Mechanical Corn Harvesting Turns the Traditional "Three Autumns" into One
The annual autumn harvest is approaching once more. Just when mechanized harvesting in many of China's corn-producing areas is still at a relatively low level, Zhucheng City in Shandong Province has already taken the lead in achieving full-process mechanization of corn production. This year, the area of mechanically harvested corn is expected to reach 850,000 mu, with the mechanized harvesting rate exceeding 90%. What has accelerated the mechanization of corn production in Zhucheng? The author conducted an in-depth investigation and interview in Zhucheng City on this matter.
Advancing on Multiple Fronts with “Key Breakthroughs”
Li Qinghua, member of the Standing Committee of the Zhucheng Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor, said: “Since achieving full-process mechanization of wheat production in 1998, Zhucheng has begun introducing, testing, and promoting combined corn harvesting technology, shifting its main focus to corn harvesting mechanization.”
To sum up, there are mainly “five models”:
First, comprehensively promote mechanized conservation tillage technology. To advance conservation tillage technology, the city's mechanized conservation tillage technology outreach team for corn harvesting stayed close to rural areas and the grassroots and to farmers, launching a major training and promotion program and an agricultural machinery science and technology village-entry and household-entry project, conducting in-depth roving lectures and technical guidance, and publicizing and promoting corn harvesting mechanization technology and the role and significance of mechanical corn harvesting to farmers. Second, deepen the agricultural machinery “one-stop” operation model. In advancing corn harvesting mechanization, Zhucheng City combined corn mechanical harvesting with straw return and mechanized conservation tillage, promoting them together, and vigorously carried out “one-stop” operations of corn mechanical harvesting, straw return, and no-till wheat sowing. Third, vigorously carry out comprehensive straw utilization. Centering on developing a circular agricultural economy and promoting farmers' income growth, the city vigorously promoted mechanized comprehensive straw utilization technology with straw return as the focus. The city's machinery inventory for comprehensive corn straw utilization technology reached more than 3,600 units, and the area of corn straw return (silage) accounted for more than 90% of the corn harvesting area.
Fourth, improve the “3+1” agricultural machinery service model. Giving full play to the role of various agricultural machinery cooperative organizations, actively carrying out various forms of intermediary services for mechanized corn production and market supply-demand information services, and guiding farmers to establish agricultural machinery production cooperatives mainly in the form of the “agricultural machinery household—corn grower—livestock breeder + leading enterprise” (“3+1”) model. Through signing operation contracts and other forms, agricultural machinery households harvest corn for growers, the straw crushed after the operation is given directly to livestock breeders, and the milk produced by the breeders is sold to leading dairy processing enterprises, forming an income-increasing industrial chain. Fifth, implement the project-driven strategy. Through implementing the national plan to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, the “Conservation Tillage Demonstration Project,” and the “Corn Mechanized Production Demonstration County Project,” resources are integrated, synergy is formed, and corn mechanical harvesting demonstration counties and demonstration bases are established to drive the development of corn production mechanization.
“Seamless Grafting” of Agricultural Machinery and Agronomy
Wang Shugui, Director of the Zhucheng City Agricultural Machinery Bureau, said: “The ‘seamless grafting’ of agricultural machinery and agronomy is an important technical guarantee and successful experience for Zhucheng's development of corn harvesting mechanization.”
Zhao Dianxiang, a “National Agricultural Machinery Demonstration Household” who has dealt with agricultural machinery for more than 30 years, said with deep feeling: “Mechanized harvesting technology, changing intercropping to mechanical direct seeding, and guiding the gradual unification of corn planting row spacing have changed the complex and inconsistent corn planting methods and laid a good foundation for mechanized corn harvesting.”
Tai Muyun, Director of the Zhucheng City Agricultural Machinery Technology Promotion Station and a senior engineer with nearly 30 years of experience in agricultural machinery promotion, said: “For harvesting machinery, the most important thing is to solve the row spacing problem. If farmers were asked to change their planting patterns from the very beginning, it would be almost impossible. Using machinery to drive improvements in agronomy is a very good approach, but to fundamentally solve this problem, a large number of technical measures are still needed.”
In 2009, the agricultural machinery and agriculture departments of Zhucheng City jointly formulated technical guidance opinions for summer wheat mechanical harvesting, straw return, and no-till corn sowing, as well as autumn corn mechanical harvesting, straw return, and no-till wheat sowing, establishing a corn mechanized production technology system combining agricultural machinery and agronomy.
Blooming Everywhere with “Abundant Fruits”
At the home of Lu Ruchun in Yuegou Community, Baichihe Town, hailed as a “mechanical harvesting expert,” the author saw three combined corn harvesters parked side by side in the courtyard, one of which was a 4YZ-3 self-propelled combined corn harvester. Pointing to this machine, Lu Ruchun opened up: “In the past, manually harvesting 15 mu of corn required 140 labor-hours. Now, harvesting corn by machine requires at most 4 labor-hours, saving 35 times the labor efficiency. One combined corn harvester can harvest 1,200 yuan in one operation period, with income reaching fifty or sixty thousand yuan. After deducting costs, the annual income is around 40,000 yuan, and the cost can be recovered in two years.”
Zang Chuanbo, Principal Staff Member of the Zhucheng City Agricultural Machinery Bureau, said: “In recent years, with the rise in corn prices, farmers' enthusiasm for planting corn has continued to increase. In 2014, Zhucheng City's summer corn planting area reached 935,000 mu, and the mechanical harvesting market is very broad.”
As early as 2001, Zhucheng City established a provincial-level agricultural mechanization demonstration zone, which played a demonstrative, driving, and radiating role in promoting corn mechanical harvesting. That year, Lu Ruchun became the first farmer in Zhucheng to purchase a combined corn harvester. By 2008, the number of combined corn harvesters in Zhucheng City had increased to 120 units, which was a slow promotion process. In implementing the agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy, Zhucheng City adopted the principle of giving priority subsidies to corn harvesting machinery, which powerfully promoted the development of corn harvesting machinery.
“Doing a good job in autumn cross-regional mechanical corn harvesting became another measure to promote the popularization of corn harvesting machinery in Zhucheng City.” Zang Chuanbo introduced that over the years, Zhucheng City had done an excellent job in cross-regional mechanical wheat harvesting, which invisibly accumulated experience for carrying out autumn cross-regional mechanical corn harvesting. Following the approach of “consolidating summer and expanding autumn,” Zhucheng City took the lead in opening up cross-regional corn mechanical harvesting operations in the autumn of 2005. That year, the agricultural machinery department of Zhucheng City organized more than 10 corn harvesters to operate in Liaocheng, Jinan, and other areas within the province, achieving good results. Since then, Zhucheng has continuously expanded its operation areas, and while increasing machine operators' income, it has also made agricultural machinery operators realize the advantages of corn mechanical harvesting: high efficiency, low cost, and the ability to seize the farming season.