I had a chance to visit my friends 18 rai farm nearby.
It has 6 large ponds, tons of mango trees, corn and other vegetables for sale.
A beautiful place that is very peaceful and quiet.
I received the grand tour and walked around the entire 18 rai.
There is a small, open air house with no electricity or running water.
6 large ponds are stocked with fish. The ponds provide fish to eat. They hold a fishing derby every 2 years, where customers pay between 200 and 400 baht per person to catch all the fish.
His soil mixture is very rich as he has combined the sugarcane sludge from the mill with the hard clay dirt to make a rich soil.
The corn is amazing healthy. The corn sells for 20 thb per kilo, which is about 3 ears of corn. Some patches of fields are sold to resellers in their entirety, who pick all the corn and resell in the local market ear by ear.
There are all kinds of different mangos and the trees are just loaded with mangos.
There are many vegetables grown here for resale.
This visit highlighted one of the plights of rural Isaan farmers.
The cost to farm is increasing, PVC tube and tons of it, are needed to route water around the farm.
The need for an expensive tractor and a pickup truck.
The end result is the produce and fruits can only be sold for a very small amount, which is the norm here in rural Isaan.
Farmers cannot make enough money to get ahead, some barely survive and some are deeply in debt.
It is very sad to see this and hear this first hand but that is one of the realities we face living in rural Isaan.
It was a great day out on the farm.