Situation and Needs for Extension of Beef Cattle Farmers, Chainat Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to study 1) gathering general information of beef farmers in Chainat province; 2) the rearing conditions of beef cattle and their marketing; 3) problems and obstacles in rearing beef cattle and 4) promoting, extensions, and support for beef cattle. The samples were 325 beef cattle farmers in Chainat province. The data were collected using a questionnaire. Statistical techniques used were frequencies and percentages. The research findings found that the majority of farmers were male (51.08%), aged 41-60 years old, and have completed primary education. Most of the farmers had more than 10 years of experience in rearing beef cattle, mainly as a secondary occupation (71.08%), and used nearly entirely domestic labor (98.15%). The majority of cattle breed was cross-bred (95.38%) between Brahman and Brazilian Hindu reared in semi-intensive systems (62.46%). Regarding the marketing data, it was found that most of the cattle were sold in whole after visual inspection of the cattle (68.31%), by the middleman who bought them in the village (82.77%). Most encountered problems and obstacles in rearing cattle were nutrition, feeding, and marketing due to unstable and low prices. Data on the need for extension, promotion, and support indicate that farmers require additional knowledge and support mainly in the areas of breeds and breeding improvement, health care of beef cattle, and marketing.