10 provinces and regions launch pilot projects for converting grain to forage, industry calls for deeper progress
For grain farmers, the 2015 autumn grain harvest season was a bit cold: as soon as the new corn hit the market, it suddenly encountered relatively sharp grain price fluctuations, and not only did the income they had expected shrink, but in some areas it also became difficult to sell grain.
However, amid the cold winter, a glimmer of brightness also appeared: in Ying County, Shanxi, one mu of corn could yield at least 500 yuan in net income, and in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, this figure even approached 1,000 yuan. How were such good results achieved? The answer is actually very simple: changing the use of corn from the traditional grain harvest, storage and use to whole-plant silage use. This is the project mainly promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture this year in pilot projects for converting grain to forage in 30 counties across 10 provinces and regions nationwide, and it is also a new attempt and proactive action in agricultural policy creation against the current backdrop of changing agricultural development modes and adjusting structure.
Pilot projects for converting grain to forage are advancing steadily
When talking about corn silage, Yang Peiwen, director of the Ying County Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau, could hardly conceal his joy.
Unlike previous autumn harvests, what Ying County harvested this year was not grain corn but whole-plant silage corn. By early October, the area had harvested and stored 330,000 tons, and growers immediately received 150 million yuan in cash.
“It is still hard to say whether the corn price is good, let alone being able to put cash in your pocket so quickly.” Speaking of this year's corn market, Yang Peiwen said that the current corn price in Shanxi is less than 1 yuan per jin, while in the same period last year it reached 1.1-1.4 yuan. By this comparison, the effect of whole-plant corn silage is very obvious.
In the pilot counties in Shanxi, calculating on the basis of at least 3 tons of whole-plant silage feed per mu, at 440-460 yuan per ton, that is 1,320-1,380 yuan. “And 3 tons is still a low figure; the high figure reached 6 tons. After deducting the costs of fertilizer, pesticides, water, mechanical sowing and mechanical harvesting of 700-800 yuan, each mu can yield at least 500 yuan in net profit.” Yang Peiwen said this also saves many procedures, such as reducing time costs and labor intensity, and capital returns quickly, while also making it possible to improve low- and medium-yield farmland.
In the pilot counties in Liaoning in Northeast China, this year's silage harvest deadline was set for September 28. Because of a severe drought, the corn harvest was not ideal, but by comparison, the benefits of whole-plant silage corn were still somewhat higher. Chen Chong, deputy director of the Grassland Division of the Liaoning Provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau, told reporters that this year's corn purchase price was 0.7-0.75 yuan per jin, with gross income of 1,200 yuan per mu, while whole-plant silage corn, calculated at 5 tons per mu, could bring in 1,800 yuan. In addition, after harvesting whole-plant silage corn, local farmers also replanted radishes, cilantro and other crops, further increasing the benefits.
It is understood that, as of now, all 10 provinces and regions nationwide participating in the pilot have formulated pilot work plans——
Heilongjiang: this year, 3 pilot counties planted 250,000 mu of silage corn, and actually harvested and stored 1.09 million tons in total. Among this, project funds were used to subsidize 600,000 tons of silage harvested and stored by large-scale dairy cattle farms (communities) in the pilot counties, with a subsidy standard of 50 yuan/ton, and the project converted a total of 160,000 mu of silage land.
Jilin: on September 11, the Jilin Provincial Animal Husbandry Administration and the Jilin Provincial Department of Finance issued the Jilin Province Pilot Work Implementation Plan for Converting Grain to Forage.
Liaoning: on-site verification is being carried out one by one for the silage conditions reported by the 3 pilot counties, and subsidy funds are about to be allocated in place in the near future.
Inner Mongolia: on September 25, the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department and the Finance Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region jointly issued the Pilot Work Implementation Plan for Developing Grass-Fed Animal Husbandry through Converting Grain to Forage.
Hebei: 3 counties (districts), namely Xingtang County, Weichang County and Saibei Management District, were selected for pilot work on converting grain to forage.
Shaanxi: the pilot plan is being implemented, and the verification and issuance of subsidy funds is also underway.
Gansu: on September 21, the 2015 pilot work implementation plan for converting grain to forage was submitted. At present, the implementation plans for the three counties and districts of Liangzhou, Ganzhou and Huanxian have already been submitted, and approval for implementation can be granted in November.
Qinghai: at present, it is being advanced according to the pilot plan, and 330,000 tons of silage forage have already been stored, accounting for about 70% of the task. It is expected that this year 350,000 tons of silage forage and 200,000 tons of oat hay can be harvested and stored, which can exceed the annual pilot task of subsidizing 450,000 tons of forage.
Ningxia: project acceptance work in each pilot county is proceeding in an orderly manner, and acceptance work is expected to be completed in the near future.
