Thread: Rubber trees 101

First bit of proper rain here in the last couple of days. Got our fertilizer dug in yesterday; 44 bags in 64 rai, not a bad days work.

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

First bit of proper rain here in the last couple of days. Got our fertilizer dug in yesterday

Good timing.

May I ask what spatial rules you used?

Took the leap, put the factory up for sale yesterday, Ubon properties, they are trying to figure out an appraised value.
Couple of things that I never thought of came up, is the licence area specific, or movable, seems that could make a big difference, could sell the factory and keep the licence or sell the licence and keep the factory and go into something other than rubber.

Either way will make a good return on the land alone, national zoned industrial land, even in the boonies is not cheap, so fingers crossed will have a good pay day, no hurry though.

.....

Zoning????? what zoning, never heard of it here.

^Zoning used to be being able to not actually think..."zoning out," it was called...

Thailand zoning...now that's funny...

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Either way will make a good return on the land alone

I hope you do because the following sounds a bit of a worry:

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Normally I would just get 80 bags on credit and pay it off over the next few months, but with the uncertain prices not keen to get into debt.

Originally Posted by mykthemin

Zoning????? what zoning, never heard of it here.

That's the thing, to be legal lots of rules and regs, most don't bother, but when the time comes and the government finds you, bad things happen.
Rubber board controls licencing, no zoning, EPA, factories licences, on and on, no rubber processing license.

Originally Posted by panama hat

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

First bit of proper rain here in the last couple of days. Got our fertilizer dug in yesterday

Good timing.

May I ask what spatial rules you used?

Que?

Can you re-phrase that in English please?

Sorry. Where do you actually drop the fertiliser - as in placement?

Right down the middle. 7m between the trees, so 3.5m from the trees. One hole dug for 2 trees each side. Ditto next row, ad nauseum. Trees are between 7 and 11 years old, full canopy for several years now. The odd "runt of the litter" smaller trees not being tapped still get 3 holes dug round in a circle about 1m from the tree.

One bloke with a hoe digs, and pulls up the clod of earth. Woman follows with bucket and s/s mug, pours in fertilizer, covers it up and tramps on it with her foot. Been doing it this way since year dot. Never throw, only dig and cover. However, once every 3-4 years we will buy NC (organic) or chicken poo, and then we throw, not dig, as a supplement for the soil, not the trees.

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

Trees are between 7 and 11 years old, full canopy for several years now.

Teenagers - good latex production!

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

Been doing it this way since year dot. Never throw, only dig and cover

That's about the best way

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

However, once every 3-4 years we will buy NC (organic) or chicken poo, and then we throw, not dig, as a supplement for the soil, not the trees.

Good move

Excuse the bad picture, just drew it up quickly.

Is this how you place the fertiliser?:



Reason being is that the larger roots don't absorb as many nutrients as the feeder roots, the small ones that basically go searching for nutrients - the older they are the further they creep.

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

chicken poo, and then we throw,

What are you paying for the chicken poo? BIL buys it at one hundred baht per sack full. Was cheaper last year but more folks are using it so the price went up dramatically...was 25 baht per sack...guessing 50 kilos each.

# Yes, one session we dig in the same as you have drawn, the next session parallel to the trees, ie we alternate the hole position so it is not in the exact same place each time.
# Have not bought chicken poo since 2013, when it was 300 baht per 45 kg bag, this was a fully dried, proper compressed professional/industrial jobbie. Not just bought from a local chicken farm. So we are due to buy again in 2016/17.
# Sold at auction yesterday, 34.10 baht per kg for cup.

Aaah the sweet sound of chainsaws!
Cutting down rubber trees on adjacent farm. Remember the young couple owners only opened the trees for cutting about four years ago.
Bit worried that our power lines run alongside their farm..hope they give a damn?

Originally Posted by crepitas

Aaah the sweet sound of chainsaws!
Cutting down rubber trees on adjacent farm. Remember the young couple owners only opened the trees for cutting about four years ago.
Bit worried that our power lines run alongside their farm..hope they give a damn?

