Start a mixed farm in Isaan

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

You need to get real. Your endeavour is nothing like what 7-11 projects. You have 600$ invested. They have $600,000,000 or whatever!

Dont think of your farming as a commerical thing, you will be disappointed. Just look at it as your passionate hobby.

Thanks for commend...like i said i will turn 5 rai to be better than before...that's it. i know not gonna be rich with this small farming.

i didn't say that i will do like 7-11 does. My previous reply was just the overall of my future project including a 7-11 shop that i will buy the franchise. so the investment per one franchise will be around 3-4 milllion Baht which is affordable for me. and that is different from what you understood.

timberpond · June 4, 2016

You intend to invest 4 mil baht on 5 rai land? You are my hero...

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

You intend to invest 4 mil baht on 5 rai land? You are my hero...

Nope!...that 4 million will invest buying the 7-11 Franchise somewhere else in the city. it's totally different from what you think. i just mentioned about 7-11 because i have add the revenue from 7-11 into my farm project spreadsheet...that's it.

timberpond · June 4, 2016

I'm talking about the photo of ki farm 2017 you posted earlier... that's the costing or revenue?

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

I'm talking about the photo of ki farm 2017 you posted earlier... that's the costing or revenue?

that is the revenue only. there are 4 different business types....where the farm project is on the first column

timberpond · June 4, 2016

You expected a revenue of 10k for 1 ngan grass and 30k from 1 ngan fruit trees?

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

You expected a revenue of 10k for 1 ngan grass and 30k from 1 ngan fruit trees?

surprised you can read Thai too?....that's right that was my first plan....there is some adjustment later on as everything is new and need to improve a lot until we can reach the goal that i posted. please wait and see i will surely update all the progress here i'm sure it will be better than before

regarding Napier i already talked to some of the customer they also need a lot of grass to feed their animal and Napier grass is better than sugarcane as it can be cut 4 times a year (if the irrigation is good provided) and total production per year per rai is ranging from 40-50 tones and the price per tone is 1200-1300 Baht excluding transportation cost.

one person i know, he growing only Napier grass and export to Korea generating a lot of money. since i don't have the market yet i just grow to feed my 4 cows. and right now i grow only 0.5 rai...will see if this is enough to feed 4 cows all year round.

Stray · June 4, 2016

You expected a revenue of 10k for 1 ngan grass and 30k from 1 ngan fruit trees?

surprised you can read Thai too?....that's right that was my first plan....there is some adjustment later on as everything is new and need to improve a lot until we can reach the goal that i posted. please wait and see i will surely update all the progress here i'm sure it will be better than before

regarding Napier i already talked to some of the customer they also need a lot of grass to feed their animal and Napier grass is better than sugarcane as it can be cut 4 times a year (if the irrigation is good provided) and total production per year per rai is ranging from 40-50 tones and the price per tone is 1200-1300 Baht excluding transportation cost.

one person i know, he growing only Napier grass and export to Korea generating a lot of money. since i don't have the market yet i just grow to feed my 4 cows. and right now i grow only 0.5 rai...will see if this is enough to feed 4 cows all year round.

Mr Kie, your goals are admirable, however, you may have to rethink your cattle feeding strategy.

On our farm, in Australia, we used to run 500 head of dairy cattle and required 1500 acres to do it. To put things into perspective, that's 3 750 rai for 500 head. Therefore, each head required 7.5 rai of land for grazing.

The farm was roughly divided up into three paddocks of 500 acres, each. As the grass was eaten and trampled down, in the first paddock, we would move them into the second paddock. Followed by the third paddock. By the time the third paddock was reaching the end of it's grazing term, the first paddock had sufficiently recovered to move them back.

Again, it's fantastic to see someone putting their energies into something positive.

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

Mr Kie, your goals are admirable, however, you may have to rethink your cattle feeding strategy.

On our farm, in Australia, we used to run 500 head of dairy cattle and required 1500 acres to do it. To put things into perspective, that's 3 750 rai for 500 head. Therefore, each head required 7.5 rai of land for grazing.

The farm was roughly divided up into three paddocks of 500 acres, each. As the grass was eaten and trampled down, in the first paddock, we would move them into the second paddock. Followed by the third paddock. By the time the third paddock was reaching the end of it's grazing term, the first paddock had sufficiently recovered to move them back.

Again, it's fantastic to see someone putting their energies into something positive.

Hi Stray...very interesting comment. I see what you mean and i did my Bachelor in Dairy farming and agriculture in the Netherlands for 5 years. what i have seen and learned over there is exactly like what you are explaining here. I think if in such case and if we have to do the same like you told...with a tiny land we have will not be able to raise any cow then....right?.....

it is just a matter of how much roughage do you have whether it's enough to feed your cows or not...that is the reason why i'm growing Napier here. over here we have 4 cows including 1 heifer 1 calve 2 cows all are female. and the average weight is around 300-400kg and the DMI is should be around 3% of the body weight.....so...then we look at the Napier grass we have. the production per cut is 15 tone per rai. and we can cut it 6 times a year. we provide irrigation all year round so they are expected to be 1.5 meters height in 2 months... based on this data i think it will be very well matched with the number of the animal i have right now..... if not it's still manageable.

Stray · June 4, 2016

Mr Kie, your goals are admirable, however, you may have to rethink your cattle feeding strategy.

