Growing grass for hay

Slugs11 · June 13, 2016

Hi, I was wondering if any person has had success in growing hay in Thailand. We have a spare 7 rai field and was thinking of growing hay, for dry season feed for our cattle. I am not sure if this is possible in Thailand, as believe the type of grass to grow for hay is not available or would grow in the climate ?

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

Speedo1968 · June 13, 2016

Have you ever considered "Green Fodder" ? This is grown undercover and can provide green fresh fodder every day of the year, suitable for all livestock.

I am not sure about the storage of hay in Thailand, mold growth or over heating / possible fire may be a risk.

kickstart · June 13, 2016

Speedo 1968 has a good point if you could grow grass all the year round it would save you a lot of time and money ,also ,7 rie is a lot ,to grow hay on just for a few cattle.

Hay is make in Thailand ,for some reason Pangola grass is used , what I have seen ,it is all old grass ,all stem and no leaf , not a lot of feed value in it .

Making hay ,you will need a mower and tractor ,grass mowers in Thailand not easy to find ,then a grass turner , and finally a baler , I live in a big dairy area , we have most things (,but not seen mower for along time ) ,if you live a big rice growing area fining equipment might not be easy .

You can get grass varieties of grass for hay no problem , but you have to make hay ,when the grass grows ,during the rainy season , and some time getting say 4-.5 day ,without any rain ,while you make some hay ,( bit like the uk ) , might not be easy , and you will need a shed to store it all in .

The thing at this present time is Nappier grass silage , ,Google it , you would only need 1-2 rie ,equipment easy to find , nappier grass easy to grow , we grow it , can withstand drought and some flooding , but it need feeding , it does like a lot of urea , and soon gets old and of poor quality ,they are better grasses for sure.

Speedo1968 · June 14, 2016

Speedo 1968 has a good point if you could grow grass all the year round it would save you a lot of time and money ,also ,7 rie is a lot ,to grow hay on just for a few cattle.

Hay is make in Thailand ,for some reason Pangola grass is used , what I have seen ,it is all old grass ,all stem and no leaf , not a lot of feed value in it .

Making hay ,you will need a mower and tractor ,grass mowers in Thailand not easy to find ,then a grass turner , and finally a baler , I live in a big dairy area , we have most things (,but not seen mower for along time ) ,if you live a big rice growing area fining equipment might not be easy .

You can get grass varieties of grass for hay no problem , but you have to make hay ,when the grass grows ,during the rainy season , and some time getting say 4-.5 day ,without any rain ,while you make some hay ,( bit like the uk ) , might not be easy , and you will need a shed to store it all in .

The thing at this present time is Nappier grass silage , ,Google it , you would only need 1-2 rie ,equipment easy to find , nappier grass easy to grow , we grow it , can withstand drought and some flooding , but it need feeding , it does like a lot of urea , and soon gets old and of poor quality ,they are better grasses for sure.

Hi "kickstart"

Like your info.

I started farming back in 1960 UK, ( spent 50 years in different countries in farming industry ), hay was hand turned and sometimes hand cut. Hoisting 20Kg bales on to the top of a rick was hard work. Canadian hay at that time was also imported, very sweet.

Silage, would be interested to know if it is made here and how. Isn't fire risk a problem in this climate ? Oooh, that smell on a cold winters morning hand cutting that days lot, and it kept your feet warm too.

Brewers grains were also used in England - again nice work in the winter - you had to watch out for the occasional cow that got a bit legless .....

Just to be sure "kickstart" do you know what I mean by green fodder - this is not grass per se, this is grown using seeds, normally barley but here could be soy, wheat, mung etc, ( I have tried on a very very basic and very small scale here with the intention of feeding to pigs ).

It can be grown in fully or semi closed conditions e.g. in a 40ft container or anything in-between down to a room in your house or a small store made from recycled materials such as wood / plastic. Roughly, the seeds are pre-soaked, laid on trays or old plastic sheeting and watered. Some people add nutrients. In 7 - 10 days you have your grass crop which can be cut in to blocks and fed as is. The land area is minimal as you can grow the grass on stacked trays.

