INTRODUCTION

The total area of Thailand is about 51.30 million hectares and it is estimated that 23.52 million ha are suitable for agriculture. Agricultural land has been classified into 4 major categories: paddy rice, field crops, vegetable and permanent crops. The total area of paddy rice is about 10.92 million ha, mostly in lowland areas comprising 6.06, 2.43, 1.89 and 0.54  million  ha  in  the  northeast, north, central and southern regions, respectively  (Table 1). Approximately 25 % of   the total paddy rice in Thailand is irrigated lowland rice (Anon 1997). Most Thai farmers in lowland areas only grow rice as their source of income. However, due to low production and low price of rice many rice growers shifted some paddy fields to grass growing for dairying and some to commercial hay making.

Table 1.  Regional land utilization of Thailand (1,000 ha)

Crop-livestock farming systems in lowland rice
In rice growing areas of Thailand, cattle and buffalo are raised for draught power and for sending to market, but this is decreasing. Because of the popularity of using machinery for land preparation this has lead to a major reduction in the number of buffalo and cattle (Tudsri 2000). Farmers growing rice usually receive low incomes because of low production and the poor returns from rice production. Nowadays, many farmers in lowland rice areas are changing some paddy fields to dairying, mainly because of the important stability, reliability and guarantee of the product price (milk) compared with the unstable and erratic price received from rice production. The integration of dairy farms into lowland rice farming is being successfully achieved in the central and southern parts of Thailand. However, the analysis of feed budgeting indicated that there was a feed shortage during the dry season from February-April (Tudsri 2000). The major sources of feed for dairy cows are natural grasses on wasteland along the roadside and communal grazing areas during the wet season. The feed problems were critical for farmers in the dry season resulting in dairy cows being fed with rice straw, corn stover and soybean pod husk and being heavily supplemented with concentrate. This has resulted in a high cost for milk production. This can be much reduced by integration into the rice farming operation of improved pasture suitable for waterlogged areas. The farmer should grow it separately from rice  and   use   it  for  dairy feeding.

Commercial hay making has been introduced to the rice farmers in the Central and Southern part of Thailand to improved their income. This activity is supervised by government institutes and involves buying back hay at a guaranteed price, and some of those growing hay are directly in contact with dairy farmers.

Pasture species in lowland areas
The Thai Government has a policy to reduce the planting area of rice. At the same time the government also would like farmers to have more income.  Introducing dairying into rice farming is one option for the farmer.  In upland areas most of the dairy farms grow Brachiaria ruziziensis, Panicum maximum TD58 and Stylosanthes hamata cv Verano, which are not suitable for lowland areas. Therefore, other pasture species such as Brachiaria mutica, Digitaria decumbens, Paspalum atratum and Paspalum plicatulum are recommended. Brachiaria mutica has been widely used for many years whereas the others are recently introduced.

Adoption by farmers of these pasture species varies from location to location. Paspalum atratum has been adopted by farmers in Ubonratchatani province (in the northeast) and Nakornsrithamarat province (southern part of Thailand). Paspalum plicatulum has been adopted by farmers in Pattalung province (in the southern part of Thailand), whereas Digitaria decumbens was adopted by farmers in Sukothai province (central part of Thailand).  Dry   matter   yields   of, Digitaria decumbens, Paspalum atratum, Brachiaria mutica and Paspalum plicatulum ranges from 15 to 20, 18 to 25, 9 to 15 and 6 to 10 tons/ha, respectively (Table 2). Concerning propagation aspects, Digitaria decumbens and Brachiaria mutica have disadvantages compared to the other two species. They have to be propagated from runners or stolons, whereas the other can be grown from seed. Paspalum atratum and Paspalum plicatulum are heavily seeding species with seed production reaching up to more than 600 kg/ha. These two species, therefore, have been widely distributed.

Table 2.   Total dry matter yield and quality of grass species in lowland areas at 45 days cutting interval.

