gmelina or mahogany farming anyone?

[morningbliss]

The mean average for the Philippines is about 70+ tons there abouts. We are fortunate to have a river crossing our farm, as irrigation really helps in crop growth over the summer months, hence our healthy yields on overall tonnage per hectare.

Actually there are a lot of factors to consider in sugarcane farming. Soil class for one, topography, etc. Other factors such as variety of sugarcane used and availability of irrigation can be considered in assessing the input cost and amount of output produced.

Atin atin lang to ha ...

Average cost per hectare for us is at 75 to 80k per hectare. This would include all the variables from mechanized field preparation, planting, weeding, fertilizers, mechanized irrigation (summer crops), worker salaries, etc.

I hope that answers your question.

yes sir i think your yield is exceptional! so congrats
what a nice place then if you have river crossing your farm...how about during typhoon seasons? i hope your farm is not affected by this river.

i think the place i'm planning to buy is really optimal for sugarcane because almost all over the place, it is the crop grown but of course i will also do my own investigation on the soil properties especially that i'm also farming for mahogany,gmelina...bee farming an option for me too!they say bees will greatly improve yield of sugarcane as bees loves sugarcane...

the place is also actually situated near a provincial river but as per geohazard map (Geological Database Information System), the location is not a flood area...

at this point, i have no idea on sugarcane varieties. maybe i just have to copy the current cropping system in our place
the place i'm also referring to is just right beside the mini-dam developed by government. i think it is called SWIP...but not sure on legalities of using it for your farm...will investigate further...or i'm also thinking of my own well and water storage...just ideas no definite or concrete know how yet.

wow! seems like the overall costs is pretty high! i heard in our place that they spend around 30-35th expenses per hectare...or maybe part of their sales talk for me to buy the land haha!...in that sense, then i need a capital of close to 350th for a 10 hectare plantation...and on your farm would be around 800,000 per 10 hectare! now i realized how much money your hacienda is making! or maybe it could also be a reason that you don't plan or invest in timber plantation farms at least the returns are immediate for your sugarcane and significantly BIG if you have hacienda farm land....

congrats for being successful in your family venture

[lowslowbenz]

30 - 35K?????????? ..... How did they compute that figure? Fertilizer cost alone accounts to almost half of the expenses per hectare. The river is located in a deep gorge, so during the rainy season flooding is not a problem. I have no idea on what a SWIP is actually. We have a small dam of sorts that was constructed mainly for irrigation purposes, a tractor is then used to pump water into the pipes going to the fields. I think my father is paying a small fee to the town officials for use of that water, and that's it.

On sugarcane varieties, you can check the SRA link I gave you.

Another link for land preparation, and other tips: http://www.sugarcanecrops.com/agrono...d_preparation/

Do not forget that aside from sugar proceeds, you will also have income from molasses that is a byproduct of the refining process of your raw sugar. Considered an extra "bonus". Some Negros farmers I know, molasses proceeds palang, milyon na. Hehe.

My dad is a 3th generation farmer already. Feel free to ask if you still have questions.

Goodluck on your "sweet" venture.

[morningbliss]

30 - 35K?????????? ..... How did they compute that figure? Fertilizer cost alone accounts to almost half of the expenses per hectare. The river is located in a deep gorge, so during the rainy season flooding is not a problem. I have no idea on what a SWIP is actually. We have a small dam of sorts that was constructed mainly for irrigation purposes, a tractor is then used to pump water into the pipes going to the fields. I think my father is paying a small fee to the town officials for use of that water, and that's it.

Do not forget that aside from sugar proceeds, you will also have income from molasses that is a byproduct of the refining process of your raw sugar.

My dad is a 3th generation farmer already. Feel free to ask if you still have questions.

Goodluck on your "sweet" venture.

haha..so it could be just plan sales talk..maybe because the owner is not really into sugarcane farming but his land is just leased...
so you use inorganic fertilizers that's why it is expensive.the truth is i have no idea how organic and inorganic performs in sugarcane...based on my readings in preparing the farm land for farming, they tend to fallow the area and plant cover crops/green manures to increase soil fertility and biomass...it says that for a lot to be productive, it must contain around 10-25 tons of organic ("Roland Bunch states that to keep farmland productive, a minimum of 10 to 25 tons of organic matter (fresh weight) is needed per hectare per year")...this is quite a good article The Use of Green Manure/Cover Crops for Relay Cropping in Northern Thailand | A Growing Culture intecropping sugarcane with green manure near their cropping period to further enhance soil fertility...but maybe not really that required when inorganic fertilizers are implemented...i will be visiting the place in two weeks so i have the chance to ask farmers there on their farming practices in fertilizing their sugarcanes..