Do you know why they are felling the trees, could understand it, start of the year, but cup prices have doubled since then.

Perhaps they took the government grant to cut trees down when the price was low, now to late to back out.

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Originally Posted by crepitas

Aaah the sweet sound of chainsaws!
Cutting down rubber trees on adjacent farm. Remember the young couple owners only opened the trees for cutting about four years ago.
Bit worried that our power lines run alongside their farm..hope they give a damn?

Do you know why they are felling the trees, could understand it, start of the year, but cup prices have doubled since then.

Perhaps they took the government grant to cut trees down when the price was low, now to late to back out.

No idea Jim..not sure about the locals knowing about gov grant..nothing mentioned at last village headman meeting...have to wait for wifey to get the info at her next all woman noodle-fest yakathon.

Goin' doooooownnn... Sold @ auction yesterday, 29.80 baht per kg.

Saw a group of rubber growers on the way into town today at 09:00, they were all still at the brokers when I returned home at 15:00. Didn't look like a lot of rubber being used in the transaction from where I viewed it.

Most groves are now covered in weeds and cups turned upside down no signs of tapping.

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

Goin' doooooownnn... Sold @ auction yesterday, 29.80 baht per kg.

Going down, think it's more about Chinese stock market doing a bit of a swan dive the last week or so.
Supply and demand side looking good from our side, as itnt mentioned, out puts down every where, people not tapping, hard to get workers.
Our trees taken care of from day one, out put at east twice as much as the locals trees, my tappers are struggling, money wise, so paid tappers on Thai trees would be getting half that, not worth the effort.

Been reading that India's tire manufacturers are in talks with the government, domestic rubber production is down 25% and falling and they need to secure their supplies.
They can't pay more for rubber and compete with the Chinese.

Not that it makes much difference at the moment, been raining for 3 days, tonight will be the forth night of no tapping.

^Lucky you. No rain here since a few sprinkles on the 9th...temps in the 90 F here for the past two weeks. Rice farmers are still planting. What a shame...disaster on the horizon I think.

Originally Posted by ltnt

Saw a group of rubber growers on the way into town today at 09:00, they were all still at the brokers when I returned home at 15:00. Didn't look like a lot of rubber being used in the transaction from where I viewed it.

Most groves are now covered in weeds and cups turned upside down no signs of tapping.

Not up here in the sticks in Udon Province. Every land parcel is being tapped. Everybody is tapping. Fortnightly auction has never had less than 9 bidders with sealed envelopes. Last year the minimum amount of bids i heard at auction was 3...

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

Originally Posted by ltnt

Saw a group of rubber growers on the way into town today at 09:00, they were all still at the brokers when I returned home at 15:00. Didn't look like a lot of rubber being used in the transaction from where I viewed it.

Most groves are now covered in weeds and cups turned upside down no signs of tapping.

Not up here in the sticks in Udon Province. Every land parcel is being tapped. Everybody is tapping. Fortnightly auction has never had less than 9 bidders with sealed envelopes. Last year the minimum amount of bids i heard at auction was 3...

No shortage of buyers here, tappers are a problem though.
Family places tap, but the bigger plantations using percentage workers can't get the labor.
Lots of building going on in the area, steady work, everyday come rain or shine, roads being upgraded, big cassava sheds built, jobs everywhere.

You may find a 19 teen year old with no skills willing to work in a PTT station pumping gas at 300 Baht a day, but keeping a tapper through the rains, who may only average 100 to 150 Bt a day is getting harder.

Guy who lives in our street, builder village type, 200 Baht to put up a door, aircon guy/wife, kids room aircon needs serviced, 500 Baht, 1/2 hour job, may be a week or so before he can fit us in.

Only people I see working, [as in paid work] in the rice and cassava are old, a problem that may need a rethink long term. Jim

Sold @ auction yesterday, 28.28 baht per kg.