Dairy Farming In Thailand

[mrgreenjeans 29]

Is it worth it, or would my herd die from Hoof & Mouth Disease?

[sailingbill 1,005]

T

14 minutes ago, mrgreenjeans said:

Is it worth it, or would my herd die from Hoof & Mouth Disease?

Total respect to the farmers. Nearly bought a farm in WVA. but ended up in Thailand. Dairy seems to be well covered here but what about grain fed quality beef.  We do not have that here , Aussie beef is ok but a quality  marbled beef would be at treat and expats would pay the shipping.

[jacko 8,766]

3 hours ago, sailingbill said:

T

Total respect to the farmers. Nearly bought a farm in WVA. but ended up in Thailand. Dairy seems to be well covered here but what about grain fed quality beef.  We do not have that here , Aussie beef is ok but a quality  marbled beef would be at treat and expats would pay the shipping.

Thais don't eat beef much, except in the south. Is the expat market big enough?

[forcebwithu 4,803]

@VPI78 to the thread. He has a lot of experience with dairy farming in Thailand.

VPI, miss your dairy farming thread. Any chance of you continuing it on this forum?

[sailingbill 1,005]

5 hours ago, jacko said:

Thais don't eat beef much, except in the south. Is the expat market big enough?

Probably not Jacko but a thought if he sold to Villa may be good.  But not that easy. I have a friend in Bangkok who makes excellent sausage. i always bring a kilo home and asked her why do you not sell to Villa. Like in the US and UK the laws are strict and not worth the trouble for her.

If i got the farm i planned on raising 2 beef cattle and having the family come up and process them in the fall before returning to Thailand. But that plan failed as i never left Thailand.

[awesum4 2,310]

I have a friend here who is a sharemilker and sometimes i take the younger grandkids out to see his farm.

Before my trip in 2019 I had been chatting to a lady in Buriram and she invited me to go visit her friend's "buffalo" farm.

I was slightly underwhelmed to find he kept his  herd in a pen and brought them freshly cut grass everyday.  His herd consisted of 1 buffalo, 2 cows and 1 calf. 

I tried to explain about farms here having over 1,000 cows but he just didnt believe anyone could be so rich.

Seemed a pretty stressfree (boring) life, cut grass in the early morning. Sleep in a hammock most of the day. Then cut more grass in the late afternoon. 

[VPI78 11,474]

On 2/16/2021 at 10:56 PM, sailingbill said:

T

Total respect to the farmers. Nearly bought a farm in WVA. but ended up in Thailand. Dairy seems to be well covered here but what about grain fed quality beef.  We do not have that here , Aussie beef is ok but a quality  marbled beef would be at treat and expats would pay the shipping.

The Thai cattle/beef industry is mostly north of ChokChai the big tourist/dairy/cattle ranch about an hour north of Bangkok on the Highway of Death. Just west in Kanchanaburi is Sunthorm ranch another large breeder.

There are several high quality beef ranches these days; most prominent and long running is  PYK which specializes in Charolais (a french breed). A lot of the beef sold at restaurants in Bangkok even places like "Gaucho' that advertises 'Aussie Wagyu beef' is actually from northern and western Thailand.

These days many ranchers are cross breeding Charolais with other breeds such as American Brahman such as PC does at PC Ranch outside Udon Thani ... another excellent place for a good steak. But these places like PYK/Sunthorm/PC Ranch/ChokChai produce premium beef which might be 5% of the Thai market and most of that is actually exported believe it or not. It's not what you're getting in 99 Baht specials in Pattaya or elsewhere.

I ranch in SE Texas and although I'm no cow whisperer, the Charolais beef from PYK/Sunthorm/PC Ranch/ChokChai is as good as you'll get elsewhere. Whether the steaks are as good or not has more to do with hoe the beef is aged after sacrifice and personal taste.

[VPI78 11,474]

On 2/17/2021 at 2:20 AM, forcebwithu said:

@VPI78 to the thread. He has a lot of experience with dairy farming in Thailand.

VPI, miss your dairy farming thread. Any chance of you continuing it on this forum?

Gracias, it's sort of in suspended mode until I can make it back to the NBZ. But if there's much interest and no objection, I might CnP the running thread from PL as I update things there.

[firth1974 2,659]

1 hour ago, VPI78 said:

Gracias, it's sort of in suspended mode until I can make it back to the NBZ. But if there's much interest and no objection, I might CnP the running thread from PL as I update things there.

@VPI78 

I wish you would continue your thread here, that would be great.

CnP is more than welcome. Im sure there is more than enough interest in your thread.

[Bullfrog 2,224]

3 hours ago, VPI78 said:

Gracias, it's sort of in suspended mode until I can make it back to the NBZ. But if there's much interest and no objection, I might CnP the running thread from PL as I update things there.

