The goat herder of Jinping Village deep in the mountains leads his fellow villagers to wealth through goat farming
In the goat farming industry of Yangchun City, Liang Xiang, a farmer from Jinping Village in Chuncheng Subdistrict, is widely known, and the villagers who started businesses alongside him all call him the "goat herder." He and his wife set up camp and raise Black Dongshan goats, which not only enriched their own family but also drove and helped the villagers raise black goats, so that everyone could prosper together.
Recently, this writer went to the countryside to Jinping Village and stopped by Liang Xiang's goat farming base along the way. That day, the dew on the Yinkeng mountain ridges of Jinping Village had dispersed. Liang Xiang, a villager in his 40s, and his wife Li Shuilian opened the goat pen and drove more than 800 black goats up the mountain. The bells in the flock jingled, pleasing to the ear. "More than 10 of these black goats can be sold before Qingming Festival, and buyers will come specially to purchase them then." Looking at the fat, strong flock before them, Liang Xiang and his wife said excitedly.
At 18, Liang Xiang entered South China Agricultural University to study. Later he went out to work, waiting tables in restaurants, setting up a street stall selling clothes... After years of hard work, he discovered that Jinping Village in Chuncheng Subdistrict had clear waters and green mountains and dense grass, very suitable for raising goats.
In early 2006, Liang Xiang returned to Jinping Village and contracted more than 2,000 mu of mountain forest and grassland to develop black goat farming, beginning a new path of entrepreneurship. However, entrepreneurship was not smooth sailing. Just as Liang Xiang was preparing to show his talents, a flash flood destroyed the mountain forest and grassland he had leased, dealing a heavy blow to his black goat flock and causing more than 200,000 yuan in direct economic losses. He did not lose heart, decided to keep going, and went elsewhere to consult animal husbandry experts and draw up a post-disaster reconstruction plan.
Liang Xiang and his wife set up camp, stationed in the high mountains and lofty ridges year after year, raising funds to build goat sheds, and learning epidemic prevention and control, feeding techniques, ewe and breeding ram reproduction and delivery, and grass planting for livestock raising, so that production continued to develop and grow. At present, there are more than 800 black goats on hand. The black goats raised by Liang Xiang are purely ecologically free-range, with tender, smooth meat and a fragrant, refreshing taste. The products are mainly sold to Hainan and the local market. Last year, nearly 100 were brought to market, achieving fairly good economic returns and setting him on the road to prosperity. Liang Xiang said that the black goats he raises are sold through hotels, farmers' markets, consignment outlets and online channels, and the products are in short supply.
Liang Xiang has become the local "bellwether" for getting rich by raising black goats. He plans to continue expanding the scale of farming, build a modern agricultural demonstration black goat farming base, implement a "company + farmer base" model, and drive more villagers to join the ranks of farming, so that everyone can prosper as soon as possible.