Investing in Issan.. returns??

[dennisinkamala]

You need a drink mate!!! Same question would apply to whatever you grow, I think!

A discussion regarding alternative crops is extremely interesting though and I hope it expands to include, fruits veg biofuel crops etc etc

Definately a very interesting discussion about mushrooms here ...

Quick question which dropped my mind ... it might be a total stupid thought ... but I got my fair bit of respect of mushrooms,
what happens if you don't have sufficient knowledge, but grow your own and someone goes popp and to heaven after eating them?

In other words, is there a risk in this aspect?

[ub2yoo]

You need a drink mate!!! Same question would apply to whatever you grow, I think!

A discussion regarding alternative crops is extremely interesting though and I hope it expands to include, fruits veg biofuel crops etc etc

Wait a bit, 1pm only, drink coming soon;-)

Well, true, but mushrooms have a bit more tendencies for being toxic than a banana, but, yeah, maybe I'm just a bit paranoid about it

[The Loop]

Wow! The GF I had two years ago must be swimming in money now. She had 75 rai of producing sugar cane land, and was looking to buy more.

oh my god.....does this mean BG`s will start leaving the bars and start heading home to become sugar millionaires...

[dennisinkamala]

Do I detect a trip to Subes on the horizon??

oh my god.....does this mean BG`s will start leaving the bars and start heading home to become sugar millionaires...

[LivinLOS]

Definately a very interesting discussion about mushrooms here ...

Quick question which dropped my mind ... it might be a total stupid thought ... but I got my fair bit of respect of mushrooms,
what happens if you don't have sufficient knowledge, but grow your own and someone goes popp and to heaven after eating them?

In other words, is there a risk in this aspect?

If your confusing edible mushrooms with poisonous ones they are totally different strains of fungi.. edible are always edible, its not something you do wrong that makes them toxic.

[The Loop]

Do I detect a trip to Subes on the horizon??

Not even on the radar ATM,got a bike tour coming up though,no P4P,just wind in the hair and bugs in the teeth more than likely..

[dennisinkamala]

Ahhh...memories...

hair

[dennisinkamala]

Did a prelim bit of web research and mushroom growing is not that simple.

Well, you would need a farang involved, sure

If your confusing edible mushrooms with poisonous ones they are totally different strains of fungi.. edible are always edible, its not something you do wrong that makes them toxic.

[LivinLOS]

Its not that complex.. The cultivation from spore to mycelium is the part that requires really clean freak aspects.. Once you have cultivated base (perlite available easily in Thailand and would work) you can keep dividing and expanding.. The mycelium can be kept in that state until the fruiting is turned on by the light..

But yeah its not plant seed and water.. But its not rocket science either.. Its probably no more work than the multiple steps in palm sugar or similar.

[Dupree00]

Wait a bit, 1pm only, drink coming soon;-)

Well, true, but mushrooms have a bit more tendencies for being toxic than a banana, but, yeah, maybe I'm just a bit paranoid about it

Every year there is a news item of some holistic californian that dies from picking and eating a deadly wild mushroom. So if you control the seeding it should not be a risk.

[Mai Chob]

But yeah its not plant seed and water.. But its not rocket science either.. Its probably no more work than the multiple steps in palm sugar or similar.

The Palm Oil growers I met around Tammerat simply put them in as shrub size at 50 baht each and 8 metres apart and wait 2 years for the Company to come and start harvesting the seeds.
They dont even need irrigation as Mango or Durian does. So no real 'steps' at all, as there's not even a bug that needs spraying. The money is currently better than a lot of other crops.

Just an observation.
I commented to NE last year that there was good news for Thai rice farmers as The Phillipines had seriously underplanted and the price of rice was soaring.
She seemed nonplussed.
I asked why and she said that the only people to benefit from that was the government and the middlemen, because the purchase price from the growers had already been set the year before, so the farmer would see no benefit from a price hike.
Worse , she said that many growers were in debt to the same players and continually borrowed on the strength of their next harvest. Seemed like something akin to fuedalism to me...