On our farm, in Australia, we used to run 500 head of dairy cattle and required 1500 acres to do it. To put things into perspective, that's 3 750 rai for 500 head. Therefore, each head required 7.5 rai of land for grazing.

The farm was roughly divided up into three paddocks of 500 acres, each. As the grass was eaten and trampled down, in the first paddock, we would move them into the second paddock. Followed by the third paddock. By the time the third paddock was reaching the end of it's grazing term, the first paddock had sufficiently recovered to move them back.

Again, it's fantastic to see someone putting their energies into something positive.

Hi Stray...very interesting comment. I see what you mean and i did my Bachelor in Dairy farming and agriculture in the Netherlands for 5 years. what i have seen and learned over there is exactly like what you are explaining here. I think if in such case and if we have to do the same like you told...with a tiny land we have will not be able to raise any cow then....right?.....
it is just a matter of how much roughage do you have whether it's enough to feed your cows or not...that is the reason why i'm growing Napier here. over here we have 4 cows including 1 heifer 1 calve 2 cows all are female. and the average weight is around 300-400kg and the DMI is should be around 3% of the body weight.....so...then we look at the Napier grass we have. the production per cut is 15 tone per rai. and we can cut it 6 times a year. we provide irrigation all year round so they are expected to be 1.5 meters height in 2 months... based on this data i think it will be very well matched with the number of the animal i have right now..... if not it's still manageable.

Ah, okay. I understand.

Yes, I was referring to grazing, not cutting.

I haven't had any experience in the method that you are following so cannot comment further.

Just one other comment, I assume your full property boundary is fenced. The reason I mention this is, with regards to the produce you are growing, it is not uncommon for people to wander onto the property and help themselves (including nets in our fish ponds). We had this issue until we fenced our property (in Thailand) and obtained a few dogs which have full range of the land (25 rai).

WishWashMan · June 4, 2016

sorry i misunderstood. Turning 5 rai into a 7-11 franchise is a wonderful business plan.............................

WishWashMan · June 4, 2016

Mr Kie, your goals are admirable, however, you may have to rethink your cattle feeding strategy.

On our farm, in Australia, we used to run 500 head of dairy cattle and required 1500 acres to do it. To put things into perspective, that's 3 750 rai for 500 head. Therefore, each head required 7.5 rai of land for grazing.

The farm was roughly divided up into three paddocks of 500 acres, each. As the grass was eaten and trampled down, in the first paddock, we would move them into the second paddock. Followed by the third paddock. By the time the third paddock was reaching the end of it's grazing term, the first paddock had sufficiently recovered to move them back.

Again, it's fantastic to see someone putting their energies into something positive.

Hi Stray...very interesting comment. I see what you mean and i did my Bachelor in Dairy farming and agriculture in the Netherlands for 5 years. what i have seen and learned over there is exactly like what you are explaining here. I think if in such case and if we have to do the same like you told...with a tiny land we have will not be able to raise any cow then....right?.....
it is just a matter of how much roughage do you have whether it's enough to feed your cows or not...that is the reason why i'm growing Napier here. over here we have 4 cows including 1 heifer 1 calve 2 cows all are female. and the average weight is around 300-400kg and the DMI is should be around 3% of the body weight.....so...then we look at the Napier grass we have. the production per cut is 15 tone per rai. and we can cut it 6 times a year. we provide irrigation all year round so they are expected to be 1.5 meters height in 2 months... based on this data i think it will be very well matched with the number of the animal i have right now..... if not it's still manageable.

Ah, okay. I understand.

Yes, I was referring to grazing, not cutting.

I haven't had any experience in the method that you are following so cannot comment further.

Just one other comment, I assume your full property boundary is fenced. The reason I mention this is, with regards to the produce you are growing, it is not uncommon for people to wander onto the property and help themselves (including nets in our fish ponds). We had this issue until we fenced our property (in Thailand) and obtained a few dogs which have full range of the land (25 rai).

I know a guy who bought 5 dogs to protect his issan McMansion( made lots of money w McDs franchises) the thiefs stole the doggs...................

RedQualia · June 4, 2016

You have a lot of interesting things here, Mr. Kie, and I'm following along. It's a bit difficult to comment because you have so many different business ideas... Not just farming. The 7-11 idea is particularly interesting to me. But I am not sure... Is this 7-11 something that will be located on your land, or on other land somewhere nearby? How many people live in the area you're planning for the 7-11? Will it be in the countryside somewhere, or perhaps along highway 202 or 23? These things seems somewhat important to me from the standpoint that 7-11 / CP may not want to have a 7-11 in the location you're thinking of. If there are not enough people in the area, they may decline (I've seen them do so before). On the other hand, if there are enough people in the area, or if it's a particularly good location, someone may open a 7-11 before you do. So it seems to me that if you're serious, and if you have a good location, you might want to pursue this matter first. (Another option might be a Tesco Lotus Express. Lots of these where I live; not so many over by Yasothon.)