CLW · June 14, 2016

If you are interested in experimenting you could try to make a silage. It has higher value than hay.

Thai farmers using plastic bags for small size farm.

You can add concentrate or dried cassava to improve nutritional value.

Speedo1968 · June 14, 2016

If you are interested in experimenting you could try to make a silage. It has higher value than hay.

Thai farmers using plastic bags for small size farm.

You can add concentrate or dried cassava to improve nutritional value.

Thanks "CLW" for the info.

Actually I retired from farming just over a year ago.

I spent most of my 50 years in farming overseas, from South America to New Zealand and in between, many of them as a freelance consultant.

I now remain just as an "interested person", perhaps from being someone who likes to think "outside the box".

Guess I miss farming

CLW · June 14, 2016

CLW · June 14, 2016

Tropical grass species for hay

Rhodes Grass (Chloris gayana)

Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)

Pangola Grass (Digitaria eriantha)

These species should be available in Thailand

Slugs11 · June 14, 2016

Hi,

Appreciate all the good advice on this subject.

Guess I am just a bit old fashion and like to think back to how things were done a few years back.

We do grow some Napier grass, but its time consuming making it into silage. I was surprised when reading comment from Kickstart, of how he cut it and leave in the field for a few hours, turn it and then collect. Had never thought of that, always assumed you would loose the goodness out of it.

Will likely grow Mulato grass on some of it, have found a place what can build a grass chopper with chute and the trailer, I like the idea of going to cut fresh grass using the tractor :-)

Might try some of the grasses suggest. Was planning to build a small barn to stack the rice straw in, so if could make hay then we can store there. As Kickstart stated, finding the right equipment might be the problem.

Thanks for all comments

kickstart · June 14, 2016

Hi Slugs

You are probably right about losing some goodness by wilting the Napier grass before making it into silage .

But it is to do with DM, dry matter of the grass ,when we make silage we can keep it for 6 months before feeding it , Nappier grass with it thick stems is a very wet grass , if we cut it then chopped it into silage it would give you a very wet silage , low DM , cattle would eat the silage ,but would be full up with water ,not silage, we have made some wet silage emptied a bag into the feed trough ,and water has flowed from the bag ,also if the grass is wet you will not get the right microbes to ferment the grass into silage , only make the grass into compost .

A few years ago I went back to the uk of a few weeks , we where short of our own silage, so we brought some in from a local farmer ,old grass not wilted before chopping ,the missus said she had to throw away 20% ,gone rotten ,made far too wet .I would rather have silage of a bit less quality ,that I can keep for a long time , than ,a wet silage with the risk of it going off , also we are only feeding some beef cows , not 50 kg /day dairy cows ,so a slightly less quality silage does not matter so much , our cattle are growing well , and for the past 3-4 years ,we have not had a fertility problem ,must be doing something right .

@CLW.

That list of grasses ,you should be able to get the seeds from your local DLD office , but they are getting a bit dated now ,some like Pangola I think can be planted from root stock , and they take some managing , to get the best quality out of them ,ie cut at the fight time/stage of growth, fertilizer , and water ,they are a lot better grasses on the market , a lot higher protein ,and higher yielding .

Ubon forage seeds have a Guinea that can be made into silage ,if cut right ,with a protein of 10% ?, not bad for Thailand , I would love to grow some Mulato grass , but my land gets too wet , and it would not grow.

Molasses added to grass at the chopping stage , makes good silage , with all that sugar , it will give you a good fermentation ,cattle love it to, makes a sweet silage.

Speedo1968 · June 16, 2016

Would still give the idea of growing "green fodder", ( grown undercover ) quality is much more reliable, the hard work of hay or silage making is taken out ( although this was / is part of the enjoyment of farming ), is not dependent on rain ( assuming you have water supply ), is fresh, grow as much as you want, can be fed to all livestock, harvesting is easy.

kickstart · June 17, 2016

Would still give the idea of growing "green fodder", ( grown undercover ) quality is much more reliable, the hard work of hay or silage making is taken out ( although this was / is part of the enjoyment of farming ), is not dependent on rain ( assuming you have water supply ), is fresh, grow as much as you want, can be fed to all livestock, harvesting is easy.