[Mai Chob]

but my comment was the lenght of time some guys seem to know these girls and putting out huge sums of money( we are talking guesthouses, million baht land purchases)
it is not the actual money that i was referring to more how you would actually know the girl's true feelings when giving her so much so soon
sure, my wife's closet is full of designer everything, but to be honest, it is dwarfed by what is on my side of the wardrobe. that is my lifestyle and as my gf/now wife she has gained that lifestyle
but outright purchasing her million baht gifts when I barely knew her, well didn't happen and still hasn't happened
i have also know my wife now for 6 years and without a car, land or any other significant purchase or "gift" given to her in all that time, i feel pretty confident she is in it for the long haul
and sorry i dont see an outlay of 1million baht in capital and whatever guesthouses and internet cafes costs these days after knowing a girl in such a short period of time as applaudable
i mean, would any of these guys given that amount of money or bought those sort of things for a western girl after knowing them a year or two
it is downright foolish but if they want to be fools with their money, have a party!

i won't take away from the thread anymore because people seemed to be having an interesting discussion on the farming aspect

Not to put too finer point on it Paulie, but by your own admission , you simply 'dated' for the 1st 3 years or so in your relationship. So what are we talking...2 or 3 months cohabitation per year?
Time collectively spent with your partner, something in the vicinty of 2 or 3 years at best from the 6 years you've known her?
Certainly not lengthy enough to give you the authority to call other posters 'fools'.
And just because youve frittered away millions of baht on designer everythings and airfares in those ( collective) 2 or 3 years, and not on something useful like a car or land , doesnt make you sound like a non-fool to the reader.
One could take the high ground and say that all youve had was a bunch of exciting expensive holidays with your partner, and that fancy holidays is as about as far removed from a 'real' partnership as one can get.
Men fly in and buy them everyday here.
But we wouldnt.
You and Ao seem very much a comfortable couple to me.
But denigrating other people without considering that you really dont know their situation or that you yourself shouldnt be 'throwing stones' is , pretty much out of order...

[The Loop]

So does the GF call you Sugar Daddy now DIK?

Would be a fitting forum nick for you,AFAIAC, SD. 555

[Benjy]

Not to put too finer point on it Paulie, but by your own admission , you simply 'dated' for the 1st 3 years or so in your relationship. So what are we talking...2 or 3 months cohabitation per year?
Time collectively spent with your partner, something in the vicinty of 2 or 3 years at best from the 6 years you've known her?
Certainly not lengthy enough to give you the authority to call other posters 'fools'.
And just because youve frittered away millions of baht on designer everythings and airfares in those ( collective) 2 or 3 years, and not on something useful like a car or land , doesnt make you sound like a non-fool to the reader.
One could take the high ground and say that all youve had was a bunch of exciting expensive holidays with your partner, and that fancy holidays is as about as far removed from a 'real' partnership as one can get.
Men fly in and buy them everyday here.
But we wouldnt.
You and Ao seem very much a comfortable couple to me.
But denigrating other people without considering that you really dont know their situation or that you yourself shouldnt be 'throwing stones' is , pretty much out of order...

I think knowing someone for 6 years and being married and buying them the odd nice piece of clothing is a little different to buying a girlfriend of a year or two millions of baht's worth of property are a little different.

[nelsonone]

cash cow farming is still the most profitable form of agriculture for the Issaan gals.....555

[LivinLOS]

The Palm Oil growers I met around Tammerat simply put them in as shrub size at 50 baht each and 8 metres apart and wait 2 years for the Company to come and start harvesting the seeds.
They dont even need irrigation as Mango or Durian does. So no real 'steps' at all, as there's not even a bug that needs spraying. The money is currently better than a lot of other crops.

Palm oil and palm sugar 2 different things..

Palm sugar involves climbing the tree, cutting the palm fronds harvesting the sap.. From what I saw this was a dawn and dusk operation.. Then the sap goes through a medieval refinement process of boiling vats until the mixture thickens, I think they seed it with other sugar and after a few stages they end up with these 'bricks' of palm sugar..

Its a LOT of work for not much income..

[Maverick351]

A few years back, when at KK airport returning home, I was talking to a Welsh guy as he was travelling to Bangkok. He was telling me, he had started to plant Potatoes. His farm was about 1 hour out of KK.

Would Potatoes be another type of crop that could work?

[ub2yoo]

A few years back, when at KK airport returning home, I was talking to a Welsh guy as he was travelling to Bangkok. He was telling me, he had started to plant Potatoes. His farm was about 1 hour out of KK.

Would Potatoes be another type of crop that could work?

I don't know about the general Thai...but potatoes is the one thing my family really struggles with to get to like ... mostly I get my seperately baked potatoe dish and they prefer their rice once more ;-)

...see these sweet potatoes more popular and used for deserts etc.?

[LivinLOS]

A few years back, when at KK airport returning home, I was talking to a Welsh guy as he was travelling to Bangkok. He was telling me, he had started to plant Potatoes. His farm was about 1 hour out of KK.

Would Potatoes be another type of crop that could work?

One of bees lot tried potatoes and lost the lot.. Cost of time, seed, seasons work, etc.. Cant remember exactly why but it was one of their (many) planting disasters..