Commercial hay making in lowland areas
One of the constraints of dairy farms is limitation of pasture area. Many farmers have to rely on rice straw and use more concentrate feed. The limitation of high quality roughage occurs not only during the  dry  season  but  also  in  the  rainy season in some areas.  In order to solve this problem the Animal Nutrition Division, Department of Livestock Development has launched high quality hay for commercial use.  Rice growers in irrigated areas are encouraged to plant grass in paddy fields. Cultivation techniques for planting Digitaria decumbens (Pangola) were introduced to farmers in 2000. The Department of Livestock Development supports farmers in terms of marketing. Forty five rice growers in Sukothai, Pitsanulok, Pichit and Lumpang joined the project and planted approximately 42.6 ha. (Table 3).  Dry matter yield in the first year was approximately 6 to 10 tons/ha. In the following year it can be cut 5 times ayear with dry matter yields of 15 to 20 tons/ha. Pangola hay was sold to dairy farms and the Artificial Insemination Research Center at a guaranteed price of 3 baht/kg.  In Lumpang province most of the Pangola hay was sold to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center at 4.50 baht/kg. Farmers receive an income of around 18,073 baht/ha which is higher than that received from rice.

As a result of the higher income compared with rice production, in the year 2001, more farmers have participated and the planting area has increased up to 192/200 ha/farmers. The problems and constraints for producing Pangola hay are the difficulty of hay making during the wet season and the lack of machines such as hay conditioners, hay tedders, hay rakes and hay balers.

Table 3.  Production of pangola hay making by small-scale farmers.

Source: Division of Animal Nutrition (Anon., 2000)

Opportunities for economic, social and environmental benefits
The integration of forage crops into lowland rice areas can affect farmers in 3 ways, as follows:

1. Economic. The economic opportunities lie in the production of milk products, commercial  hay  products  and rice products. The economic benefits should be increased for individual farmers who changed some paddy fields to dairying and commercial hay making which gave higher income compared to rice growing only.

2.   Social. The social benefits will be an increased proportion of the population having increased access to high quality foods and new alternative occupations. Modest increases in the consumption of milk will improve the nutritional status of the population. The impact will be particularly on children and womens’ health. New alternatives for rice growers include changing some paddy fields to dairying and commercial hay making and also farmers who produce grass seed for sale.

3.   Environment. The intensification of improved pasture in lowland rice areas for dairying and commercial hay making can contribute towards environmental sustainability in well-balanced mixed systems by providing draught power, soil erosion control, manure and urine as fertilizer and decreasing the use of insecticide.

Limitation of pasture development in irrigated lowland areas
Pasture development in lowland areas will continue in order to increase the quantity and quality of forage. There are many problems that need to be solved. Observations show that the small areas of pasture established in some dairy farms are inadequate for forage production for dairy cows. The investment for cultivated pasture is costly and there are only 4-5 grass species which are suitable for growing in lowland areas and some species must use stem cuttings for planting which makes it difficult and costly. Forage technology developments in lowland areas need to be transferred to farmers: the shortage of knowledge and experienced technicians on pasture management is another constraint.

The farmers who grow Pangola for commercial hay making in lowland areas find it quite difficult to make hay during the wet season when pasture plants can grow vigorously. Grass drying in the wet season resulted to higher cost in hay making. Most farmers lack machines such as hay conditioners, hay tedders,  hay rakes and hay balers for hay making.

CONCLUSION

Pasture establishment for dairy cows and commercial hay making in lowland areas is increasing because of the higher income compared to growing only rice. The constraints of pasture improvement in lowland areas in Thailand are small farm size, high cost of improved pasture development and lack of personnel skilled in forage management. Commercial hay making in lowland areas is expanding in central and northern parts of Thailand. Making of Pangola hay during the wet season is quite difficult and costly and most farmers lack the machines for making hay.

REFERENCES