Sounds to me you are almost talking about hydroponics ,they is a tread on it ,also it has been discussed on other cattle treads .

I would say here in Thailand ,rice would be the crop to grow ,cheap and plenty of it ,wheat would be good ,but not easy to find , it all would take some managing .

If you had say 20 head of stock ,mixed ,ages from 6 months to adult stock ,eating on average ,say 12 kg /head /day ,that works a lot of rice /mung beans /soya ,too grow , management would have to be good .the setup would be expensive ,but that would soon pay for its self .

If you had land and water I still say grass is better ,a paddock or a strip grazing system for grazing ,and maybe Napier for silage ,you might have to get some casual labour in for cutting and chopping.

Speedo1968 · June 18, 2016

Would still give the idea of growing "green fodder", ( grown undercover ) quality is much more reliable, the hard work of hay or silage making is taken out ( although this was / is part of the enjoyment of farming ), is not dependent on rain ( assuming you have water supply ), is fresh, grow as much as you want, can be fed to all livestock, harvesting is easy.

Sounds to me you are almost talking about hydroponics ,they is a tread on it ,also it has been discussed on other cattle treads .

I would say here in Thailand ,rice would be the crop to grow ,cheap and plenty of it ,wheat would be good ,but not easy to find , it all would take some managing .

If you had say 20 head of stock ,mixed ,ages from 6 months to adult stock ,eating on average ,say 12 kg /head /day ,that works a lot of rice /mung beans /soya ,too grow , management would have to be good .the setup would be expensive ,but that would soon pay for its self .

If you had land and water I still say grass is better ,a paddock or a strip grazing system for grazing ,and maybe Napier for silage ,you might have to get some casual labour in for cutting and chopping.

No, not hydroponics in the normal sense.

It is like growing bean sprouts but the grain is allowed to grow for 7 - 10 days under lighting or normal daylight.

The roots form a mat which edible, this means the mats can be rolled up or cut into manageable blocks.

You cannot use rice because there are always too many broken grains which is why barley is the most suitable.

Obviously here that would be too expensive so the alternative choices are wheat ( also pricey ) or soya. Any form of bean will sprout as long as conditions are suitable, just depends on nutrient values you require and some basic hygiene right at the start.

You can buy a containerised set up which they use in some countries or any building that has ventilation and water. The water can be dripped, sprayed or on a small scale applied by hand.

If you intend to feed every day you need a 7 day setup, in a container this is in one end out the other, with stacked trays its however many stacks or trays you need.

The advantages to consider are all year round production, not dependent on weather, kilos of fodder per square metre, generally consistent quality, low labour demand. The disadvantage with containerisation is of course that you need electricity and, its cost ( use solar ).

No, I am not a salesman I am just an old hand in farming who looks outside the box for ideas.

You say there were previous postings about this, I will try and find. If not I can sort out a few web addresses that may be useful.

kickstart · June 18, 2016

Would still give the idea of growing "green fodder", ( grown undercover ) quality is much more reliable, the hard work of hay or silage making is taken out ( although this was / is part of the enjoyment of farming ), is not dependent on rain ( assuming you have water supply ), is fresh, grow as much as you want, can be fed to all livestock, harvesting is easy.

Sounds to me you are almost talking about hydroponics ,they is a tread on it ,also it has been discussed on other cattle treads .

I would say here in Thailand ,rice would be the crop to grow ,cheap and plenty of it ,wheat would be good ,but not easy to find , it all would take some managing .

If you had say 20 head of stock ,mixed ,ages from 6 months to adult stock ,eating on average ,say 12 kg /head /day ,that works a lot of rice /mung beans /soya ,too grow , management would have to be good .the setup would be expensive ,but that would soon pay for its self .

