What are the joys, worries, confusions and hopes of farmers in China's top grain-producing county?

Yushu in Jilin has been China's top grain-producing county (city) for many consecutive years, earning it the reputation of "the world's number one granary." During the autumn harvest season on the black soil, the endless green fields have turned into "golden fields." This year, it will again contribute nearly 6.8 billion jin of grain to the nation.

How is the harvest for grain farmers who have toiled all year? How are grain prices after the adjustment of the corn purchase and storage system? What confusions do they face? What are their hopes? At the time of the autumn harvest, Xinhua News Agency reporters walked onto the black soil, came to the autumn harvest sites, and met face to face with farmers in the top grain-producing county to hear their joys, worries, confusions and hopes.

The Joy of a Bumper Harvest

"The World's Number One Granary" sees another increase in output

"Crops have grown well this year, so there will definitely be a good harvest." Farmer Tang Zhengquan from Minjia Town in Yushu City planted 1 hectare of corn and estimates he can harvest 22,000 jin of wet grain.

Some farmers who have achieved large-scale planting by contracting land are even more confident about increasing output.

"The bumper harvest is certain!" Ma Zhanyou, chairman of the Zengyi Agricultural Planting Cooperative in Yushu City, planted 300 hectares of corn this year through land transfer and commissioned cultivation. He said that with favorable rainfall this year, yield measurements show that wet corn output per hectare can reach 26,000 jin, an increase of about 1,500 jin over last year.

Yushu's corn has entered the dough stage, and some farmers have already begun the autumn harvest, with concentrated harvesting set for early October. "This year, water, fertilizer, air and heat conditions have all been very good, and the corn kernels are plump and of superior quality." Wang Qiang, Party secretary of the Sinograin Yushu Direct Warehouse, who has always paid close attention to grain production, said that measures such as the government's regular release of Trichogramma wasps, aerial pesticide spraying, and artillery dispersal of hail clouds also ensured corn growth at critical moments.

Chen Zhuo, chairman of the Tianfeng Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Jilin Province, is full of confidence. His corn planting area has grown from 50 hectares in 2008 to 600 hectares this year. "The state has introduced a series of beneficial agricultural measures such as subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery, and large-scale operation and the supporting application of agricultural science and technology have also allowed the plots we operate to produce 10% more than individual farmers."

Last year, Chen Zhuo purchased 23 large agricultural machines in one go. "From 2015 to 2017, to support new types of agricultural business entities, the provincial government adopted a 'double subsidy' policy for agricultural machinery purchases. I used the full prescribed purchase quota of 4.5 million yuan at once, invested more than 2 million yuan myself, and the government subsidized more than 1 million yuan."

This year, Yushu's total grain crop planting area is 379,000 hectares, comparable to the previous year. Yushu City's agricultural department estimates that local grain output this year will continue the upward trend of many previous years, and total grain output should be slightly higher than last year's total of 6.77 billion jin.

Worries About Grain Prices

Will a bumper harvest bring increased income?

This year the national corn purchase and storage system was adjusted, canceling temporary storage and other "price-support" purchases. The loss of policy support for corn purchase prices has become a worry for many farmers. Just a few days ago, local corn processing enterprises offered a purchase price of 7 mao 2 fen per jin for new dry grain.

"We originally expected this year's corn price to be 9 mao per jin. If it is only a little over 7 mao, we didn't expect it to fall so much." Liu Xiaoguang from Jishun Village in Liujia Town, Yushu City, planted corn not only on his own land but also transferred in 2 hectares of others' land this year. Now that the corn is about to be harvested, the market price has left him at a loss.

Locally, transferring land requires paying a rent of 8,000 yuan per hectare, and planting costs such as seeds, fertilizer, sowing and harvesting are also about 8,000 yuan. Altogether, he has already invested 16,000 yuan per hectare of corn. "If dry grain really is only a little over 7 mao per jin this year, and each hectare produces 18,000 jin of dry grain, income will be only about 13,000 yuan. Without national policy, we might lose money."

Liu Xiaoguang and other villagers are all discussing the new subsidy policy just announced by the state. "I heard the state will probably give us grain farmers a subsidy of 2,000 yuan per hectare. Calculated that way, we can basically break even, but making money is unlikely."

"If I had known corn prices would fall so much this year, I definitely would not have contracted other people's land in the first place." Liu Xiaoguang said, "Now the land has been planted for nothing. If the price is lower than 7 mao, then we will lose money." Although expectations of falling corn prices ran from spring plowing through the autumn harvest, as the autumn harvest approached and the price "veil" was truly lifted, many small-scale farmers like Liu Xiaoguang still found it hard to accept. "We can only sell part of the wet grain first and wait and see after drying the rest."

The cooperative where Chen Zhuo works planted and managed 600 hectares of land this year. Compared with most ordinary farmers, large growers and professional cooperatives like his have larger planting scale and lower costs, and are much better able to withstand falling grain prices. "The agricultural machinery we use belongs to our cooperative. Because seeds and fertilizer are used in large quantities, negotiating directly with manufacturers for bulk purchases is much cheaper than market retail. In addition, using scientific methods to farm can increase output considerably compared with ordinary farmers."

Even large growers like Chen Zhuo are not very optimistic about this year's corn market. "I do not keep it in my hands for even a day. Once the new grain comes in, it all goes to the corn processing enterprise with which I have a purchase agreement." He said, "In a bear market, no one speaks of the bottom. Many farmers feel corn prices are bound to fall, but no one knows how low they will go before it ends, so I am also advising cooperative members to sell grain early and turn it into cash."