SWIPs by the way means Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIPs), http://www.bswm.da.gov.ph/...another irrigation system where they build mini dam to store water during rainy season for use in the summer...

molasses...yes i'm encountering such term as a byproduct but not yet research on its uses and profits...how is this sold?by kilos?how much does it cost?however, i think you benefit from this is if you own the refineries. because my thinking is that you just sell the raw sugarcane, is this correct?

3rd generation...means stability, productivity, efficiency and knowledge for your field...then your generation must be very blessed...

yes thank you...i'm just a newbie and starting...i don't even have a business plan yet! but asking for practical experiences and facts this early will steer me to better understanding and decision making

[morningbliss]

30 - 35K?????????? ..... How did they compute that figure? Fertilizer cost alone accounts to almost half of the expenses per hectare. The river is located in a deep gorge, so during the rainy season flooding is not a problem. I have no idea on what a SWIP is actually. We have a small dam of sorts that was constructed mainly for irrigation purposes, a tractor is then used to pump water into the pipes going to the fields. I think my father is paying a small fee to the town officials for use of that water, and that's it.

Do not forget that aside from sugar proceeds, you will also have income from molasses that is a byproduct of the refining process of your raw sugar.

My dad is a 3th generation farmer already. Feel free to ask if you still have questions.

Goodluck on your "sweet" venture.

haha..so it could be just plan sales talk..maybe because the owner is not really into sugarcane farming but his land is just leased...
so you use inorganic fertilizers that's why it is expensive.the truth is i have no idea how organic and inorganic performs in sugarcane...based on my readings in preparing the farm land for farming, they tend to fallow the area and plant cover crops/green manures to increase soil fertility and biomass...it says that for a lot to be productive, it must contain around 10-25 tons of organic ("Roland Bunch states that to keep farmland productive, a minimum of 10 to 25 tons of organic matter (fresh weight) is needed per hectare per year")...this is quite a good article The Use of Green Manure/Cover Crops for Relay Cropping in Northern Thailand | A Growing Culture intecropping sugarcane with green manure near their cropping period to further enhance soil fertility...but maybe not really that required when inorganic fertilizers are implemented...i will be visiting the place in two weeks so i have the chance to ask farmers there on their farming practices in fertilizing their sugarcanes..

SWIPs by the way means Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIPs), http://www.bswm.da.gov.ph/...another irrigation system where they build mini dam to store water during rainy season for use in the summer...

molasses...yes i'm encountering such term as a byproduct but not yet research on its uses and profits...how is this sold?by kilos?how much does it cost?however, i think you benefit from this is if you own the refineries. because my thinking is that you just sell the raw sugarcane, is this correct?

3rd generation...means stability, productivity, efficiency and knowledge for your field...then your generation must be very blessed...

yes thank you...i'm just a newbie and starting...i don't even have a business plan yet! but asking for practical experiences and facts this early will steer me to better understanding and decision making

[lowslowbenz]

The marketing of sugar in the Philippines is already well established. This starts with the delivery of harvested millable canes to the mill where, under the present system, the sugarcane planter agrees to allocate certain percent (35% in Negros IIRC) of the output of his sugar and molasses with the mill in payment for the processing of the cane.

As soon as the sugar is processed, a warehouse receipt called quedan is issued to planters by the mill representing his 65% share of the sugar and molasses, which after milling, is stored in the mill warehouse. This document attesting to the physical presence of the sugar and molasses in the warehouse is negotiable thus it allows the bearer to withdraw the stocks anytime. Two types of quedan is being issued by the mill as follows; A for sugar allocation for the US market (export) in compliance with the country's quota requirements; and B for sugar for the local /domestic market. The proportion of sugar that goes to the different types of quedan is being determined by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). In Negros, it is set at 8% for export and 92% for domestic market IIRC.

The flow of sugar for the domestic market follows an established pattern. After getting the quedans, the planters usually sell these immediately to the traders who in turn, sell them to bigger traders who accumulate the quedans and subsequently sell the volume sugar either to the wholesalers, the distributors or to the processors. The processors use the sugar as input for processing while the wholesalers and distributors sell their sugar to the retailers. The sugar eventually reaches the consumers through supermarkets, wet markets & sari-sari stores.

Molasses is sold by the ton, I yet have to ask my father how much is the current molasses price. The by-product is virtually an overnight sensation since the bio-fuels program of the government took effect.

Yes, we use chemical fertilizers. However we practise interval cropping, wherein some fields are intentionally left barren (for a crop year), with a cover crop of monggo or watermelon. We also do liming, and application of mud press (waste of the sugarcane). However I do not know the technicalities as to why it is done, maybe soil conditioning, etc. Do remember that you would need a farm tractor to spread all that fertilizer around, that will also add to your costs.

