Good Agricultural Practice for Dairy Cattle Farm of Dairy Farmer in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

          The objectives of this research were to study: 1) the socio-economics of dairy farmers; 2) the management practices of dairy farmers; 3) the knowledge of dairy farmers concerned with Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) for dairy cattle farms; and 4) the problems faced by, and suggestions for, dairy farm management for GAP on dairy cattle farms. The sample were 66 dairy farmers who were members of the Ban Din Daeng Thai-Denmark Dairy Cooperatives within the Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The data were collected via interview forms, and the responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics. The results showed that: 1) Most of the dairy farmers (62.10% of them) were male, and had an average age of 49.32±10.16 years. They had mostly graduated from primary school. Seventy-four percent of the dairy farmers had 15.35±9.75 years of experience working on dairy farms; 2) With regard to dairy farm management in the areas of dairy breed, feed and general management, the dairy farmers generally acted in compliance with GAP for dairy cattle farms (TAS 6402-2009); 3) The level of knowledge of the farmers about GAP for dairy cattle farming concerned with 9 key items was at the good level (94.12 percent). However, 4) most of the dairy farmers are not yet certified to the standards of the GAP for dairy cattle farming (TAS 6402-2009), although they say they want to achieve certification. Therefore, the relevant agencies should better try to understand and educate the farmers and help them to recognize the importance of farm management as per the standards.