Another income stream you mention is "renting the room." This can take many forms. Someone might rent a room in their home to others, for example. Or rooms might be rented by the month to local workers. In that case, you might have a dormitory... Many rooms. Or "renting a room" could mean a hotel of some kind. A guesthouse kind of thing. Renting one room, long term, would probably only bring in about 1,000-2,000 Baht per month. Renting ten of those in a dormitory building would bring in ten times more, of course. Provided you have people who want to rent them. If not, then you must lower your rate, or have empty rooms, or both. I cannot say for sure, but I do not believe a hotel or guesthouse in Yasothon would meet with much success. Rates at The JP Emerald Hotel are quite low, and there are 2-3 other hotels with even lower rates. I actually believe that I was the only person staying at the JP Emerald when I stayed there. They did have 20-30 people come into the restaurant that evening for a party of some kind, so they drank a bit, ate a bit, and sang karaoke. But then they all left fairly early, and the only people I saw after that was staff. Too, no one at the Yasothon Police Station spoke English, or if they did, I couldn't find them. So I'm guessing you don't get too many foreigners looking for places to stay over that way.

I'm also recalling now a lovely hotel/guesthouse kind of place about 100KM north of Chiang Mai on the way to Chiang Rai. There was a restaurant, coffee shop, perhaps 20 rooms, all extremely well decorated (it cost a lot to do what they did), and there were workers (family?) everywhere all of the time. The only problem was that it was in the middle of nowhere, and once again, I was the only person staying there. I do not see any way they could ever make a profit from all their effort, but there they were. I think perhaps that because they had spent so much time and money building the place, they were trapped there, unable to leave, unable to make much money.

So... "renting a room" can take many forms, and can mean many things. Please tell us more...

I also found the note of "youtube - 100,000" to be interesting. I've never even thought about trying to make money from youtube. You appear to be much more enterprising than I am.

None of these comments have anything to do with your farming efforts, but then, you're the one who mentioned the non-farming things, and I think they are worth further discussion. All of my comments/questions here are intended to be helpful, by the way. I'm very interested in what you're trying to do here, and would like to know more.

Edited June 4, 2016 by RedQualia

Jotham79 · June 4, 2016

I will agree that there are a lot of ways to lose money farming, but it is certainly not impossible to make money. There has been a lot of good advice and some not so good. I have lost more than my share of money farming in Thailand and know why it happened. I think you have a very interesting project. I have done everything over the last 20 years here on your list except grapes, lychee, rambutan, mangosteen, mulberry, roselle, pigs, and earth worms, but have done prawns, frogs, quail and a few other crops and fruits (and have forgot some). With enough work almost everything you are doing can be profitable. Here are some thoughts I have in no particular order and forgive me if you are doing them already:

Consider adding a small rice mill. Around here the operator gets the rice polishings and the rice hulls. This gives you a supplemental income in the form of the rice polishings that can be sold or feed to your animals. And the rice hulls could be composted to return organic materials to your soil.
I will predict that you will have problems with grapes, durian.
I would reduce or eliminate Mangosteen, rambutan, lychee, ma fie, but not til you see if they are good producers. See my next point.
Learn how to air layer and graft and make your own trees to sell. Double grafting is even better and more profitable. Thing about every tree you bought. Your work, only a little space and a good return. Seed papaya, and seed other shrubs and clone bamboo and bananas.
Add a Thai Grapefruit tree to clone from.
Add manila tamarind. They will do especially well around your ponds. Fish love fruit that falls and so do chickens and ducks that free range. You have to make sure you get a good strain so look at the fruit on the parent stock
Add1-2 Kaffir lime or more.
Basil will grow right up alongside a building. Grow extra to feed your livestock. Look at other herbs.
Add Putsa Apple.
Add as many water collection jars as is practical to every building.
Consider some concrete rings to raise catfish but I would stick with Big Oui (I have never had pla duck Russia grow well). There is also a strain of climbing perch that is promising and I am trying to get a small sample to try out. I would also consider one crop of pla duk a year in the smaller pond nearer you house. Drain it to fill the other
I would look for the best strain of tilapia you can find and raise them in nets. Throw some Pla Sawai in the ponds if you like to eat them, but not too many. I love hamook.
Geese are hard to make money on, but a couple out on your ponds will let you know if you have visitors. If you are well respected in the village, you will have less loss. A mean dog won’t hurt either.
Consider getting a small plot and opening a market. Put in a covered structure and run power and build some stalls. Let everyone use it for free for a while and use it yourself. It can be as simple or fancy as you think will work.
I would probably opt to pass on Yasohotin. It will cost you about 100 baht per trip and rental on a stall. You are better off building a quality operation and selling as much as you can in the local market which will get more locals to know about your farm and lead to walk in customers. A consistent presence will be rewarded.
Look at making your own poultry feed. Consider dropping chickens except for your own use. I am working on a layer/ gai ban cross that is a good layer of small to medium eggs, and meats out more like a gai ban. Put the hens with gai ban roosters and you can make money selling for meat. I would go with Pekin ducks and may be start with a few on your ponds. If you must have laying chickens buy good POL pullets, then cage/coop raise them. Free ranging or just letting them wander around a yard is a money loser.
Consider quail. I can give you a lot of info on this. Per square meter you will make more than chicken or ducks.
Consider crickets. It was a fad years ago and I thought it died out, but two local feed stores in Petchabun are selling cricket feed bulk. I haven’t done it, but it would be something to look at.
The Santol makes a good border for a field or road. Consider drip tape.
Put Papaya around your young fruit trees to shade them some while they are young. Some folks use bananas
Prik Keenu will grow well in the shade of bananas and papayas.
Forget crops for farang like zucchini, strawberries, bell peppers, head lettuce ect…. At least in the beginning .
Learn about drip tape (not the same as the hose type irrigation) and plastic mulch. It is used on melons and other crops. You will use a lot less water.
You tube and Facebook can be your friend. You are a lot more likely to find people doing exactly the same crop(s) as you and over time will help you advertise.
Going organic can be the right thing to do, but most of your local buyers will not pay a premium. Initially it is important to compete on a fair footing.
We have 2 rose apple trees and the wife planted a bunch of chillis around one and it had considerably few pests. I hear that chrysanthemums do the same.
A light over your pond may help a few pest to become fish food and may discourage visitors.
Keeping records will be a valuable exercise over time. Note weekly market prices for crops you are thinking about and when the high prices tend to occur….New Years, Songkran, Chinese New Years, when schools are open or closed. Obviously high prices can mean it is the wrong time a year or it could mean too much water is needed. Once you are running keep detailed costs and income records. When possible track a particular crop just to see what is happening.