If you had land and water I still say grass is better ,a paddock or a strip grazing system for grazing ,and maybe Napier for silage ,you might have to get some casual labour in for cutting and chopping.

No, not hydroponics in the normal sense.

It is like growing bean sprouts but the grain is allowed to grow for 7 - 10 days under lighting or normal daylight.

The roots form a mat which edible, this means the mats can be rolled up or cut into manageable blocks.

You cannot use rice because there are always too many broken grains which is why barley is the most suitable.

Obviously here that would be too expensive so the alternative choices are wheat ( also pricey ) or soya. Any form of bean will sprout as long as conditions are suitable, just depends on nutrient values you require and some basic hygiene right at the start.

You can buy a containerised set up which they use in some countries or any building that has ventilation and water. The water can be dripped, sprayed or on a small scale applied by hand.

If you intend to feed every day you need a 7 day setup, in a container this is in one end out the other, with stacked trays its however many stacks or trays you need.

The advantages to consider are all year round production, not dependent on weather, kilos of fodder per square metre, generally consistent quality, low labour demand. The disadvantage with containerisation is of course that you need electricity and, its cost ( use solar ).

No, I am not a salesman I am just an old hand in farming who looks outside the box for ideas.

You say there were previous postings about this, I will try and find. If not I can sort out a few web addresses that may be useful.

Interring , pity you can not use rice ,that would almost halve the costs ,finding barley in Thailand would not be easy , most barley in Thailand is impoted for the brewing industry , have seen wheat being used in Thai cattle feed, I think that is imported ,as you said both expensive

If you had some land ,you could grow some mung beans ,mung beans being a legume ,the protein and ME/TDN ( energy calculation), would be good .

For a building a simple eucalyptus ,pole shed ,using a grass , Yar -Kar, in Thai, for the roof , almost like a mushroom shed .

If you could find some web addresses it would be appreciated .

Last year we ,and others had a drought , the way this year is going ,so far it is not looking good ,if it is to do with global warming ,and you can keep costs down could be the way to produce ,a good high quality feed for cattle and goats.

Speedo1968 · June 19, 2016

Would still give the idea of growing "green fodder", ( grown undercover ) quality is much more reliable, the hard work of hay or silage making is taken out ( although this was / is part of the enjoyment of farming ), is not dependent on rain ( assuming you have water supply ), is fresh, grow as much as you want, can be fed to all livestock, harvesting is easy.

Sounds to me you are almost talking about hydroponics ,they is a tread on it ,also it has been discussed on other cattle treads .

I would say here in Thailand ,rice would be the crop to grow ,cheap and plenty of it ,wheat would be good ,but not easy to find , it all would take some managing .

If you had say 20 head of stock ,mixed ,ages from 6 months to adult stock ,eating on average ,say 12 kg /head /day ,that works a lot of rice /mung beans /soya ,too grow , management would have to be good .the setup would be expensive ,but that would soon pay for its self .

If you had land and water I still say grass is better ,a paddock or a strip grazing system for grazing ,and maybe Napier for silage ,you might have to get some casual labour in for cutting and chopping.

No, not hydroponics in the normal sense.

It is like growing bean sprouts but the grain is allowed to grow for 7 - 10 days under lighting or normal daylight.

The roots form a mat which edible, this means the mats can be rolled up or cut into manageable blocks.

You cannot use rice because there are always too many broken grains which is why barley is the most suitable.

Obviously here that would be too expensive so the alternative choices are wheat ( also pricey ) or soya. Any form of bean will sprout as long as conditions are suitable, just depends on nutrient values you require and some basic hygiene right at the start.

You can buy a containerised set up which they use in some countries or any building that has ventilation and water. The water can be dripped, sprayed or on a small scale applied by hand.

If you intend to feed every day you need a 7 day setup, in a container this is in one end out the other, with stacked trays its however many stacks or trays you need.

The advantages to consider are all year round production, not dependent on weather, kilos of fodder per square metre, generally consistent quality, low labour demand. The disadvantage with containerisation is of course that you need electricity and, its cost ( use solar ).

