Agricultural wastes as dairy feed in Chiang Mai

Dairy farming in Chiang Mai was established in 1965 by the Thai–German Dairy Project and was subsequently taken over by Department of Livestock development in 1970. Starting from 1979, the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of Thailand also supports the development of dairy farming in northern Thailand. However, dairy farming in Chiang Mai still faces numerous problems. At present, farm sizes are relatively medium, with an average of 23.75 cattle/farm (cows, heifers and calves). Almost all dairy farmers are member of a dairy co‐operative that provides them with an artificial insemination service, supplies of concentrated feed, loans and a center for collecting milk. The average pasture area is 0.3 ha/farm. The main feed resources are green forage from the farm pasture, public areas and roadside pastures, which are abundant only in the rainy season. The farmers are forced to use crop by‐products as roughage in the dry season, especially rice straw, even though its nutritive value is limited due to its low digestibility, low nitrogen and low mineral and vitamin content. To improve the nutritional value of crop by‐products, physical and chemical treatments are implemented. Agro‐industrial wastes such as pineapple waste, sugarcane molasses, the peel, husk or silk of sweet corn and baby corn are also used as dairy feed.