I have forgotten at least this much and will let you know if anything comes to me.

Just to be clear, I am not recommending you do all or any particular activities, you will have to set your goals andlimits. I think you are someone who likes to learn and this will be a fun process. Something that works in one place may not work for you and vice versa. You do not need to explain yourself to naysayers. It is easy to say something can’t happen and impossible to prove it. Search for people that have similar experience that are willing to share and have fun.

Chok Dee

Allgeier · June 4, 2016

Hello Mr. Kie

Where you live in Yasothon?

I live in Roi Et and we have here nearly 6 Rai and i belive there is to make a living from this.

The EM Farm in Saraburi have "Exemple Farms" for 1 and 7 Rai. But its all the times depend where you live.

Allgeier

Mudcrab · June 4, 2016

Never forget the first rule of farming.....grow to feed the family first and sell the excess.

The western farmers forgot this simple rule and fell into the trap of mono culture and are subject to the vagaries of market prices for their one and only prod

You sound like a person who is well educated and has a plan for the future.

Have you thought about niche marketing/growing?

Where I am (Surin province) it is difficult to buy a decent sized potato. I guess there are many more foreigners who have the same issue. We eat potatoes like Asians eat rice.

Decent tomatoes...big fat juicy ones.

Could be a possibility there?

Another thing could be aquaponics....bit like hydroponics ,,,, bit different...google it.

Intensively farmed fish and vegetables.

Good luck and chok dee...keep us up to date on your progress.

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

Ah, okay. I understand.

Yes, I was referring to grazing, not cutting.

I haven't had any experience in the method that you are following so cannot comment further.

Just one other comment, I assume your full property boundary is fenced. The reason I mention this is, with regards to the produce you are growing, it is not uncommon for people to wander onto the property and help themselves (including nets in our fish ponds). We had this issue until we fenced our property (in Thailand) and obtained a few dogs which have full range of the land (25 rai).

we don't have any problem with people but more problem with cattle from others people will get in our property if not fenced. we used to have 2 dogs but already died and will look for only the friendly one.

Mr Kie · June 4, 2016

You have a lot of interesting things here, Mr. Kie, and I'm following along. It's a bit difficult to comment because you have so many different business ideas... Not just farming. The 7-11 idea is particularly interesting to me. But I am not sure... Is this 7-11 something that will be located on your land, or on other land somewhere nearby? How many people live in the area you're planning for the 7-11? Will it be in the countryside somewhere, or perhaps along highway 202 or 23? These things seems somewhat important to me from the standpoint that 7-11 / CP may not want to have a 7-11 in the location you're thinking of. If there are not enough people in the area, they may decline (I've seen them do so before). On the other hand, if there are enough people in the area, or if it's a particularly good location, someone may open a 7-11 before you do. So it seems to me that if you're serious, and if you have a good location, you might want to pursue this matter first. (Another option might be a Tesco Lotus Express. Lots of these where I live; not so many over by Yasothon.)

Another income stream you mention is "renting the room." This can take many forms. Someone might rent a room in their home to others, for example. Or rooms might be rented by the month to local workers. In that case, you might have a dormitory... Many rooms. Or "renting a room" could mean a hotel of some kind. A guesthouse kind of thing. Renting one room, long term, would probably only bring in about 1,000-2,000 Baht per month. Renting ten of those in a dormitory building would bring in ten times more, of course. Provided you have people who want to rent them. If not, then you must lower your rate, or have empty rooms, or both. I cannot say for sure, but I do not believe a hotel or guesthouse in Yasothon would meet with much success. Rates at The JP Emerald Hotel are quite low, and there are 2-3 other hotels with even lower rates. I actually believe that I was the only person staying at the JP Emerald when I stayed there. They did have 20-30 people come into the restaurant that evening for a party of some kind, so they drank a bit, ate a bit, and sang karaoke. But then they all left fairly early, and the only people I saw after that was staff. Too, no one at the Yasothon Police Station spoke English, or if they did, I couldn't find them. So I'm guessing you don't get too many foreigners looking for places to stay over that way.

I'm also recalling now a lovely hotel/guesthouse kind of place about 100KM north of Chiang Mai on the way to Chiang Rai. There was a restaurant, coffee shop, perhaps 20 rooms, all extremely well decorated (it cost a lot to do what they did), and there were workers (family?) everywhere all of the time. The only problem was that it was in the middle of nowhere, and once again, I was the only person staying there. I do not see any way they could ever make a profit from all their effort, but there they were. I think perhaps that because they had spent so much time and money building the place, they were trapped there, unable to leave, unable to make much money.