No, I am not a salesman I am just an old hand in farming who looks outside the box for ideas.

You say there were previous postings about this, I will try and find. If not I can sort out a few web addresses that may be useful.

Interring , pity you can not use rice ,that would almost halve the costs ,finding barley in Thailand would not be easy , most barley in Thailand is impoted for the brewing industry , have seen wheat being used in Thai cattle feed, I think that is imported ,as you said both expensive

If you had some land ,you could grow some mung beans ,mung beans being a legume ,the protein and ME/TDN ( energy calculation), would be good .

For a building a simple eucalyptus ,pole shed ,using a grass , Yar -Kar, in Thai, for the roof , almost like a mushroom shed .

If you could find some web addresses it would be appreciated .

Last year we ,and others had a drought , the way this year is going ,so far it is not looking good ,if it is to do with global warming ,and you can keep costs down could be the way to produce ,a good high quality feed for cattle and goats.

Hello "kickstart" thanks for your comments.

Glad you understand about rice etc.

I wonder if you can use brewers grain ( spent barley grains post making beer ) in Thailand to feed cattle / cows as they used to do in England ? Any ideas ? I dont know where you are from or your farming background outside of Thailand but, brewers grains were feed in the Winter.

Mung beans are, if I am correct, traditionally used for bean sprouts for human consumption - these are the ones I meant as an alternative to barley. The difference being is that bean sprouts for humans were grown in the dark whereas for green fodder they are grown under light.

The materials used for a mushroom shed are fine but the building must have a waterproof roof and walls so that rain water cannot contaminate the sprouting grains. The floor can be dirt to keep costs really low.

If you give me a couple of days I will go thru my own files and, find the best video clips to give you an idea of the high and low end building types suitable; perhaps also expected kilos per square meter.

Once you have looked at the video clips I would suggest you try a very basic test on a couple of small trays, ensure that you pre-rinse the grains as shown. Also keep the ants away.

I tried myself, in Thailand, on a very simple and small scale a couple of years ago. It was to show a local pig farmer some feeding options other than or as a supplement to cassava and bean sprout waste. Most of the beans I tried sprouted, the best of all being mung bean, however I would look at trying wheat again. As for using grass seeds probably useless but would be a fun experiment.

Regarding the weather, I have followed climate change since I first started farming in 1960. Having worked in desert, sub-tropical, tropical climates I note what is happening here in Thailand now. Farmers should ALWAYS be in front of the weather ! I have been visiting and living in Thailand for the past 20 years in the farming business, Thailand is, I am sure, heading to become a semi-arid or dry country less of a sub-tropical climate. Longer, hotter, drier, more windy summers, colder, drier, more windy winters and generally longer, the rainy season will give the "wrong kinds of rain" ( crop / soil damage ). Soil errossion and water quality will change. Both arable and livestock farming will be affected, with disease etc; large scale closed house farming will have to change their attitudes to ventilation control etc.

Enough said, will get on and look for video clips for you.

CLW · June 19, 2016

Go on YouTube and search hydroponics fodder.

And you'll get an idea about this system

Michael Hare · June 19, 2016

Tropical grass species for hay

Rhodes Grass (Chloris gayana)

Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)

Pangola Grass (Digitaria eriantha)

These species should be available in Thailand

Some of these species are not available these days in Thailand.

Pangola grass is available, but can only be planted using stems and root stock. It makes good hay but yields are low.

Rhodes grass and Buffel grass seeds are no longer produced in Thailand. I used to grow both species in Khon Kaen and Mahasarakham provinces back in the 1970s but they are not favoured by Thai farmers these days. Back then, I made excellent hay from a mixture of Coastal bermuda grass and Townsville stylo. Again these two species are no longer grown in Thailand.

It is extremely difficult to make hay in the main growing season in Thailand; the wet season. Too humid and very difficult to dry. The best time to make hay is in the dry season when the cut grass can be dried in the field after cutting. However, without irrigation it is difficult to get high dry matter yields in the dry season.

