Fan Bo returns home to develop Wanbei white goat farming
Rows of sheep sheds are clean and tidy, snow-white flocks play happily, and workers are busy preparing forage... When the author arrived at Taihe County Xinxiang Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. in Dasong Village, Gaomiao Town, Taihe County, a vibrant scene came into view. Although it has only been in operation for just over a year, Xinxiang Animal Husbandry has already begun to take shape, and the first batch of Wanbei white goats raised is growing very well.
The company's founder, Fan Bo, is a local of Gaomiao. With the rise in recent years of the upsurge in transferring land to develop modern agriculture, he shifted his investment focus from the city back to his hometown. "In recent years, the economic benefits of raising sheep have been very stable. It is just that compared with poultry or meat pigs, goats have a longer breeding cycle and require relatively larger investment, so there are fewer rural farmers raising goats on a large scale. Over these years, I made some money working away from home and doing business in medicinal materials, so I made up my mind to invest in the livestock industry," Fan Bo told the author. Unlike many people who choose Boer goats or the less common African black goats, he set his sights from the very beginning on the local Wanbei white goat.
"Over these years, many people around me have complained that today's mutton no longer tastes like mutton, that it is different from what they ate as children. That is indeed true. When I was a child, my family raised two or three white goats, and we would slaughter one during the New Year. Apart from taking some to the market to exchange for money, we could still eat it for several meals, and I have never been able to forget that fragrant taste." Fan Bo said that in recent years, because Boer goats produce more meat and are easy to raise, they spread quickly in rural areas, and many people have forgotten the local goats. For this reason, he decided to invest in raising the local Wanbei goat. Fan Bo explained that the Wanbei white goat has high reproductive capacity and good pelt quality, but because of its small individual size and slow growth rate, it is mostly used for meat goat production. "The white goats we raise have a robust physique, well-proportioned structure, delicious meat, good pelt quality, and a high reproduction rate. Although their growth speed may be a little slower than that of Boer goats, the sales market prospects are very good, and it is also of certain significance for preserving the Wanbei goat species." Fan Bo said that because he switched midway from the medicinal materials business to farming, he spent a great deal of effort along the way. In addition to checking information and consulting experts, he also traveled around to inspect meat goat farming conditions in various places, and prepared for more than half a year before starting to try raising them.
In March 2015, Fan Bo invested 3.6 million yuan and began building the breeding base. Because the base is located in the local innovation and entrepreneurship park, it received strong support from the government and the human resources and social security department. "In less than 20 days, the transfer of our 100 mu of land was completed. Because the roads, water, electricity and other infrastructure in the park were complete, the breeding base developed quickly." Pointing to the completed 30 mu of sheep sheds, Fan Bo told the author that after actually getting started, he did not dare be careless. "The first thing I do every morning when I get up is check the sheep pens, then cut grass, crush grass, mix feed, clean up, and observe how the sheep behave while eating feed... Almost every day is spent in busy activity." Fan Bo said that only after truly succeeding in raising them did he feel relieved. At present, the development of the base has already gotten on track.
After more than a year of development, the base currently has more than 300 goats on hand. Once fully completed, it will reach 3,000 to 4,000 goats, and this year it is expected to achieve a profit of 2 to 3 million yuan.
"Next, we plan to use the 'company + base + farmers' cooperation model to carry out pilot breeding in surrounding villages and towns, gradually expand the scale, and drive local people to get rich through breeding. In addition, we also plan to expand the scale and raise other livestock breeds. In the future, we also want to develop a meat processing project." Fan Bo told the author that because his entrepreneurship received strong support from the hometown government, he said that after the enterprise develops, he will lead more people to get rich together, make goat farming more refined and better, and strive to build his own goat meat brand.