So... "renting a room" can take many forms, and can mean many things. Please tell us more...

I also found the note of "youtube - 100,000" to be interesting. I've never even thought about trying to make money from youtube. You appear to be much more enterprising than I am.

None of these comments have anything to do with your farming efforts, but then, you're the one who mentioned the non-farming things, and I think they are worth further discussion. All of my comments/questions here are intended to be helpful, by the way. I'm very interested in what you're trying to do here, and would like to know more.

Hi RedQualia,

you are right about 7-11 shop...but this will not gonna be in our property... will be in the city somewhere... i know they will do the site survey before moving forward.

renting room, this i refer so-called "commercial building" that i bought 4 years ago in Sriracha, Chonburi. i used to start a small business there and was not very successful (many things going on that time) i'm just thinking whether will continue the business or keep it for rent. and i'll move to somewhere else....and if so..i will then focus more in Yasothon and i have to take it for rent... the average rental price is 12,000 baht/month....i also doing taxi in Bangkok too. if you follow me in another thread you will find something about taxi...but that will be soon stopped possibly next year.

about youtube...that was just something that i know able to make some money but not very good at it either.....

in this thread i will be talking about farming more..... thanks

Mr Kie · June 5, 2016

I will agree that there are a lot of ways to lose money farming, but it is certainly not impossible to make money. There has been a lot of good advice and some not so good. I have lost more than my share of money farming in Thailand and know why it happened. I think you have a very interesting project. I have done everything over the last 20 years here on your list except grapes, lychee, rambutan, mangosteen, mulberry, roselle, pigs, and earth worms, but have done prawns, frogs, quail and a few other crops and fruits (and have forgot some). With enough work almost everything you are doing can be profitable. Here are some thoughts I have in no particular order and forgive me if you are doing them already:

Consider adding a small rice mill. Around here the operator gets the rice polishings and the rice hulls. This gives you a supplemental income in the form of the rice polishings that can be sold or feed to your animals. And the rice hulls could be composted to return organic materials to your soil.

I will predict that you will have problems with grapes, durian.

I would reduce or eliminate Mangosteen, rambutan, lychee, ma fie, but not til you see if they are good producers. See my next point.

Learn how to air layer and graft and make your own trees to sell. Double grafting is even better and more profitable. Thing about every tree you bought. Your work, only a little space and a good return. Seed papaya, and seed other shrubs and clone bamboo and bananas.

Add a Thai Grapefruit tree to clone from.

Add manila tamarind. They will do especially well around your ponds. Fish love fruit that falls and so do chickens and ducks that free range. You have to make sure you get a good strain so look at the fruit on the parent stock

Add1-2 Kaffir lime or more.

Basil will grow right up alongside a building. Grow extra to feed your livestock. Look at other herbs.

Add Putsa Apple.

Add as many water collection jars as is practical to every building.

Consider some concrete rings to raise catfish but I would stick with Big Oui (I have never had pla duck Russia grow well). There is also a strain of climbing perch that is promising and I am trying to get a small sample to try out. I would also consider one crop of pla duk a year in the smaller pond nearer you house. Drain it to fill the other

I would look for the best strain of tilapia you can find and raise them in nets. Throw some Pla Sawai in the ponds if you like to eat them, but not too many. I love hamook.

Geese are hard to make money on, but a couple out on your ponds will let you know if you have visitors. If you are well respected in the village, you will have less loss. A mean dog won’t hurt either.

Consider getting a small plot and opening a market. Put in a covered structure and run power and build some stalls. Let everyone use it for free for a while and use it yourself. It can be as simple or fancy as you think will work.

I would probably opt to pass on Yasohotin. It will cost you about 100 baht per trip and rental on a stall. You are better off building a quality operation and selling as much as you can in the local market which will get more locals to know about your farm and lead to walk in customers. A consistent presence will be rewarded.

Look at making your own poultry feed. Consider dropping chickens except for your own use. I am working on a layer/ gai ban cross that is a good layer of small to medium eggs, and meats out more like a gai ban. Put the hens with gai ban roosters and you can make money selling for meat. I would go with Pekin ducks and may be start with a few on your ponds. If you must have laying chickens buy good POL pullets, then cage/coop raise them. Free ranging or just letting them wander around a yard is a money loser.

Consider quail. I can give you a lot of info on this. Per square meter you will make more than chicken or ducks.

Consider crickets. It was a fad years ago and I thought it died out, but two local feed stores in Petchabun are selling cricket feed bulk. I haven’t done it, but it would be something to look at.

The Santol makes a good border for a field or road. Consider drip tape.

Put Papaya around your young fruit trees to shade them some while they are young. Some folks use bananas

Prik Keenu will grow well in the shade of bananas and papayas.

Forget crops for farang like zucchini, strawberries, bell peppers, head lettuce ect…. At least in the beginning .

Learn about drip tape (not the same as the hose type irrigation) and plastic mulch. It is used on melons and other crops. You will use a lot less water.

You tube and Facebook can be your friend. You are a lot more likely to find people doing exactly the same crop(s) as you and over time will help you advertise.

Going organic can be the right thing to do, but most of your local buyers will not pay a premium. Initially it is important to compete on a fair footing.

We have 2 rose apple trees and the wife planted a bunch of chillis around one and it had considerably few pests. I hear that chrysanthemums do the same.