For these reasons and many others, Thai farmers who have available land prefer to produce silage. The best species for silage making are the the guinea grasses, Mombasa and Purple (Sri muang), Ruzi grass, Mulato II hybrid brachiaria and sometimes Ubon paspalum if heavily fertilised. Napier grass for silage must be finely chopped to get the large stems cut into fine pieces for compaction. Without chopping, instead of silage ones gets compost.

473geo · June 19, 2016

Interesting thread guys, as highlighted on the thread, climate seems to be undergoing change, and I see increasing interest in cattle, given the current margins in rice production even if the rains do arrive! However those rice farmers with 'open range' have very limited chance of individualism

My wife is about to create a paddock for grazing. I quite like the idea of mung to support through a dry or resting period. Could you advise an outlet/type of outlet for the mung beans, I am thinking not bought at the supermarket by the half kilo?

Any information would be appreciated

Thanks

CLW · June 19, 2016

Tropical grass species for hay

Rhodes Grass (Chloris gayana)

Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)

Pangola Grass (Digitaria eriantha)

These species should be available in Thailand

Some of these species are not available these days in Thailand.

Pangola grass is available, but can only be planted using stems and root stock. It makes good hay but yields are low.

Rhodes grass and Buffel grass seeds are no longer produced in Thailand. I used to grow both species in Khon Kaen and Mahasarakham provinces back in the 1970s but they are not favoured by Thai farmers these days. Back then, I made excellent hay from a mixture of Coastal bermuda grass and Townsville stylo. Again these two species are no longer grown in Thailand.

It is extremely difficult to make hay in the main growing season in Thailand; the wet season. Too humid and very difficult to dry. The best time to make hay is in the dry season when the cut grass can be dried in the field after cutting. However, without irrigation it is difficult to get high dry matter yields in the dry season.

For these reasons and many others, Thai farmers who have available land prefer to produce silage. The best species for silage making are the the guinea grasses, Mombasa and Purple (Sri muang), Ruzi grass, Mulato II hybrid brachiaria and sometimes Ubon paspalum if heavily fertilised. Napier grass for silage must be finely chopped to get the large stems cut into fine pieces for compaction. Without chopping, instead of silage ones gets compost.

Thank you, that is very interesting and helpful information.

As I got the list of species from a handout of the dairy farming promotion Thailand (D.P.O.) I guessed it is up to date. Obviously not [emoji6]

kickstart · June 19, 2016

Hi Speedo

Brewers grains is a feed I have been using for feeding my cattle in Thailand for some years ,you could say we are lucky living in a big dairy area ,also only 150 km from BKK, / Auyutthaya where most of the Thai brewers are ,so we are paying 82 Baht for a 40 kg bag I think they are a good feed low DM (dry matter ),28% but have a a protein of 22%.

,They had a bad press a few years ago , some said they cause an infertility problem ,I would say not true ,problem would be DMI( dry matter intake) grains being wet .

But for the past 6 weeks they have been getting difficult to find , 2 big sellers of grains have both said the brewers have cut back on production ,not the amount of

grains about which says to me Thais and Farangs are not drinking as much beer as before , which to me says our economy is not good ,Thai's are drinking more Lao Khow and Hong Tong not the dearer beer,or they has been to much over production , and they have now had to cut back on production.

One buyer near here has brought in brewers grains from Cambodia and Laos he sells them for 100-110 Baht bag ,cost of haulage and import tax pushes the price up

So a message from my beef cows ,who do like there brewer's grains ,that all the Farangs in LOS drink more beer .

With the start of the Thai lent next month ,when a lot of Thai's do give up alcohol for 3 months , the problem could get worse .

When I was in the uk we to buy in 100ton of grains in July and August ,when they where cheap ,and feed them to the Autumn and winter calving cows ,along with a 16% concentrate ,sugar beet pulp ,and some years palm kernel cake ,plus grass silage .

kickstart · June 19, 2016

Interesting thread guys, as highlighted on the thread, climate seems to be undergoing change, and I see increasing interest in cattle, given the current margins in rice production even if the rains do arrive! However those rice farmers with 'open range' have very limited chance of individualism

My wife is about to create a paddock for grazing. I quite like the idea of mung to support through a dry or resting period. Could you advise an outlet/type of outlet for the mung beans, I am thinking not bought at the supermarket by the half kilo?

