The road to poverty alleviation and prosperity of Lao Gao, a cattle-raising expert in Mian County, Shaanxi

On May 9, Gao Jianmin was adding fodder to his family's cattle.

In the early morning of May in the mountains, it was still chilly. At first light, Lao Gao drove his 8 cattle up the slope and began a day of "cow" man life. Watching the cattle frolicking on the hillside, Lao Gao's heart was full of happiness and contentment.

Lao Gao is named Gao Jianming, and his home is in Longwanggou, Liuqiying Community, Zhoujiashan Town, Mian County. This place is surrounded by green mountains and shaded by green trees, but transportation is inconvenient and conditions are backward, making it one of the poorest areas in the town. "The few acres of poor farmland on the mountain can only solve the problem of food and clothing. If I want to develop an industry, I have no capital, and I still have to support my daughter through university, which costs more than 20,000 a year." Lao Gao laid out his family's difficulties.

Last year, Gao Jianming was identified as a registered poor household. After learning about his family's situation, town and village officials and the county officials assigned to help came to his door to explain the policies to him and encourage him to develop an industry and become prosperous. "Registered poor households can apply for up to 50,000 yuan in subsidized interest loans for financial poverty alleviation, and are encouraged to develop industries!" "The community mutual aid fund association also has loan support!" "The assisting department, the county Party Committee Propaganda Department, also contributed 100,000 yuan to set up a reward fund for supporting planting and breeding industries. As long as the industry develops well, the community will also give rewards!"

With the encouragement of the officials, Lao Gao suddenly felt his eyes light up. "When I was young, I traded cattle, so I know a little about the tricks, and I had always wanted to raise cattle." Lao Gao quickly made up his mind and borrowed 50,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan from the county credit union and the community mutual aid fund association respectively.

With capital in hand, Lao Gao threw himself into the work with vigor, built a cattle shed, bought 11 Simmental and Charolais beef cattle, and set out on the road to prosperity by raising cattle. Every day before dawn, he drove the cattle up the slope to eat "breakfast"; late at night when all was quiet, he mixed feed and fed grass to give the cattle "supper"; he also had his wife specially plant several acres of crops and forage such as sweet potato, corn, sorghum, and alfalfa, adding some when mixing feed to supplement the cattle's "trace elements" and balance their nutrition. Watching the cattle grow day by day, Lao Gao seemed much more energetic than before, inseparable from the cattle, and the villagers all laughingly called Lao Gao the "cow" man.

"In December last year, one cow caught a severe cold and died, and I couldn't eat for more than half a month," Lao Gao said. "Calves are prone to illness, so it must be discovered early and treated early." The cattle carried Lao Gao's hope for escaping poverty and becoming prosperous, and Lao Gao treated the cattle as "the tenderest meat at the tip of his heart." In order to raise the cattle well, Lao Gao traveled all over the nearby villages and towns, specifically learning breeding experience and disease prevention and control techniques from large cattle-raising households and veterinarians. "Now I keep medicine on hand. If the cattle have minor illnesses like a cold, I can treat them myself."

Under Lao Gao's careful "attendance," the "prosperity cattle" grew glossy-coated and plump and strong. Last month, Lao Gao sold 5 cattle and bought 3 more calves. After deducting the cost of forage, he made a net profit of more than 8,000 yuan.

A "poverty hat" weighed down Lao Gao for half his life; a few "prosperity cattle" made Lao Gao stand tall. Because he raised the cattle well, the community also rewarded Lao Gao with 2,000 yuan last year. "The policies are good now. My daughter has a poor university student subsidy for university, so the burden is lighter. This year I also plan to expand the scale of breeding and raise about 20 cattle, striving to take off the hat of a poor household as soon as possible." Looking forward to the future, Lao Gao was full of confidence.