Abstract:
This research aimed to: (1) study the personal, economic, and social characteristics as well as specific aspects of dairy farming among farmers in San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai Province ; (2) examine factors related to farmers' perspectives on the use of modern dairy farming technology at San Kamphaeng Dairy Cooperative (Pa Tung Huay Mo) Limited ; and (3) investigate problems, needs, and suggestions regarding the use of modern dairy farming technology at the cooperative. The study population consisted of 130 dairy farmers who were members of San Kamphaeng Dairy Cooperative (Pa Tung Huay Mo) Limited in San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai. A sample size of 99 farmers was calculated using Taro Yamane's formula with an acceptable margin of error of 0.05. Data were collected using an interview schedule with a reliability coefficient (α = 0.885) determined by Cronbach's method. Data analysis included descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics using Enter Multiple Regression Analysis to identify relationships between independent variables and farmers' perspectives on the use of modern dairy farming technology. The results showed that the majority of farmers were male (75.75%), with an average age of 47.37 years. Most had a bachelors degree (21.22%) and an average of 12.70 years of dairy farming experience. On average, households employed 2.85 family members in dairy farming. Monthly dairy farming costs averaged 155,479.88 THB, while estimated monthly income from dairy farming was 127,328.94 THB. A total of 84 farmers reported outstanding debts, with an average debt of 388,135.71 THB. Most farmers (84.85%) did not hold social positions and 84.84% had received information on modern dairy farming technology. Regarding farm conditions, the average number of dairy cows per farm was 53.93, with an average daily raw milk production of 251.73 kilograms. Farmers owned an average of 2.83 rai of land for dairy farming, 2.27 ngan for cow sheds, and 2.77 ngan for forage plots. Farmers' perspectives on modern dairy farming technology at the cooperative were highly favorable overall, with an average score of 2.47. Subcategories ranked from highest to lowest were farm management (2.64), reproduction (2.58), feed (2.47), and disease prevention (2.19).Factors influencing farmers' perspectives included contact with personnel related to modern dairy farming technology, which positively correlated with their opinions (0.05). The predictive model accounted for 22.3% of the variance. Challenges included the high cost of implementing modern technology, insufficient knowledge among workers on its use, and inadequate water supply for dairy farms. Farmers' main needs were reducing the cost of technology and obtaining affordable, high-quality dairy feed. Suggestions included establishing an animal feed factory within the cooperative and improving feed quality with expert input to support the production of high-quality raw milk. Recommendations from the research include (1) Relevant agencies should inspect and improve the affordability of dairy feed to enhance farmers' profits and reduce their debt burden. (2) Efforts should be made to improve accessibility of technology-related personnel to farmers, such as through field visits to provide knowledge and gather data for cooperative development planning. (3) Agencies should educate farmers on how farm management technology can lower farm operating costs. (4) To address challenges with vaccine imports, the government should support training for farmers, create vaccine procurement networks, and develop domestic vaccine production to facilitate efficient use of modern technology in dairy farms