I'd love to see it.TIA!

[forcebwithu 4,803]

5 hours ago, VPI78 said:

Gracias, it's sort of in suspended mode until I can make it back to the NBZ. But if there's much interest and no objection, I might CnP the running thread from PL as I update things there.

CnP would be great, and well received here.

Hope you're staying warm in TX.

[sailingbill 1,005]

6 hours ago, VPI78 said:

Gracias, it's sort of in suspended mode until I can make it back to the NBZ. But if there's much interest and no objection, I might CnP the running thread from PL as I update things there.

This would be of great interest. As a kid i used to read the Yearbook of Agriculture.  My condo balcony has so many vegetable plants there is no where to sit. But my lemon trees and tomatoes do not do well. Bell peppers are expensive here and do well on my garden. Back in Annapolis i raised Guineafowl  to the ire of my neighbors.   Took my kids for many farm visits and never missed the Maryland State fair. Though im sure the Midwest and Texas farm fairs would be a real treat.

[Bullfrog 2,224]

3 hours ago, sailingbill said:

This would be of great interest. As a kid i used to read the Yearbook of Agriculture.  My condo balcony has so many vegetable plants there is no where to sit. But my lemon trees and tomatoes do not do well. Bell peppers are expensive here and do well on my garden. Back in Annapolis i raised Guineafowl  to the ire of my neighbors.   Took my kids for many farm visits and never missed the Maryland State fair. Though im sure the Midwest and Texas farm fairs would be a real treat.

My obsession with dairy farming is much less "romantic".

Brought up in the Dorset countryside back in the 60s when there were 10 farms in the village, whereas there are now none .. Taken on the back of my mum's bike. The smell was fantastic but different on each farm. Yes I loved the smell of ripe sileage, pig sties and summer harvesting but above all there was no smell like the milking sheds, other than "the gate". The gate wasn't a specific gate but a gate dependent on where the cows approached from. It smelt of cows piss and cow shit.... but it was more than that. The cows' hides buzzing with flies, ears twitching, tails flapping with more fresh piss and shit coming out. Seeing how far you could walk into the mire before getting stuck.

I loved it! 

[yorta2 685]

My memories are much the same, Bullfrog. I spent many years living in a town where fishing, timber working, and dairy farms dominated. At the age of fourteen, I used to get up in the mornings, summer or winter, and walk about a mile, up to the dairy. The cows came in automatically, at the milking time each morning and, I had to light up a boiler and, get the milking cups ready. From there-on, we milked the cows and separated the milk, where the cream went to the butter factory and, the skim milk went to the pigs. Even when it was a cold winner's day, I never wore shoes and, waited for one of the cows to shit on the concrete, while they were in the bails and, stood in it to warm my feet. The memories of the warmth and the smell are still with me and I don't regret a thing.

[tieguy 14]

I lived with a girl who worked on a farm. She always smelt of shit. If she returned home while I was eating, the smell was revolting. Terrible, terrible memories............

[Bullfrog 2,224]

2 hours ago, yorta2 said:

timber working

Fuck don't get me started!

I was the only boy in the family with six sisters. My job was to go into the forest with a bow saw and collect wood to stockpile for winter. I'd walk there and back but on the return journey carry and drag a trunk or branch over each shoulder to saw up over the weekends. Again I loved it. I think it made me a better school rugby player too!!

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Bullfrog

[keyman 1,379]

38 minutes ago, Bullfrog said:

 

There is only one thing I am upset about and that is the forum moderators allowing me to talk about most aspects of my youth but not the subject that I was a victim of.

 

You have a PM, BF - well, you will in a minute! ?

[Bazle 1,450]

1 hour ago, Bullfrog said:

Yes I loved the smell of ripe sileage, pig sties and summer harvesting but above all there was no smell like the milking sheds, other than "the gate". The gate wasn't a specific gate but a gate dependent on where the cows approached from. It smelt of cows piss and cow shit.... but it was more than that. The cows' hides buzzing with flies, ears twitching, tails flapping with more fresh piss and shit coming out. 

Good training for Pattaya! ?

[Bullfrog 2,224]

1 hour ago, keyman said:

You have a PM, BF - well, you will in a minute! ?

Sorted

[sailingbill 1,005]

Growing up we had many small farms called Truck Farms. Mostly vegetables. You could go in the fields and "Pick your own." All gone now to housing developments.

[Bullfrog 2,224]

44 minutes ago, sailingbill said:

Growing up we had many small farms called Truck Farms. Mostly vegetables. You could go in the fields and "Pick your own." All gone now to housing developments.

When my Mum died a few years ago, and on a couple of previous visits, the physical change was minimal but it took me a bit of time to realise there was no smell! Nothing !

 It was as if a massive syringe had sucked all the "feeling" out of the village.