The Seeking of Roughage Sources from Agricultural Wastes in Community for Beef Cattle Raising: A Case Study of Beef Cattle Raising Group at Pua District, Nan Province

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to seek roughage sources from agricultural wastes in the community for beef cattle raising. The research method used in this study was the Participatory Action Research (PAR). The population was the beef cattle farmers who were members of beef cattle raising group at Pua district, Nan province and the farmers who participated in The Civil State - Career Development of Beef Cattle Raising Project at Nan province. The instrument used in the research included interviews schedules, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops. The results of the study revealed that most farmers used low-nutrient rice straw as the main rough feed for beef cattle raising. Most farmers did not have knowledge and skill about bringing other wastes into the rough feed. After the workshop, it was found that farmers have increased knowledge and skills. Moreover, the farmers began to bring agricultural wastes in the community such as dried corn husk, corn dust, unused pumpkins, and unused winter melon to improve their nutritional value the feed. The knowledge obtained by the researchers found that changing farmers’ knowledge and skill remains an important gross basis which will ultimately lead to a change in the behaviour of the beef cattle farming based on the academic principles of farmers.