Applied Geography formerly Rural Training Center, Thailand

Your June-July 2006 report is very interesting, especially the work being done on the pond. The photos are beautiful! Question: Why did you sell the cow(s)? Also you mentioned that snakes on the pond are eating the fish. What is the species of snakes, and do they have a food value?

Cows, snakes, and....

The original cows of last year were sold off when the on-farm forage supplies ran out during the hot-dry season. Local sources of feed were in short supply. Gas prices were rising (nearly doubling from last summer). And the farm workers were getting stressed out at the additional work load of tending to the cows as they walked them to other roads and fields in search of fodder. So the decision was made to regroup---sell off the cows, then select forage crops for the farm that would provide adequate supplies on-farm for both the wet and dry seasons to see us through without having to go off-farm for forage-----a much better sustainability scenario. To this summer was spent preparing the forage fields, and in the next few weeks, new cows will be purchased. Then the test will begin about balancing the forage production with the ''right'' number of cows.

I am not sure what type of snakes were eating the fish---but Thai people (like many Chinese) have a knack for turning just about anything into a meal. So for those who like snake, I am sure they eat these fish eaters.

Oh---and fresh water eels can also take their toll not only on the fish, but also damage the pond berms by burrowing into them (weakening the walls) and in some cases, tunneling all the way through breaching the berms---obvioulsy a very critical situation for a fish farm.

Thanks for you time and interest.