A light over your pond may help a few pest to become fish food and may discourage visitors.

Keeping records will be a valuable exercise over time. Note weekly market prices for crops you are thinking about and when the high prices tend to occur….New Years, Songkran, Chinese New Years, when schools are open or closed. Obviously high prices can mean it is the wrong time a year or it could mean too much water is needed. Once you are running keep detailed costs and income records. When possible track a particular crop just to see what is happening.

I have forgotten at least this much and will let you know if anything comes to me.

Just to be clear, I am not recommending you do all or any particular activities, you will have to set your goals andlimits. I think you are someone who likes to learn and this will be a fun process. Something that works in one place may not work for you and vice versa. You do not need to explain yourself to naysayers. It is easy to say something can’t happen and impossible to prove it. Search for people that have similar experience that are willing to share and have fun.

Chok Dee

Thanks so much for long reply.....

1. rice mill is good idea...at first i was thinking about it but as i know i will not be there every time and it quite heavy work for my parent. so decided not to do it at that time. still a good idea to add this item in.

2. i already saw a neighbor successfully growing Grapes but i haven't seen anyone growing Durian in Yasothon.....except in Srisaket, a province next to Yasothon.

3. I only grow 2 of each you mentioned and will not grow more till i see how they perform.

4. grafting was something that i'm thinking too... i agree it will make more money on selling your own tree.

And the rest of what you have mentioned here are what i'm looking for and willing to try it out...it gonna be a lot of fun......

the only thing that i cant do here is having Pla Sa-wai in the pond. because ours is not a big pond for such fish to live in.

Mr Kie · June 5, 2016

Hello Mr. Kie

Where you live in Yasothon?

I live in Roi Et and we have here nearly 6 Rai and i belive there is to make a living from this.

The EM Farm in Saraburi have "Exemple Farms" for 1 and 7 Rai. But its all the times depend where you live.

Allgeier

Hi Allgeier

I live in Baan Sritan in Patiuw district. do you only work in a farm or also doing something else?

Right! there are many example of model farm 1 rai or 7 rai or 15 rai. the model is more or less the same between each size just a matter of what you will be growing on your land...

Thanks for sharing.

Allgeier · June 5, 2016

Here is one Member who live from his 5-10 Rai Farm?

In my position i would like to have every month about 20000 Bath and i will be happy.

And this is now the question how.

Every Worker or part from the Family will cut off some of my Profit or my income should rise.

And now i asking who like to work at 40 degree and more in the sun and plant some vegetable? Or cut the grass for the cow? Or do some weeding.

WishWashMan · June 5, 2016

You have a lot of interesting things here, Mr. Kie, and I'm following along. It's a bit difficult to comment because you have so many different business ideas... Not just farming. The 7-11 idea is particularly interesting to me. But I am not sure... Is this 7-11 something that will be located on your land, or on other land somewhere nearby? How many people live in the area you're planning for the 7-11? Will it be in the countryside somewhere, or perhaps along highway 202 or 23? These things seems somewhat important to me from the standpoint that 7-11 / CP may not want to have a 7-11 in the location you're thinking of. If there are not enough people in the area, they may decline (I've seen them do so before). On the other hand, if there are enough people in the area, or if it's a particularly good location, someone may open a 7-11 before you do. So it seems to me that if you're serious, and if you have a good location, you might want to pursue this matter first. (Another option might be a Tesco Lotus Express. Lots of these where I live; not so many over by Yasothon.)

Another income stream you mention is "renting the room." This can take many forms. Someone might rent a room in their home to others, for example. Or rooms might be rented by the month to local workers. In that case, you might have a dormitory... Many rooms. Or "renting a room" could mean a hotel of some kind. A guesthouse kind of thing. Renting one room, long term, would probably only bring in about 1,000-2,000 Baht per month. Renting ten of those in a dormitory building would bring in ten times more, of course. Provided you have people who want to rent them. If not, then you must lower your rate, or have empty rooms, or both. I cannot say for sure, but I do not believe a hotel or guesthouse in Yasothon would meet with much success. Rates at The JP Emerald Hotel are quite low, and there are 2-3 other hotels with even lower rates. I actually believe that I was the only person staying at the JP Emerald when I stayed there. They did have 20-30 people come into the restaurant that evening for a party of some kind, so they drank a bit, ate a bit, and sang karaoke. But then they all left fairly early, and the only people I saw after that was staff. Too, no one at the Yasothon Police Station spoke English, or if they did, I couldn't find them. So I'm guessing you don't get too many foreigners looking for places to stay over that way.

I'm also recalling now a lovely hotel/guesthouse kind of place about 100KM north of Chiang Mai on the way to Chiang Rai. There was a restaurant, coffee shop, perhaps 20 rooms, all extremely well decorated (it cost a lot to do what they did), and there were workers (family?) everywhere all of the time. The only problem was that it was in the middle of nowhere, and once again, I was the only person staying there. I do not see any way they could ever make a profit from all their effort, but there they were. I think perhaps that because they had spent so much time and money building the place, they were trapped there, unable to leave, unable to make much money.

So... "renting a room" can take many forms, and can mean many things. Please tell us more...

I also found the note of "youtube - 100,000" to be interesting. I've never even thought about trying to make money from youtube. You appear to be much more enterprising than I am.

