Possibility of Dairy Cattle Management toward Sufficiency Economy Concept by Dairy Cattle Farmers in Suphan Buri Province

Abstract

     The objectives of the study were to determine 1) the farm management status of dairy cattle farmers in the study area, 2) the costs and returns of farm management, 3) the constraints on and to make recommendations for dairy cattle farm management toward the sufficiency economy concept, and 4) the possibility of managing the farm according to the sufficiency economy concept. The studied sample of 32 dairy cattle farmers who had a career in dairy cattle raising in Suphan Buri province was obtained using a simple random sampling technique and the instrument for data collection was an interview form. Descriptive statistics applied were the frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and Phi coefficient. The results revealed that most farmers were male with an average age of 49 years. The majority education level was primary education. The average labor force was two persons per farm. The average area of pasture feed was 11 rai (4.4 acres) and the average number of milking cow was 11. Most cows (78.1%) were fed freely in the yard. Almost all respondents (90.6%) purchased feeding concentrate from outside their community. The average ratio of milking cows in the herd per household was below the standard, accounting for 4.8 percent. Both small scale and large scale farms were in deficit. The break even yield was 137.4 kg with a breakeven price of 23.3 baht. Urgent knowledge promotion through sufficiency economy were herd management, breeding selection and fertility management, feeding management, and also quality control of raw milk as well. Urgently resolution for farm management are herd management, breeding selection, fertility management and also farm data management. Consideration in sufficiency economy concept can indicate that all farms had practiced in this concept and the medium scale farm special, even if small scale and large scale farm had practiced in modesty and immunity aspects, but they were lack of realistic practice because of high cost. Testing hypothesis pointed out that the medium scale farm is appropriate farm to be promoted as the prototype towards sufficiency economy concept in the research site and similar cases.