Any information would be appreciated

Thanks

You want to find a buyer , who buys in mainly maize ,he should also buy in mung beans ,or in Thai a Toll- Gair ,right now they will not be much around ,a lot is grown Pichit province ,where I am in Lopburi they tend to be grown as a second crop ,that is what we use to do ,grown after maize ,so that would make it late Autumn .just depends where you are ,last year some farmers reversed they crops grew mugn beans first then maize ,mung beans need less water than maize ,after last years drought ,some farmers are doing that this year ,waiting for the main rains to grow they maize

How much you would pay is difficult to say we last sold a crop for 32 baht /kg ,I have herd 43 baht/kg ,ask around and find a buyer .

They have lots of uses ,they go for bean sprouts ,and glass noodles , have seen them in cattle feed , so they is a buoyant market

@ CLW

The DPO at Mortlec Saraburi ,are now feeding they cows fresh Nappier grass ,I was up they 2 weeks ago ,they where chopping some fresh Nappier ,what I could see it was past it best feed value ,it will make the cows work digesting all that fibre and they have a good few rie but they do have a lot of cows ,one time they use to use Ruzi grass for silage ,not certain if they still do .

They are using Napier Pakchong - Song (2), I found a few old stems , and it is now growing in my garden .

473geo · June 19, 2016

Interesting thread guys, as highlighted on the thread, climate seems to be undergoing change, and I see increasing interest in cattle, given the current margins in rice production even if the rains do arrive! However those rice farmers with 'open range' have very limited chance of individualism

My wife is about to create a paddock for grazing. I quite like the idea of mung to support through a dry or resting period. Could you advise an outlet/type of outlet for the mung beans, I am thinking not bought at the supermarket by the half kilo?

Any information would be appreciated

Thanks

You want to find a buyer , who buys in mainly maize ,he should also buy in mung beans ,or in Thai a Toll- Gair ,right now they will not be much around ,a lot is grown Pichit province ,where I am in Lopburi they tend to be grown as a second crop ,that is what we use to do ,grown after maize ,so that would make it late Autumn .just depends where you are ,last year some farmers reversed they crops grew mugn beans first then maize ,mung beans need less water than maize ,after last years drought ,some farmers are doing that this year ,waiting for the main rains to grow they maize

How much you would pay is difficult to say we last sold a crop for 32 baht /kg ,I have herd 43 baht/kg ,ask around and find a buyer .

They have lots of uses ,they go for bean sprouts ,and glass noodles , have seen them in cattle feed , so they is a buoyant market

@ CLW

The DPO at Mortlec Saraburi ,are now feeding they cows fresh Nappier grass ,I was up they 2 weeks ago ,they where chopping some fresh Nappier ,what I could see it was past it best feed value ,it will make the cows work digesting all that fibre and they have a good few rie but they do have a lot of cows ,one time they use to use Ruzi grass for silage ,not certain if they still do .

They are using Napier Pakchong - Song (2), I found a few old stems , and it is now growing in my garden .

Thanks kickstart for taking the time to provide excellent informative advice - much appreciated

Speedo1968 · June 20, 2016

FOR THOSE WHO ASKED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GREEN FODDER ( sometimes known as hydroponic feed / fodder ).

There is a lot out there on the net, costs for the backyard farmer with just a few livestock can be very very low.

For those who need to feed cattle or cows the systems repayment times are very acceptable, should give improved results and are well worth considering as Thailand continues, it seems down the road of drought.

Time to think "outside the box".

The first 4 video links are for High Cost systems.

The second 1 video is for Medium Cost systems.

The third 3 videos are for Low Cost systems. One is in Spanish but still worth watching.

The fourth 2 videos are for Information On Production.