[Mai Chob]

Sorry Sef, read it as Palm Oil....
I should add that NE had a go at Pig Growing some years back and lasted a year, the ruins of their expensive , according to her, stalls , all overgrown and disused...

[Mai Chob]

I think knowing someone for 6 years and being married and buying them the odd nice piece of clothing is a little different to buying a girlfriend of a year or two millions of baht's worth of property are a little different.

Depends on how much money you got , dont it.
For those hankering for a bit of land and obviously aware that they can only have it for 30 years , whose name do you suggest they buy it for and lease it from?
Their local tuk tuk man?
I bought a car here in my name because I had the correct visa. If I didnt, and wanted one for the wet season and safety considerations, whose name should I put it in?
These are the finer details that make sweeping statements and open 'put downs' the ego boosting drivel that they truly are.
And dont get me started on the potentially huge losses the 'married' punter stands to lose if it all goes pair shaped, particularly if he has married in the west...

[Mai Chob]

BTW, the current profitability of Sugar as a crop surprises me somewhat.
For decades the north east Australian sugar grower lived on the fat of the land, but i heard that was all over about 8 years ago with rising international competition.
Sugar can be grown in many different ways and in different environs....sugar beet in the US and Europe and Palm Sugar to name just 2. So its not even as if the tropics has dibs on this product?

[dennisinkamala]

I think maybe two possible rerasons:
1. Demand for sugar is increasing year on year
2. Sugar cane is seen as the 'healthier' of the growing methods. If I remember correctly sugar beet got quite a bashing some years ago as to health risks.. cant remember the details.

As an aside I have seen many floors in the Isaan region made from sugar palm trees and have to say its one of the most beautiful woods I have ever seen used for this purpose.

BTW, the current profitability of Sugar as a crop surprises me somewhat.
For decades the north east Australian sugar grower lived on the fat of the land, but i heard that was all over about 8 years ago with rising international competition.
Sugar can be grown in many different ways and in different environs....sugar beet in the US and Europe and Palm Sugar to name just 2. So its not even as if the tropics has dibs on this product?

[Mai Chob]

Yeh?
I would have thought most palm tree timbers would be too pulpy and moist for the purpose of quality flooring...
Timber as a resource is constantly rising in price , so it if has a good secondary use its even better value by the sounds of it.

[LivinLOS]

BTW, the current profitability of Sugar as a crop surprises me somewhat.
For decades the north east Australian sugar grower lived on the fat of the land, but i heard that was all over about 8 years ago with rising international competition.

Maybe Thailand is that competition ??

[dennisinkamala]

The ones I have seen defy description as far as aesthetics go, I'll try to get some photos next time I go up there.

ATM considering building a small 'weekend retreat' on some of the land and will definitely use this wood for the floor.

Yeh?
I would have thought most palm tree timbers would be too pulpy and moist for the purpose of quality flooring...
Timber as a resource is constantly rising in price , so it if has a good secondary use its even better value by the sounds of it.

[dennisinkamala]

Ok b"stard, I'll bite, what does AFAIAC mean?? (I'm guessing Always Fecking Around In Angeles City)... Cigar or Mai Chai cigar??

So does the GF call you Sugar Daddy now DIK?

Would be a fitting forum nick for you,AFAIAC, SD. 555

[genghis61]

Yeh?
I would have thought most palm tree timbers would be too pulpy and moist for the purpose of quality flooring...
Timber as a resource is constantly rising in price , so it if has a good secondary use its even better value by the sounds of it.

month or so ago a story on BBC about use of Queensland banana tree trunks in future Jaguar cars; not for floors as per post quoted, but as veneers, ply, and pulp for paper.

good old google, search 'banana jaguar' 4th item: here's an article:
Papyrus green deal for Jaguar | Adelaide Now

in these 'green' times i think this para sums it why it's attractive
Papyrus products, which are fully biodegradable and do not use water during production, will be licensed to a number of customers in 2010.

I remember the marketing man's quote (555 but when do we believe such men?) he said that he believed that the return from a mature banana tree trunk would be more than it had 'earned' in the years producing bananas, so a double return for the grower.

There are no plans as yet to build an entire Jaguar car from bananas.

[nelsonone]

I think the demand for Palm sugar...the Thai styled one that comes in blocks....has actually grown exponentially as Thai cuisine and cooking has gone global.....I used to have all sorts of trouble getting it in Sydney even 10-12 years ago but now it is available on supermarket shelves

[The Loop]

what does AFAIAC mean?? (I'm guessing Always Fecking Around In Angeles City)... Cigar or Mai Chai cigar??

haha..either would do As Far As I`m Concerned...