Converting grain corn to whole-plant silage shows obvious efficiency gains
When it comes to silage, everyone is familiar with it, but when it comes to whole-plant corn silage, many growers and breeders may not necessarily be familiar with it. Simply put, it means corn is no longer harvested for grain, and together with corn stalks the whole plant is used for silage feed.
Yu Zhu, a professor at China Agricultural University and a scientist in the National Forage Industry Technology System, told reporters that whole-plant silage corn has lush stems and leaves and tall plants, and its yield is 2-3 times that of ordinary grain corn, while its price is higher than that of ordinary grain corn plus stalks. In addition, the cutting period for whole-plant corn is 15-20 days earlier, making it possible to plant half a season of another crop, improving land use efficiency. At the same time, it facilitates mechanized production, reducing processing costs.
Based on the current average level, growing ordinary corn yields 400 kg of grain and 440 kg of stalks per mu, with total income of about 1,000 yuan. By contrast, growing whole-plant silage corn, calculated at 3.5-4 tons of biomass output per mu, gives total income of 1,200-1,500 yuan.
Han Runying, director and researcher of the Science and Technology Office of the Tongliao City Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Research Institute in Inner Mongolia, told reporters that because the harvested parts are different, the aboveground biological yield of silage corn is 5 tons/mu, while that of grain corn is 0.6 tons/mu. This year, the local corn price in Tongliao is roughly 0.8 yuan per jin, or 1,600 yuan per ton. Adding the value of stalks from one mu at 100 yuan, the net income per mu from ordinary grain corn calculated on this basis is 565 yuan. By contrast, whole-plant silage corn, calculated at the current average purchase price of 450 yuan/ton, gives a net income per mu of 1,755 yuan for commercial whole-plant silage corn, which is 1,190 yuan more per mu than growing ordinary grain corn. Of course, the issue of transport distance also needs to be considered.
In the breeding stage, compared with the traditional feeding method of separate forage and concentrate, the whole-plant corn silage feeding method also has obvious economic benefits. According to calculations by Tang Hongcheng, head of the Shandong Xianglong Cattle, Sheep and Donkey Breeding Base, it can reduce the feed cost of one beef cattle by 900 yuan. Based on a 50% meat yield rate for one beef cattle, a 600 kg adult beef cattle yields 300 kg of meat, and converted to the cost per ton of beef, the cost will correspondingly decrease by more than 3,000 yuan.
Wang Mingli, a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, calculated an account for reporters: for a lactating dairy cow with a single yield of about 5 tons, the feeding model of “high-quality forage + concentrate” compared with the traditional feeding model of “straw + concentrate” can generally increase daily milk production by about 1.5 kg, significantly improve milk protein and milk fat rates, and significantly reduce the incidence of disease in dairy cows. Overall, one dairy cow can increase benefits by about 2,000 yuan per year.
In addition to economic benefits, the ecological benefits of whole-plant silage corn are also very obvious. With whole-plant corn silage, through fertilizing and returning manure from breeding to the field, not only is there no need to consider the secondary harvest and storage of stalks, but environmental problems caused by stalk burning are also avoided.
Yang Fuyu, a professor at China Agricultural University devoted to silage research, said that vigorously advancing the conversion of grain to forage can, first, achieve “improving soil and increasing grain.” Introducing forage and feed into fields can improve low- and medium-yield farmland, increase soil organic matter content by about 20%, and raise grain output by 10%-18%. Second, it can achieve “saving grain and increasing efficiency.” For every 5 percentage point increase in the proportion of meat from grass-fed livestock, about 14 million tons of grain can be saved, roughly the grain output of 44 million mu of cultivated land. Third, it can achieve “increasing forage and increasing livestock.” Developing the conversion of grain to forage is equivalent to developing vegetative agriculture. With the same water and soil resources, if forage grass (forage crops) is produced, biological output can increase by more than 30%, harvestable energy can be 3-5 times greater than that of grain, and protein can be 4-8 times greater than that of grain. Therefore, developing the conversion of grain to forage closely combines planting and breeding, grass and livestock, product safety and environmental safety, conforms to the principle of unifying ecological, economic and social benefits, and conforms to the development direction of international animal husbandry.
