Had a rare trip down to the farm today. The rice for the most part is doing OK.
We also have 3 fish ponds stocked with various type of fish. One of the Ponds contain Pacu (Blah Jaramet in Thai) a fish native to the Amazon and closely related to the piranha but can grow to 25kg.
Its that time of year again & everybody is busy sowing the rice again. It won’t belong before the countryside turns green again instead of a dusty brown.
Sometimes I am asked is rubber a good business to get into:
Scenario 1 – Bank ( Interest 5%)
7 years investing 150,000 a year at 5% interest ( Total outlay 1,050,000 Baht )
Total Return 1,500,000
Then leave for another 5 years accumulating Interest
Total in 13 Years 1,900,000
Scenario 2 – Bank ( Interest 3%)
7 years investing 150,000 a year at 3% interest ( Total outlay 1,050,000 Baht )
Total Return 1,370,000
Then leave for another 5 years
Total in 13 Years 1,600,000
Trees Scenario 1 ( 50 Rai , 4000 trees Rubber 75 Baht a Kilo – outlay 1,000,000 Baht)
Wait 7 Years – Start Tapping Predicted Revenue a Year – 600,000 a year
After Another 5 years – Total Revenue after inital outlay – 2,000,000
Trees Scenario 2 ( 50 Rai , 4000 trees Rubber 35 Baht a Kilo – outlay 1,000,000 Baht)
Wait 7 Years – Start Tapping Predicted Revenue a Year – 250,000 a year
After Another 5 years – Total Revenue after inital outlay – 250,000
Since current rubber prices are Running below 30 Baht a Kilo , The conclusion would be to leave your money in the Bank . That is unless Rubber prices bounce back but even then it will still take at least 13 years to Break even instead of letting your money accumulate In Investments or a Bank
We have just sowed this years rice crop in anticipation of the rainy season. This year we bought an automatic seed planter which attaches to a Rot Tai Na or conventional tractor.
The land has also been ploughed & new paddy fields created.
In addition a new pond for irregation has been excavated & a new resort built.
Our Latest Venture is Mushroom Farming down on the farm ( Better returns than rice & all year round). After Leveling the land , channels were dug and they were filled with blocks pre-impregnated with mushroom spores.
The Blocks are then watered as well as the surrounding ground and then covered over with a Polly tunnel.
Finally the polly tunnels are covered with straw to keep the light out.
After a few days the Mushrooms are ready for harvesting. These are a few of the first crop – ready for sale.
We are currently clearing some of the Land Tim Inherited from her Late Father. Most of the Land is Rice paddies but some is overgrown with Weeds,bushes and Trees of various sizes.
Uncleared Land
This is How It used to look a few weeks ago and now how it is looking after some of the small & medium Trees have been chopped down.
Semi Cleared
When it is eventually fully cleared and ploughed the plan is to plant Palm oil plants on it. However I doubt if it will be anytime soon.
Tim is currently emptying the Lake ( A way to catch all the fish). Then she is going to spray it with a fungicide to kill off any bacteria before it fills again when the rains commence in a few months time.
Had a ride out to Ban Daeng (Phibunrak) . The new statues of Budha being built in the temple grounds are nearing completion.
Staues of Budha being built in Ban Daeng
On the way Home via Na Sai one of the new Rice Combines was harvesting a second crop of rice.
Rice Combine at work Near Na Sai
These are becoming a more familiar site & will no doubt lead to less work for the Thai labourers and the inevitable consequences.