The Confusion of "Turning Around"

If not planting grain, what should be done?

In recent years, corn output in Northeast China has been excessive and prices have kept falling, from the highest price of 1.12 yuan per jin in 2014 rapidly falling to 1 yuan per jin last year. The temporary storage price for corn in Northeast China fell by 0.12 yuan per jin. This year, the market purchase price just announced by enterprises is only 0.7 yuan per jin, showing an even more obvious downward trend.

Faced with falling grain prices, many smallholder farmers have begun trying to switch to other cash crops, but more people do not know what to plant, still less whom to sell it to after harvesting.

Tang Zhengquan has planted corn for half his life. In recent years he also tried planting crops such as sorghum and soybeans, but the returns were not ideal. "Planting a little at home does not produce much, so merchants will not come to purchase at all."

Seeing failed examples among other nearby farmers, farmers like Tang Zhengquan have become even more careful and cautious. "Three households here jointly contracted 15 hectares of land to plant mountain sesame, but in the end all of it was hit by hail. Not only did they not make money, each household also had to pay 50,000 yuan in losses." Tang Zhengquan said.

On the black soil, many ordinary farmers like Tang Zhengquan have also heard of contract farming and consider it the most ideal planting method. "If I could get a big order myself, we could join with surrounding farmers to fulfill it." Tang Zhengquan said helplessly, "But we simply cannot find a company to sign with."

Many farmers are not only full of doubts about switching to cash crops, but also lack confidence in going out to work. Ma Deming, 36, from Huangjia Village in Liujia Town, told reporters that he had also gone to construction sites elsewhere to work, but without skills his daily income was only 30 to 40 yuan. "On the one hand, I worry about the elderly at home. At the same time, jobs outside are getting harder and harder to find, and even after working, I might not get paid."

But some quick-witted large growers are very proactive in connecting with the market and adjusting their structure. As a large grain grower, Ma Zhanyou began planning transformation and structural adjustment with cooperative members several years ago, using contract planting to defuse the risk of falling corn prices.

At the beginning of this year, the cooperative where Ma Zhanyou works signed orders with two companies in Tianjin and Jilin respectively. All the corn planted according to the requirements of these two companies will be sold to them at 1,700 yuan per ton (equivalent to 0.85 yuan per jin), calmly locking in the returns of cooperative farmers. The cooperative also signed an order with a homing pigeon association to plant a high-protein corn variety specially used for feeding homing pigeons, which is also expected to generate very good income.

In addition to corn, this cooperative has also done briskly in planting cash crops. "This year we planted more than 250 hectares of cash crops such as potatoes, watermelons and mountain sesame, and the vast majority were sold through orders." Ma Zhanyou said, "Take mountain sesame as an example. Before planting, the manufacturer prepaid us the money for contracting the land and set a purchase price of 6 yuan per jin, ensuring our returns."

Hopes for Policy

Hoping to catch the "express train" of modern agriculture

Large grain grower Chen Zhuo's large-scale operation attracted the attention of the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "The academy conducts experiments in our fields and at the same time provides us with free technical support, offering services such as pesticide spraying reminders and soil composition analysis to help us farm better."

Agricultural technology is sometimes the lifeblood of farmers' production and livelihood. In recent years, many farmers in Yushu stopped planting grain and switched to watermelons, causing watermelons to flood the market at only seven or eight fen per jin, and many growers lost everything. But the watermelons planted by Ma Zhanyou made a lot of money. "Our watermelons also hit the concentrated market period, but after listening to the advice of technicians, I decisively decided to pinch off the nearly ripe watermelons and wait for the vines to bloom and grow melons again. As a result, we became the latest-maturing watermelons, and merchants from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen all scrambled for them, selling at a good price."

"Large growers" like Ma Zhanyou and Chen Zhuo actively adjust their structure, secure orders, seek markets and value technology, and feel that agriculture is worth doing and can make money. But the vast majority of small farmers fall into the predicament of lacking information resources and facing "inequality," feeling that the land is getting harder and harder to farm and the market more and more incomprehensible.

"Corn became cheap, so some people started planting something else, and then everyone followed suit, and in the end that thing could not be sold either." Many farmers sigh this way when facing price fluctuations in the agricultural product market.

Lack of understanding of market information leaves many farmers complaining endlessly. Opening up the channel of agricultural informatization has an obvious impact on ensuring grain output and raising farmers' income. Obtaining all kinds of information on science and technology, markets and policy more conveniently and accurately has become an urgent need for farmers.

Further improvement of the insurance system has also become a demand of farmers. Chen Zhuo became very dissatisfied when recounting his experience of insuring his crops years ago. In 2012, more than 30 hectares of corn he planted suffered typhoon and pest damage, but because the degree of loss did not meet the insurance company's requirements, he ultimately received not even 1 fen in compensation. "Insurance stipulates compensation of 3,000 yuan per hectare when grain has a total crop failure, and basically no compensation without total failure, but the cost of planting 1 hectare of land is 7,500 yuan." Chen Zhuo said.

Countless ordinary farmers urgently hope to share in the "dividends" of building modern agriculture's three major systems: in production, adding supporting services such as integrated application of agricultural science and technology; in industry, improving comprehensive agricultural information services and financial support such as insurance; in operation, continuously advancing large-scale operation and developing contract planting... Only by catching the "express train" of modern agriculture can tens of millions of farming households completely escape the powerlessness and helplessness under the impact of multiple waves such as science and technology and the market.