Scientific Grain Storage Can Eliminate "Ground-Piled Grain," but Promotion Still Faces Challenges
Traditional grain storage methods run into trouble, and grain depot purchasing progress slows down
“There is a lot of moldy grain this year, and no one will take it anywhere. Ordinary people are very anxious.” Not long ago, at the Taojiatun Grain Depot of Jinyu Grain Purchasing and Storage Co., Ltd. in Gongzhuling City, Jilin Province, reporters met Li Wu, a farmer broker from Sanhe Street, Shuangyang District, Changchun City, who had just brought in several truckloads of corn. “Although it has been a bumper harvest year, business is not that easy to do.” Li Wu said that state-owned grain depots do not accept this moldy grain. Some other places can accept it, but the price is only eight or nine mao per jin, and farmers do not want to sell because the loss is too great.
The person in charge of the Taojiatun Grain Depot introduced that the peak grain purchasing season generally comes after the Spring Festival, but this year purchasing progress is still not as good as in previous years, with daily purchasing progress of only five or six hundred tons. The main reasons are, first, that there is a lot of mold this year. National temporary storage grain policy stipulates that corn with a moldy kernel content higher than 5% is not included in the scope of national temporary storage corn purchasing, and this kind accounts for roughly 1/3. Second, supplementary documents on temporary storage grain stipulate a price deduction policy for corn exceeding the mold threshold: corn with a moldy kernel content of 3%—4% has a 3% price deduction, and 4%—5% has a 6% price deduction. As a result, there are many price deductions, ordinary people find it hard to accept, and purchasing progress slows down. Every day many vehicles delivering grain face the problem of being “turned away.”
Why is the mold problem so serious this year?
It is understood that, in addition to the impact of abnormal weather, the traditional “ground-piled” grain storage method also easily causes grain to become moldy.
Li Wu told reporters: “Many farmers are unwilling to put much effort into storing grain. Every year after the corn harvest they just pile it on the ground. In previous years they had not encountered moldy kernel conditions as serious as this year.”
Wang Rong, director of the Gongzhuling City Grain Bureau, introduced that since the beginning of the autumn harvest, the grain department has actively guided farmers to store grain scientifically, that is, to meet the requirements of being three-dimensional, off the ground and ventilated, and to build scientific grain storage bins to effectively reduce mold, so that farmers can sell dry grain and grain with low moisture content, thereby further increasing farmers' income. Each township and town has been equipped with grain administration officers to actively publicize and guide farmers, and grain inspection stations have also gone to rural areas to carry out a series of lectures for guidance, but many farmers still continue to use the traditional “ground-piled” grain storage method.
Han Fuchun, director of the Jilin Provincial Grain Bureau, said that Jilin Province has for several consecutive years been waging a campaign to “eliminate ground-piled grain.” The national finance provides part of the money, the province provides part of the money, and farmers provide another part, and then farmers can build scientific household grain storage bins. “At present, 456,000 sets have been built across the province, but these 456,000 sets cannot fully solve Jilin's problem. Compared with more than 3 million farming households, they are only a drop in the bucket, so it is only possible through this kind of typical demonstration and leading role to drive more farmers to store grain scientifically.”
The granaries have good benefits, but promotion still has problems to be solved
In Zhangjiajie Village, Huanling Township, Gongzhuling City, reporters found this kind of demonstration granary. Storage bins had been built at almost every household entrance, and the corn was stored very neatly. “This can reduce losses and increase income. One shang of land (1 hectare) can earn two thousand yuan more.” Villager Yuan Xiuhua said that by adopting this scientific grain storage method, the grain had already been carefully selected before being put into the bins, and during storage there was basically no mold or insect holes. The stored grain was of high quality, and most of it could be sold at the price of first-grade grain, and could also be sold at a high price when the opportunity arose.
Fan Yanqi, from the same village, said that after the autumn harvest his family's grain had been loaded directly here and had been stored until now. “There is no need to spray chemicals, and there is no need to worry about mice damaging the corn. Even if it rains, once the wind blows it dry. If it were not for this kind of storage bin, I would not dare store it for so long.”
What other difficulties remain in achieving scientific grain storage? Yuan Xiuhua told reporters, first, scientific grain storage bins are expensive. Although the state and local governments provide subsidies, farmers still need to pay part of the money themselves. Second, storage bins occupy a large area, and village roads cannot accommodate them, which limits the purchase of grain bins. It is understood that each storage bin built by Yuan Xiuhua's family can generally hold 18,000 jin, but she still hopes to buy a few more. “Because our family could not store it all, we have already sold more than 28,000 jin, and now only a little over 20,000 jin remains stored in the grain bins.”