How should corn be stored? An interpretation of farmers' returns and the market purchase and sales situation

This year is the first year of the reform of the corn purchase and storage system in Northeast China. As market-based purchasing unfolds, has the "ground-piled" grain storage method in Northeast China changed at all? Will farmers lose money growing corn? How is market purchase and sales going? Reporters went deep into farmers' households, purchasing enterprises and grain departments to find out.

Grain storage methods: from "ground-piled grain" to scientific grain storage

In Northeast China, many farmers are accustomed to piling harvested corn in their own yards. Once this "ground-piled grain" encounters a warm winter, the corn is prone to developing mold.

Against the backdrop of market-based purchasing, whether the grain can be sold and sold at a good price depends crucially on storing it well and ensuring corn quality.

Heilongjiang Province has stepped up efforts this year to guide farmers in scientific grain storage and launched a battle to eliminate "ground-piled grain." In Yingkou Village, Chang'an Town, Bin County, Heilongjiang Province, as soon as one enters the village, one can see grain storage bins in every yard, about 30 cm above the ground, filled with golden corn.

Yang Chengfa, a major grain grower in Yingkou Village, planted 97 mu of corn this year. In his yard there are two grain storage bins, one large and one small; the large one is 40 m long, 1.5 m wide and 2 m high. Yang Chengfa said this bin can hold the grain from 70 mu, has good ventilation and light penetration, and can achieve natural air-drying. He plans to sell the grain next May.

In the courtyard of the Dongguan Modern Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Shuangcheng District, Harbin, two rows of golden corn are stacked neatly, more than 1 m high, and the six nearby "corn cribs" beside them are also full of corn. Fu Haiwei, chairman of the cooperative, said that in the past the harvested corn was all piled in the yard, which was very prone to mold and could also suffer rodent and insect damage, causing grain losses.

When the state carried out price-support purchasing, moldy corn could still lower the purchasing standard, but now market-based purchasing looks entirely at quality. Regarding the benefits brought by eliminating "ground-piled grain," some farmers in Heilongjiang Province have even made up a jingle: corn goes upstairs, selling grain is no worry; scientific grain storage, reduce losses and increase income.

In order to do a good job in scientific grain storage, the Heilongjiang Provincial Grain Bureau recently issued the "Urgent Notice on Further Strengthening Guidance for Farmers on Scientific Corn Storage." Zhu Yuwen, director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Grain Bureau, said that farmers' scientific grain storage work is an important link before grain enters circulation and is the key to promoting smooth grain circulation.

Grain-growing returns: income reduced, fortunately there are subsidies

At present, Northeast corn has already come onto the market in large quantities, and the purchase prices of processing enterprises and traders have declined somewhat compared with last year. According to monitoring by the Heilongjiang Provincial Grain Bureau, the current corn purchase price range in Heilongjiang Province is 0.61-0.75 yuan/jin (warehouse arrival price for standard grade at 14% moisture), with a provincial average price of 0.68 yuan/jin.

Farmers planting their own contracted land do not have land transfer fees. Although the decline in corn prices has led to reduced income, there is still profit. Chen Bin, a major grain grower in Changwu Town, Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province, planted 15 mu of corn this year, and the harvested corn has just been sold out. He said that not counting his own labor costs, he can earn 200 yuan per mu, and with national subsidies, the profit per mu of corn is more than 300 yuan.

For some new-type business entities such as cooperatives and major grain growers that transfer land, adding subsidies leaves them with a slight profit. Yang Baochen, a major grain grower in Yingkou Village, Chang'an Town, Bin County, Heilongjiang Province, planted 92 mu of land this year, of which 70 mu was transferred in. Yang Baochen did the accounts: the average corn yield per mu is 1,300 jin, which at 0.7 yuan/jin can be sold for 910 yuan; the transfer fee is 500 yuan per mu, seeds, fertilizer and pesticides about 230 yuan, and agricultural machinery operation fees 200 yuan, a loss of 20 yuan per mu.

This year, the corn producer subsidy policy standard in Heilongjiang Province is 153.92 yuan per mu, which has now been distributed to farmers. Adding the subsidy, Yang Baochen earns more than 130 yuan per mu of corn. "Fortunately the state still has subsidies, otherwise it would definitely be a loss," Yang Baochen said.

Against the backdrop of reduced corn returns, Heilongjiang Province has accelerated the adjustment of its planting structure. This year corn was reduced by 19.22 million mu compared with the previous year, while soybeans increased by 11.556 million mu compared with the previous year. A relevant person in charge of the Heilongjiang Provincial Agricultural Commission said that next year the intensity of structural adjustment will be further increased, the agricultural industrial chain and value chain will be upgraded, and farmers' income from the secondary and tertiary industries will be increased.

Market purchase and sales: processing enterprises are actively entering the market

In front of COFCO Bio-energy (Zhaodong) Co., Ltd., trailer trucks fully loaded with corn were "bumper to bumper," stretching all the way outside the city. According to Shi Xiaomei, the company's executive deputy general manager, since entering the market to purchase, the company has been running at full capacity, producing without interruption and purchasing to the maximum extent. As of November 22, it had purchased 260,000 tons of corn, and currently purchases about 10,000 tons per day.

As corn prices decline, some corn processing enterprises have stepped up efforts to expand capacity and are ushering in development opportunities. Heilongjiang Longxin Ruiyi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in corn processing. He Yanhui, chairman of the company, said that after learning of the adjustment of the temporary corn storage policy, the company added a production line in July this year, bringing annual processing capacity to 150,000 tons. "The price of corn has dropped by at least 600 yuan per ton compared with last year, which is the biggest positive news for processing enterprises."

It is understood that the current main buyers of corn are corn deep-processing enterprises and trading enterprises. Heilongjiang Longfeng Corn Development Co., Ltd., which processes 1.2 million tons of corn annually, increased its processing capacity by 100,000 tons in July this year, and after the project reaches full production, its annual corn processing capacity can reach 2.4 million tons. Reporters learned from the Heilongjiang Provincial Grain Bureau that within this year Heilongjiang Province's corn deep-processing capacity can increase from 18 billion jin to 22 billion jin.

In addition to the decline in corn prices, subsidies for corn deep-processing enterprises are also an important reason why corn deep-processing enterprises have greatly expanded capacity and are operating at full load. Heilongjiang plans to give subsidies of 300 yuan per ton to corn deep-processing enterprises with main business revenue exceeding 20 million yuan or annual processing capacity of 100,000 tons and above.