The industry calls for continued deepening of pilot projects for converting grain to forage
According to the requirements of the pilot projects for converting grain to forage, the national finance provides an average annual subsidy of 10 million yuan to each pilot county, with an implementation period of 3 years. However, in the view of Xie Zhuo, director of the Shanxi Forage Work Station, the financial subsidy of 10 million yuan to each county and district is clearly not enough. He also admitted to reporters that at present the main difficulties in advancing the conversion of grain to forage are the three major problems of “difficulty guiding farmers to adjust production, difficulty harvesting and storing forage, and difficulty in enterprise turnover.” The difficulty in guiding farmers to adjust production is due, on the one hand, to farmers being influenced by planting concepts and unwilling to adjust their land away to grow grass, and on the other hand, to the fact that growing grain has subsidies and returns, while after growing grass the benefits cannot be immediately reflected, so farmers are not highly motivated to grow grass. The difficulty in harvesting and storing forage is because forage harvesting and storage have time limits, but affected by labor and harvesting machinery, it is often hard to complete harvesting and storage in a short time, causing great waste. The difficulty in enterprise turnover is because enterprises need large amounts of funds to purchase forage and develop production, while banks currently lack policies for enterprise working capital loans, so enterprises face many difficulties in operation.
Chen Liang, a senior animal husbandry engineer in the Forage and Feed Preparation Section of the Ningxia Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department, also told reporters that national financial subsidy funds are indeed limited, but due to the financial capacity of local governments, no additional subsidy funds have yet been provided.
In terms of subsidy standards, this year the subsidy standards for harvesting and storage in the pilot districts and counties of Ningxia for converting grain to forage differ greatly: Litong District is 22 yuan/ton, Helan County is 50 yuan/ton, and Shapotou District is 70 yuan/ton. For some larger local enterprises, the amount harvested and stored is capped at 400,000 tons.
Speaking about the issue of inconsistent subsidy standards, Chen Liang explained to reporters that at present all three districts and counties in Ningxia allocate according to breeding volume, and indeed a cap has been placed on enterprises' harvested and stored volume, namely that a single enterprise's harvested and stored volume cannot exceed 400,000 tons. Because “there are too many monks and too little porridge,” the government needs to take into account the overall interests of growers in the three districts and counties.
In response, Yu Zhu analyzed that in the current whole-plant corn silage process, the distribution of market interests is unbalanced, including landowners, seed dealers, agricultural input dealers, machinery and equipment owners, growers, breeding enterprises, middlemen, insurance companies and others. Often the interests of growers cannot be guaranteed and they bear relatively large risks. Government management departments should proactively assume functions such as coordination, organization, service and supervision so as to achieve shared benefits among relevant parties.
On how to solidly advance the conversion of grain to forage, Yang Fuyu believes: first, it is necessary to accurately grasp the industry positioning and strengthen the combination of “planting and breeding +.” Forage and feed planting should be closely combined with grass-fed animal breeding, and a whole-industry-chain production system should be established from planting to forage and feed processing to organic meat and milk production to halal food processing (by-product processing) to trade (logistics), with sightseeing pastures and other entities as the main body to develop modern leisure tourism, creating an ecological, circular, organic, efficient and high-value industry combining planting and breeding. Second, it is necessary to strengthen scientific and technological support and establish an integrated grass-livestock technology system. Around the respective characteristics of grass and livestock, targeting the three major safety issues (food security, food safety, ecological security) and the four key directions (product safety, efficient output, resource conservation, environmental friendliness), it is necessary to coordinate research and technical support on grass and livestock variety breeding, development and utilization of forage and feed and non-grain feed resources, preparation of biologically fermented feed, grass-livestock energy (manure) circulation, efficient coupling of grass and livestock, and other technologies, improve land output rate, labor productivity and resource utilization rate, and establish an integrated grass-livestock technology system. Third, it is necessary to strengthen policy support and the combination of industry, academia, research and application, support a group of large enterprises in commercial forage and feed planting, processing, sales and logistics, and promote industrial development.
“Although the conversion of grain to forage is currently only a pilot in 10 provinces and regions, the future development trend is to promote it nationwide.” Wang Mingli told reporters.
On November 2, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Guiding Opinions on Corn Structure Adjustment in the “Sickle Bend” Region, making it clear that by 2020, the corn planting area in the “Sickle Bend” region, where year-round corn planting area accounts for about 1/3 of the country's total, will be stabilized at 100 million mu, a reduction of more than 50 million mu from the current level, with priority given to developing silage corn, soybeans, high-quality forage, miscellaneous grains and beans, spring wheat, economic forest fruits and ecologically functional plants, promoting close integration of agriculture and animal husbandry and deep industrial integration, and promoting the improvement of agricultural efficiency and industrial upgrading. The Opinions pointed out that this region is a typical dryland farming area and an advantageous area for animal husbandry development, with a fragile ecological environment and low and unstable corn yields. Optimizing the corn planting structure in this region is not only adaptive proactive action, but also strategic active adjustment.
This shows that under the “food security” strategy, grain used for livestock feed has been incorporated into policy considerations. Establishing a complete ternary planting structure of grain, cash crops and forage, opening up the circular channels between planting and breeding, extending the industrial chain and improving comprehensive benefits have become an important entry point for building a new type of agricultural structure.