Farm Chokchai

On Thursday I traveled 2 hours northwest of Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima Province where I visited Farm Chokchai. This farm was started in 1957 by a gentleman that came from a successful rice trading family but he wanted to do something different. Inspired by movie westerns he traveled to the U.S. and studied animal science. He returned and bought his first 100 acres in this area. This was a big risk because at that time the area was still very wild with many tigers and the land had to be cleared. Even today the main ranch is right next to a National Wildlife Sanctuary and the largest National Park in Thailand. He first tried raising Santa Gertrudis cattle but they didn’t work well here, so eventually he shifted to dairy cattle and the farm has been a dairy for 36 years. Over the years it has expanded to 8,000 acres on 5 ranches. They currently have 4,000 cattle and would like to expand to 5,000. Over the years they have developed their own breed of cattle that is now 86-90% Holstein but also has influences from American Brahman, Santa Gertrudis and a breed that lives in India and Pakistan. These cattle are better adapted to the climate in Thailand. They often have visitors from the surrounding countries that would like to purchase some of their cattle to start a new dairy. Unfortunately, many of these people have no knowledge regarding dairy production, so if any of you want to manage a dairy there may be an opportunity for you in Asia. The first picture below is of a herd of heifers grazing on Ranch #3. This is a beautiful place.

In 1999, the founder’s son took over the company and decided to start an agro-tourism program. They now give farm tours complete with Wild West shows. The Thai people are really fascinated with the American West and apparently it doesn’t matter that they are dairy cattle. Mr. Chokchai also owns both Thoroughbred race horses and Quarter Horses as well as several other species of animals and many breeds of dogs which are part of the farm tour. They also have 3 steakhouses, one on the farm and 2 in Bangkok. They don’t produce the beef. They contract with another rancher to do that. They also have two other restaurant concepts the steak hut and the burger hut. The restaurants are currently the most profitable part of the business. They produce their own dairy products and have 3 dairy stores. They hope to expand the retail side of the business soon. There is a good demand for milk right now, partly because Australia has been in a drought and has cut back on production. In 2004 they opened Farm Chokchai Camp, a boutique camping and activity package. This camp is in a beautiful setting in the back of the main ranch. It is expensive by Thai standards so mostly multi-national companies and international schools use it. The package includes an ice cream workshop (where you make ice cream and can take it home when you leave), a farm tour, a morning walk to the top of a hill along with a picnic breakfast and a night ATV ride with a view of the stars. The accommodations are tents but they are nicer than some hotel rooms I have been in, with air conditioning and Wi-Fi internet. It also includes 3 gourmet meals. The bathrooms and showers not attached to the rooms but they are really neat, open to nature but still private and luxurious. This would go over really well in the U.S. The second picture shows the tents.