HIGH COST

MEDIUM COST

LOW COST

INFORMATION

Sorry having trouble uploading doc file will try again later

Edited June 20, 2016 by Speedo1968

kickstart · June 20, 2016

FOR THOSE WHO ASKED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GREEN FODDER ( sometimes known as hydroponic feed / fodder ).

There is a lot out there on the net, costs for the backyard farmer with just a few livestock can be very very low.

For those who need to feed cattle or cows the systems repayment times are very acceptable, should give improved results and are well worth considering as Thailand continues, it seems down the road of drought.

Time to think "outside the box".

The first 4 video links are for High Cost systems.

The second 1 video is for Medium Cost systems.

The third 3 videos are for Low Cost systems. One is in Spanish but still worth watching.

The fourth 2 videos are for Information On Production.

HIGH COST

MEDIUM COST

LOW COST

INFORMATION

Sorry having trouble uploading doc file will try again later

Thanks for taking the time to find all this information , time make a large mug of tea sit down a digest it all.

Will get back to you soon .

Thanks KS.

473geo · June 20, 2016

Cheers Thanks speedo appreciated

Speedo1968 · June 21, 2016

SORRY FOR DELAY

TO EVERYONE INTERESTED THESE ARE THE FILES RELATED TO MORE TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON GREEN FODDER.

The Global Fodder Solutions doc gives good info about growth of fodder during the 7 day period.

General advant and disad.docx

Global Fodder Solutions.docx

For those who would like to graze pigs but do not have the space, or money for fencing, or have the wrong genotype

for controlled grazing this may offer a solution.

If you have watched the videos posted you will have seen that it is suitable for all livestock, from chicken to horses.

I have tried it VERY small scale and VERY basic, in Thailand Isaan and it does grow. It is important to follow hygene.

There are many videos online that show all kinds of set-ups, in many different countries, I would suggest that you look at some of these to see what and how it can be done.

If you are still not sure get some grains ( NOT RICE ) from the supermarket, a couple of cat litter boxes and give it a go.

Its just like when you were a child and grew mustard and cress in an old yogurt container on the wndowsill of your kitchen - only a bigger yogurt container.

If you grow wheat grass you can always eat it yourself or sell it in the market a "Novel Food" product.

Good luck and be prepared for the next summer.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Speedo1968

Speedo1968 · June 21, 2016

Sorry having problems uploading files please ignore files in my last post will try again

Speedo1968 · June 21, 2016

Try this link for general information.

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=11721

The Golden Fodder file I have no longer exists on line and the info is very good.

Suggest you go to Golden Fodder website / s to see what you can find, meanwhile I will try again

to get my copy of the file uploaded.

Michael Hare · June 21, 2016

It appears to me that this thread has gone off the request from the OP to whether anyone has had experince in producing hay in THAILAND. No green fodder. But hay!

Well, I have experieince. Lots of it. It is very very difficult to cure/dry hay in Thailand in the field.

Below are a few photos of hay making with a forage legume Ubon stylo.

I have also made hay from coastal bermuda grass, townsville stylo, Hamata stylo, Ubon paspalum and Mulato II. All in northeast Thailand.

One should also remember that hay or silage making is only done with surplus forage, particularly in the wet season. If you have to strave animals in the wet season to produce dry season hay or silage then your management is all wrong. Too many animals. But then most Thai farmers keep their dairy and beef stock in yards like caged chickens.

Michael Hare · June 21, 2016

It appears to me that this thread has gone off the request from the OP to whether anyone has had experince in producing hay in THAILAND. No green fodder. But hay!

Well, I have experieince. Lots of it. It is very very difficult to cure/dry hay in Thailand in the field.

Below are a few photos of hay making with a forage legume Ubon stylo.

I have also made hay from coastal bermuda grass, townsville stylo, Hamata stylo, Ubon paspalum and Mulato II. All in northeast Thailand.

One should also remember that hay or silage making is only done with surplus forage, particularly in the wet season. If you have to strave animals in the wet season to produce dry season hay or silage then your management is all wrong. Too many animals. But then most Thai farmers keep their dairy and beef stock in yards like caged chickens.