None of these comments have anything to do with your farming efforts, but then, you're the one who mentioned the non-farming things, and I think they are worth further discussion. All of my comments/questions here are intended to be helpful, by the way. I'm very interested in what you're trying to do here, and would like to know more.

A nice post questiong the OP sanity.

I would say to OP politely "are you nutts" hahahaha.

WishWashMan · June 5, 2016

I will agree that there are a lot of ways to lose money farming, but it is certainly not impossible to make money. There has been a lot of good advice and some not so good. I have lost more than my share of money farming in Thailand and know why it happened. I think you have a very interesting project. I have done everything over the last 20 years here on your list except grapes, lychee, rambutan, mangosteen, mulberry, roselle, pigs, and earth worms, but have done prawns, frogs, quail and a few other crops and fruits (and have forgot some). With enough work almost everything you are doing can be profitable. Here are some thoughts I have in no particular order and forgive me if you are doing them already:

Consider adding a small rice mill. Around here the operator gets the rice polishings and the rice hulls. This gives you a supplemental income in the form of the rice polishings that can be sold or feed to your animals. And the rice hulls could be composted to return organic materials to your soil.

I will predict that you will have problems with grapes, durian.

I would reduce or eliminate Mangosteen, rambutan, lychee, ma fie, but not til you see if they are good producers. See my next point.

Learn how to air layer and graft and make your own trees to sell. Double grafting is even better and more profitable. Thing about every tree you bought. Your work, only a little space and a good return. Seed papaya, and seed other shrubs and clone bamboo and bananas.

Add a Thai Grapefruit tree to clone from.

Add manila tamarind. They will do especially well around your ponds. Fish love fruit that falls and so do chickens and ducks that free range. You have to make sure you get a good strain so look at the fruit on the parent stock

Add1-2 Kaffir lime or more.

Basil will grow right up alongside a building. Grow extra to feed your livestock. Look at other herbs.

Add Putsa Apple.

Add as many water collection jars as is practical to every building.

Consider some concrete rings to raise catfish but I would stick with Big Oui (I have never had pla duck Russia grow well). There is also a strain of climbing perch that is promising and I am trying to get a small sample to try out. I would also consider one crop of pla duk a year in the smaller pond nearer you house. Drain it to fill the other

I would look for the best strain of tilapia you can find and raise them in nets. Throw some Pla Sawai in the ponds if you like to eat them, but not too many. I love hamook.

Geese are hard to make money on, but a couple out on your ponds will let you know if you have visitors. If you are well respected in the village, you will have less loss. A mean dog won’t hurt either.

Consider getting a small plot and opening a market. Put in a covered structure and run power and build some stalls. Let everyone use it for free for a while and use it yourself. It can be as simple or fancy as you think will work.

I would probably opt to pass on Yasohotin. It will cost you about 100 baht per trip and rental on a stall. You are better off building a quality operation and selling as much as you can in the local market which will get more locals to know about your farm and lead to walk in customers. A consistent presence will be rewarded.

Look at making your own poultry feed. Consider dropping chickens except for your own use. I am working on a layer/ gai ban cross that is a good layer of small to medium eggs, and meats out more like a gai ban. Put the hens with gai ban roosters and you can make money selling for meat. I would go with Pekin ducks and may be start with a few on your ponds. If you must have laying chickens buy good POL pullets, then cage/coop raise them. Free ranging or just letting them wander around a yard is a money loser.

Consider quail. I can give you a lot of info on this. Per square meter you will make more than chicken or ducks.

Consider crickets. It was a fad years ago and I thought it died out, but two local feed stores in Petchabun are selling cricket feed bulk. I haven’t done it, but it would be something to look at.

The Santol makes a good border for a field or road. Consider drip tape.

Put Papaya around your young fruit trees to shade them some while they are young. Some folks use bananas

Prik Keenu will grow well in the shade of bananas and papayas.

Forget crops for farang like zucchini, strawberries, bell peppers, head lettuce ect…. At least in the beginning .

Learn about drip tape (not the same as the hose type irrigation) and plastic mulch. It is used on melons and other crops. You will use a lot less water.

You tube and Facebook can be your friend. You are a lot more likely to find people doing exactly the same crop(s) as you and over time will help you advertise.

Going organic can be the right thing to do, but most of your local buyers will not pay a premium. Initially it is important to compete on a fair footing.

We have 2 rose apple trees and the wife planted a bunch of chillis around one and it had considerably few pests. I hear that chrysanthemums do the same.

A light over your pond may help a few pest to become fish food and may discourage visitors.

Keeping records will be a valuable exercise over time. Note weekly market prices for crops you are thinking about and when the high prices tend to occur….New Years, Songkran, Chinese New Years, when schools are open or closed. Obviously high prices can mean it is the wrong time a year or it could mean too much water is needed. Once you are running keep detailed costs and income records. When possible track a particular crop just to see what is happening.

I have forgotten at least this much and will let you know if anything comes to me.

Just to be clear, I am not recommending you do all or any particular activities, you will have to set your goals andlimits. I think you are someone who likes to learn and this will be a fun process. Something that works in one place may not work for you and vice versa. You do not need to explain yourself to naysayers. It is easy to say something can’t happen and impossible to prove it. Search for people that have similar experience that are willing to share and have fun.

Chok Dee

Pardon me but nowhere in this post does it say I Made a Killing Farming in thailand.

Never take advice from a fat man on how to lose weight.

Mr Kie · June 5, 2016

Never forget the first rule of farming.....grow to feed the family first and sell the excess.

