The goose-raising story of Ma Yinming, the "Goose Commander" of Qian'an
The geese, spirited and high-mettled, chased each other, played, flapped their wings and sang loudly, like drifting white clouds in the sky, a truly spectacular sight. More than 100 people, including industry association leaders, research institute experts and industry business owners attending the first second meeting of the China Goose Industry Development Federation, visited the breeding farm of the Qian'an Zhengnong Goose Breeding Professional Cooperative. The clean and tidy goose houses, the unique breeding methods, the scientific and meticulous management, and the integrated operation of production, supply and marketing won unanimous praise from the attendees.
However, who could have imagined that the founder of this cooperative, known as the "goose-raisingexpert" Ma Yinming, was still a "mine boss" ten years ago. It was precisely he who, when the iron mining industry was at its zenith, thought of danger in times of peace and resolutely transformed his business, weathering storms and clearing thorns, and thus forged a path of ecological circular breeding, driving a whole community of people to prosperity and injecting new vitality into the local economy.
Difficult transformation: hatching goslings on a heated brick bed
Everyone who knows Ma Yinming well knows that he loves to get things done, is fond of figuring things out, is willing to endure hardship, and has a stubborn streak that refuses to admit defeat.
"Ten years ago, when the iron mines were booming, you could say money came even while you slept!" Ma Yinming told the reporter. Yet behind this prosperity, Ma Yinming keenly saw a "crisis in times of prosperity": although mining was very profitable, mineral resources would eventually be exhausted one day, so what industry would have staying power for development and would never be exhausted? "At that time the state was calling for returning farmland to forest, and after careful consideration I felt that going into the breeding industry should have great prospects."
No sooner said than done! After some preparation, in September 2007 Ma Yinming'sgoose-raisingfarm officially opened. "At that time there were only 5 households with shares, with a total investment of 400,000 yuan, and we contracted several hundred mu of forest land and low-yield sandy slope land in the village," Ma Yinming said.
At the beginning, the goose farm developed smoothly, and Ma Yinming combined breeding with under-forest breeding on returned farmland, rapidly expanding the scale. However, the market is like a battlefield, and conditions change in an instant. In 2008, the financial crisis began, and that year the sale price of adult geese dropped below the purchase price of goslings. Sell them, and you lose money; don't sell, and the feed alone cost tens of thousands of yuan a day. Ma Yinming cut the breeding number again and again, and by the end of 2009 only 1,000 breeding geese remained; in just over a year he had lost more than 4 million yuan, almost losing all his family savings.
At this point, relatives and friends began urging him to return to his old trade and not suffer hardship in an industry he was unfamiliar with. However, the ever-unyielding Ma Yinming's stubborn temper flared up: I will never give up halfway on something I have set my mind on! To this end, Ma Yinming once again went elsewhere to investigate and learn, and carefully summarized and analyzed. He discovered that although the market rose and fell, the price of goslings had always been promising, and that going into hatching was sure to make money.
But at that time Ma Yinming really could not come up with more money. "So I used a crude method, hatching goslings on a heated brick bed, controlling the temperature and humidity by hand." Ma Yinming recalled that after difficult exploration, he succeeded. Afterward he bought parts for incubators and "assembled" two incubators himself. Because he grasped the market accurately, Ma Yinming slowly emerged from his difficulties. By 2010, the farm achieved profitability, and in 2011 it made a comeback.
Thinking of his fellow villagers: creating tens of millions in profits for farmers
Ma Yinming is a native of Yangtuanbao Village, Qian'an Town, Qian'an City, and has always been full of attachment to this land of his hometown and full of affection for his fellow villagers. After his own business got on track, Ma Yinming began to consider leading more people onto the road to prosperity, and to this end he began to engage in cooperative operation, attracting local people into the goose-raising industry.
It is reported that at present the members of the Zhengnong Goose Cooperative have reached 241 households, with a total investment of more than 20 million yuan, transferring more than 700 mu of land, integrating hatching, breeding, seed breeding, feed supply and deep processing of goose products, and becoming a leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization. In 2015 the cooperative had 100,000 breeding geese in stock, making it the largest goose breeding enterprise in the northern region, creating tens of millions in profits for breeders. This "company + farmers" production and operation model truly drove a whole community of people to prosperity.
Relatives and friends who know Ma Yinming all say he is "foolish": he can hardly take care of his own affairs, yet he always thinks of his fellow villagers. No matter when, Ma Yinming always harbors gratitude and does his utmost to help those around him who need help. "I just have this stubborn temper: if I raise geese, I will raise them for a lifetime, and if I do good deeds, I will do them for a lifetime! I think everyone, in this one life, should live out their own value in life. I want, through my own efforts, to lead more fellow villagers to prosperity, because once our industry is built up, it can truly help a great many people. I want more people to be helped because of me," Ma Yinming said.
Teng Zhimin, Ma Yinming's old partner at the Zhengnong Goose Breeding Professional Cooperative, recalled in an interview with the reporter: "Over the many years of entrepreneurship, Ma Yinming has taken out money every year to support families in the village who have difficulty making a living; when the village called for donations, he always took the lead in lending a hand; the roads around the village were also built with Ma Yinming actively participating and paying out of his own pocket, making things convenient for the villagers who pass along them."
Honest operation: doing things with heart and reaping abundant rewards
Ma Yinming is a "Goose Commander" who values learning. Every winter, during the slack season, he invites PhDs from China Agricultural University and experts in the livestock field from within and outside the province to train dozens of farmers in the cooperative in goose-raising techniques free of charge, continuously improving the members' breeding skills and promoting increases in farmers' incomes.
Doing things with heart and operating with integrity, it is precisely by virtue of this "foolish" tenacity that Ma Yinming has led his Zhengnong Goose Breeding Professional Cooperative to gain more and more recognition. In 2009 Ma Yinming was rated as a Youth Entrepreneurship Star by the Qian'an Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League; in 2010 and 2011 he was consecutively rated as an Advanced Production Worker of Qian'an City; in 2012 he was rated as an Outstanding Youth Fashion Figure by the Qian'an Municipal Government. In 2012 the cooperative was rated as a "Qian'an City Agricultural Professional Cooperative Demonstration Cooperative"; from 2013 to 2014 it was rated as a "Tangshan City Key Leading Enterprise in Agricultural Industrialization Operation"; from 2013 to 2015 it was designated by the Hebei Province Animal Husbandry Association as one of Hebei Province's "Top Ten" enterprises; in 2014 it was designated by the China Quality Integrity Enterprise Association, the China Brand Value Evaluation Center and the Hebei Quality Integrity Supervision Committee as a "National 3.15 Consumer-Recognized Cooperative." In 2011, the cooperative's goose products were certified as organic products by the Beijing Zhongan Zhihuan Certification Center.