not suitable ( .e.g. paper, straw, wood shavings or sawdust. ) I can see the price going up even more in the next couple of years.

Excellent that you noticed changes in animal behaviour due to climate change; being an animal behaviourist is part of my role as a consultant, such ideas are still thought of being rather strange. My concern for this year is the shortage of bees following the types of rain / storms end last and early this year that seemed to have decimated the bee populations three times within a few months. Very interested in your comments about the mango tree flowering.

Be careful of algae in your duck pond.

The Napier grass looks good, nice to read you water in early morning and late afternoon, not when its hot.

Have you thought of growing green fodder indoors ? It will be 100% organic and can be fed to all livestock.

Pigs great for turning over new un-ploughed land and eating up all the insects but, as you say, can make a real mess. Fencing is difficult especially if using white pig breeds. I noticed piglet prices have been good for the past 18 months.

Nice looking chicks, thanks for the photo, keep them vaccinated. Do you have problems with them being taken by wild birds, or this time of year, snakes ? Try to keep ducks and chickens separate.

Hi and Thanks for commend....I used to live and study in the Netherlands total 5 years i know exactly how difficult is is to do a farm in EU. I did my Bachelor in animal Science and agriculture there.

what do you mean by fodder indoors? well...so far we only feed our cows with grasses and rice straw and let them grazing outside. in the future they will have some of sugarcane and cassava and both are from our farm with no pesticide or any synthetic chemical applied.

right!...right now price of pig is good...and it's time for farmers to start earning profit.

Birds are already vaccinated now...in the photo is just about 1-2 days old and right now almost 2 weeks old. we will let them go out once they got 1 months or 2 months old....i don't know what way is the best to prevent the birds from snake...someone said having gooses in the farm will help.

Yes EU is difficult, too many regulations about regulations. I spent 2 years on the Dutch island of Texel with sheep and bulb farming back in the late 70's early 80's. Great experience, nice place to live. Learnt to ride a horse there, including beach riding, helped a lot when I worked with horses on a cattle rancch is South America a few years later.

"Fodder indoors" this is commonly known as "green fodder". Its a way to produce various types of green fodder for all livestock at all times of the year, with low water utilization. Can be on big scale or small scale. It can be with or without chemicals. If you were in The Netherlands to study recently you would have most probably seen this at the Uni or with farm visits to dairy herds.

Keeping snakes away from poultry etc is very very difficult, mainly because of the terrain and housing. Snakes can get in the houses thru the smallest of holes and now is the rainy season. Be very careful when collecting eggs from the nests.

Cats, as long as they are not lazy but real farm cats, I think, are better than dogs for helping to keep cats away or at least warning you of snakes presence.

Geese can help and can kill snakes, guess it depends on the size of the snake. Geese are attracted to a snakes movement, if they are wary of the snake they will hiss and sometimes attack a snake. They also make excellent guard dogs, but can be very noisy.

For snakes the following plant is supposed to help keep snakes away.

Ocimum tenuiflorum, also known as Ocimum sanctum, holy basil, or tulasi (also spelled thulasi), is an aromatic plant in the family Lamiaceae which is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian tropics

[WishWashMan]

Maybe I'm just lazy. No way would I consider trying to make a living farming. My wife has a few chickens, maybe 40 or so and farms 60 rai. If we had to live off her income, we would be in poverty. As far as animals, I would never be tied to a low income job 24/7. Animals need to be looked after every day and sometime nights also. An animal disease could put you out of business quickly. Not worth taking a chance for me. I like my freedom too much.

My wife considers her farm land as her future security. i won't be around forever. Making mortgage payments takes nearly everything she makes. When her land is paid for she will be able to get along fine without me. That is her plan. She also works part time for the electric company to make ends meet. She also has MANY fruit trees and is continually planting more. She doesn't make any money from those trees either. Farming in Thailand is not the way to get rich.

you are such a downer................hahaha.

ive never farmed in los or anywhere yet it isnt rocket science to com to your conclusions. are farang farmers out of touch of whats achievable in issan farming..

the numbers just dont pencil out!

[rijit]

Easy answer ,, non e 'framing most animals is disproportinatly enviromently damaging morally wrong and frankly for general human consumption relatively unhealthy .

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Speedo1968]

Easy answer ,, non e 'framing most animals is disproportinatly enviromently damaging morally wrong and frankly for general human consumption relatively unhealthy .

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Do you mean non - EU farming ?