[morningbliss]

The marketing of sugar in the Philippines is already well established. This starts with the delivery of harvested millable canes to the mill where, under the present system, the sugarcane planter agrees to allocate certain percent (35% in Negros IIRC) of the output of his sugar and molasses with the mill in payment for the processing of the cane.

As soon as the sugar is processed, a warehouse receipt called quedan is issued to planters by the mill representing his 65% share of the sugar and molasses, which after milling, is stored in the mill warehouse. This document attesting to the physical presence of the sugar and molasses in the warehouse is negotiable thus it allows the bearer to withdraw the stocks anytime. Two types of quedan is being issued by the mill as follows; A for sugar allocation for the US market (export) in compliance with the country's quota requirements; and B for sugar for the local /domestic market. The proportion of sugar that goes to the different types of quedan is being determined by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). In Negros, it is set at 8% for export and 92% for domestic market IIRC.

The flow of sugar for the domestic market follows an established pattern. After getting the quedans, the planters usually sell these immediately to the traders who in turn, sell them to bigger traders who accumulate the quedans and subsequently sell the volume sugar either to the wholesalers, the distributors or to the processors. The processors use the sugar as input for processing while the wholesalers and distributors sell their sugar to the retailers. The sugar eventually reaches the consumers through supermarkets, wet markets & sari-sari stores.

Molasses is sold by the ton, I yet have to ask my father how much is the current molasses price. The by-product is virtually an overnight sensation since the bio-fuels program of the government took effect.

Yes, we use chemical fertilizers. However we practise interval cropping, wherein some fields are intentionally left barren (for a crop year), with a cover crop of monggo or watermelon. We also do liming, and application of mud press (waste of the sugarcane). However I do not know the technicalities as to why it is done, maybe soil conditioning, etc. Do remember that you would need a farm tractor to spread all that fertilizer around, that will also add to your costs.

wow! your response is really a ton of information in sugarcane management! my deep appreciation and gratitude in sharing

now, i think i'm getting quite a hold of the processes and management involved from planting to selling sugarcane.
when i come home, at least i know what aspects and info i will gather in the locality of my planned sugarcane plantation

my term for the day is "quedrans" and "gorge" both coming from you....hehehe...thanks..
i just realize how profitable the molasses are...meaning from your figures above, you still did not incorporate the profits derived from molasses, right? then this is really nice

interval cropping?well maybe because you have lots of land to spare
monggo is very much documented as a very good means to improve soil N and biomass/organic matter by around 35tons per hectare per year! plus being a food source..actually i'm planning to first condition the lot on the first year by tilling and planting legumes as green manure...im gearing towards monggo and other legumes...what is the planting season for monggo and when can they be harvested?

liming....encountered this topic in some articles to improve the pH of the soil from being too acidic...but never seen actual lime...
yes you are right they are done to condition the soil in terms of organic content and pH level...but since you already use chemical fertilizers, then it could just be to further improve the condition of your farm lands...
yes thanks for reminding..actually, i received a cost and return analysis document from PCAARD for sugarcane but it is dated 2000...maybe new technologies and definitely new cost figures so i can only use it as a reference...my bulk of research is in my mahogany farming and now need also to do for sugarcane...

if you don't mind me asking, do you arelady have your own family? seems to me that you are responsible and really well versed in your field...

[lowslowbenz]

You're welcome, I'm glad to help and spread information.

We actually do not have any secrets in planting mung beans, we just scatter them about and let them germinate by themselves. We also do not harvest them, instead plough them back into the land. What a waste no?

I'm married, no kids yet. Just helping out my father during my spare time, as I do have a permanent office job for my source of income. I was born and raised in a sugarcane farm, so in that field, I think I'm sweet enough.


Hey Boss Yebo ..... Sorry, I think I hijacked your thread. :D

[yebo]

No problem, i am learning from you, too. Knowledge is always a welcome gift.

[lowslowbenz]

^

Hehe, who knows, maybe you will also consider sugarcane farming in the near future. :D

[morningbliss]

You're welcome, I'm glad to help and spread information.

We actually do not have any secrets in planting mung beans, we just scatter them about and let them germinate by themselves. We also do not harvest them, instead plough them back into the land. What a waste no?

I'm married, no kids yet. Just helping out my father during my spare time, as I do have a permanent office job for my source of income. I was born and raised in a sugarcane farm, so in that field, I think I'm sweet enough.


Hey Boss Yebo ..... Sorry, I think I hijacked your thread. :D

thats nice to be truly open and share your knowledge to help
well not really waste at all...makes ur soil happier

wow...ur father must be happy hehehe...
yes, ur knolwedge is beyond sweetness of the sugarcane