The western farmers forgot this simple rule and fell into the trap of mono culture and are subject to the vagaries of market prices for their one and only prod

You sound like a person who is well educated and has a plan for the future.

Have you thought about niche marketing/growing?

Where I am (Surin province) it is difficult to buy a decent sized potato. I guess there are many more foreigners who have the same issue. We eat potatoes like Asians eat rice.

Decent tomatoes...big fat juicy ones.

Could be a possibility there?

Another thing could be aquaponics....bit like hydroponics ,,,, bit different...google it.

Intensively farmed fish and vegetables.

Good luck and chok dee...keep us up to date on your progress.

Thanks Mudcrab for sharing...

Right!...what i like about farming is that it's something real and more reliable than anything else.....

one day i had opportunity having breakfast at a 25,000 - 160,000 Baht/night hotel (the most expensive hotel in Bangkok) i eat fruit that provided in a fruit corner and everything just like the same as what we have in our farm. for example pineapple, coconut, mango, papaya, dragon fruit and some other fruit juice is also the same (mean it's all fresh and tasty)...So i think i'm on the right direction...at least cutting our cost on food a lot. if you have an excess...it's up to you whether will through it away or sell it..

regarding the Decent tomatoes...i would suggest to contact to this website punpunthailand.org the founder of this organization is my English Teacher (Thai) who from my village and i know him personally and he is now running the farm in Chiangmai and he is wel-known as the first Earthen builder in Thailand and they are doing seed saving from around the world for years now and give to those interested people or farmers for free. if you like can contact to them...i believe they have all the thing there including the Decent Tomatoes that you want

will keep you updated....good luck Krub

WishWashMan · June 5, 2016

Here is one Member who live from his 5-10 Rai Farm?

In my position i would like to have every month about 20000 Bath and i will be happy.

And this is now the question how.

Every Worker or part from the Family will cut off some of my Profit or my income should rise.

And now i asking who like to work at 40 degree and more in the sun and plant some vegetable? Or cut the grass for the cow? Or do some weeding.

In america they are called MOOCHERS!

Mr Kie · June 5, 2016

Here is one Member who live from his 5-10 Rai Farm?

In my position i would like to have every month about 20000 Bath and i will be happy.

And this is now the question how.

Every Worker or part from the Family will cut off some of my Profit or my income should rise.

And now i asking who like to work at 40 degree and more in the sun and plant some vegetable? Or cut the grass for the cow? Or do some weeding.

me either not gonna work at 40C but that's manageable isn't it? I normally will work in the field only early morning from 6:00am to 9:00am and then will start working again from 4:00-6:00 pm. the rest of it will work indoor or take a nap....or go online chatting.....or work on something else....

good luck to you...at least you have questioning yourself of how to do it

....for me i don't have any problem with income....i have many things to do and every businesses i'm in...will be seen in the profit and loss account spread sheet and i also look at the number of how much every day expenses and take it into my monthly balance sheet....and see if i'm still doing okay or losing money.....so far so good.

CLW · June 5, 2016

Just to add something about profit of a farm. I have a calculation about a small size dairy farm with 15 cows. In the first years it yields a profit of 80 to 100k Baht per year.

So you have to ask yourself if that's worth all the work.

I guess there's easier ways in agriculture to earn money

Edited June 5, 2016 by CLW

WishWashMan · June 5, 2016

This has got to be a ruse thread. Now we find op doesnt want to work the HOT hours of the day. Yet want to purchase a 7-11 with farming profits.........................hahahaha.

I was fooled into thinking this guy was serious.................hahahahahaha.

timberpond · June 5, 2016

I'll camping here for more updates... Love your positive attitude Mr. Kie... Looking forward to learn something from your project!

Allgeier · June 5, 2016

Hello Mr. Kie

Where you live in Yasothon?

I live in Roi Et and we have here nearly 6 Rai and i belive there is to make a living from this.

The EM Farm in Saraburi have "Exemple Farms" for 1 and 7 Rai. But its all the times depend where you live.

Allgeier

Hi Allgeier

I live in Baan Sritan in Patiuw district. do you only work in a farm or also doing something else?

Right! there are many example of model farm 1 rai or 7 rai or 15 rai. the model is more or less the same between each size just a matter of what you will be growing on your land...

Thanks for sharing.

It's about 60 km away where i live. Not to far. I do only this Farming. And this is normaly enough. Because 3 hour in the morning and 2 hour at the afternoon are not enough. (In my Position) And i not have Worker. So i thinking very mutch about the time i spending for each work.

But its should be also a matter what i can sell on the Market by my self or my wife. The easiest profit is to sell the thinks by the farmer them self on the market.

To sell duck egg, i dont need to have duck. I can buy them for 85 Bath.

Or the Quailegg. To sell the egg of them. I not need to have Quail. In Roi Et there sell them for 85 Bath/100 egg.

If you like you can send me your google coordinates where your Farm is.

WishWasMan:

If you have pig you not need to work at the hot hours of the day. And some small work its possible to do in the morning. For exemple: I cut every morning at 5 a clock the grass for the calw and the pig.

The Morning is for working. Not for sleeping. The hot hours of the day to do some rest or stay on the computer.

But i am a little surprise. We have here many advise how to farm but only on the paper or in the brain.

I think here is nobody who live from the 5 or 10 Rai Property.

Or have?

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