Green products are selling well in the market, becoming a new path for farmers to get rich

Chen Mingli, head of the Mingli Special Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative in Gaozhuang Subdistrict, Laicheng District, Laiwu City, has led more than 200 neighboring farmer members since 2007 in carefully studying greenhouse organic vegetable planting techniques. So far, 14 vegetable products certified as green food have been sold successively to more than 20 prefecture-level cities in 8 provinces across the country. In particular, the celery they cultivated under the "Lulai Mingli" brand has successively won the gold award at the 10th China International Agricultural Trade Fair and the gold award at the 15th China Green Expo, and has been included in the "Laiwu Local Products Gazetteer" for its unique quality of being edible raw. Vegetables also have "health records," and planting management has become more refined

Walking into the Mingli Special Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative, one high-end and impressive vegetable greenhouse after another is full of lush greenery. Strolling through the greenhouses gives a warm, spring-like feeling, and dozens of members are busy working inside. After finishing their work, the members do not leave the greenhouses directly, but instead write records in a notebook. "The temperature and humidity in the greenhouse, the growth condition of the vegetables, bagging, and foliar fertilizer spraying all need to be recorded," Zhang Zhenming, general manager of the Mingli Special Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative, told reporters. Nowadays, a "health record" has been established for the vegetables in each greenhouse, making vegetable planting management more refined.

Opening the notebook, it is densely recorded with the members' daily operation management and the growth conditions of the vegetables. Details such as trellising cucumbers, bagging, fertilizer spraying, and greenhouse temperature are all clear at a glance in the "health records."

"Through this record, we can understand the growth condition of the vegetables over a period of time in a more detailed and intuitive way," Zhang Zhenming said. In this way, when to do what work and what problems the vegetables may encounter during growth can all be answered by checking the "health records," making the members' planting management more targeted. In addition, the "health records" also record the members' daily operations. If a member makes an operational mistake, management personnel can trace it all the way and directly find the responsible person. As a result, the members' sense of responsibility has been greatly improved.

Slow-growing celery sends out "golden sprouts," and wholesale celery sprouts sell for 28 yuan per jin

How can the vegetables grown become profitable commodities in fierce market competition? While many people hesitated and struggled with indecision, the sharp-minded Chen Mingli had already led his cooperative to shift its focus to the planting of green and organic vegetables. In particular, the celery produced by the cooperative under the "Lulai Mingli" brand has successively won the gold award at the 10th China International Agricultural Trade Fair and the gold award at the 15th China Green Expo, and has been included in the "Laiwu Local Products Gazetteer" for its unique quality of being edible raw.

"Our celery has been developed and cultivated over 30 years. The wholesale price of celery sprouts can reach 28 yuan per jin, and the retail price is 30 yuan per jin. Last year, a single greenhouse earned more than 500,000 yuan from selling celery sprouts alone," Chen Mingli told reporters. Their celery is generally planted starting in September and officially goes on the market before the Spring Festival. Although the price is relatively high, its nutritional value is especially high, and once it goes on the market it is snapped up.

It is understood that 14 agricultural products bearing the "Lulai Mingli" trademark, including celery, chives, potatoes, and yam, have passed evaluation by the China Green Food Development Center and obtained green food certification certificates. The certified area reaches 3,600 mu, and the output of certified products reaches 11,500 tons. With green food certificates, these vegetables are in short supply. "The vegetables here are all organic vegetables, green and pollution-free. I buy them for my own family to eat, so I can eat with peace of mind and eat healthily. I plan to sign a delivery agreement with them so that in Jinan I can also eat Laiwu's green vegetables every day," said Mr. Zhang, a resident of Jinan, who specially came to the Mingli vegetable booth at the site of the 3rd Laiwu Famous and Excellent Local Products Expo and signed a delivery agreement with them.

Planting seasonal vegetables in accordance with natural laws, and physical pest control gives consumers more peace of mind

"Vegetables all have their own market seasons. When to sow, when to fertilize, and when to harvest all follow patterns. Only by respecting the patterns can high-quality and healthy vegetables be grown," Chen Mingli told reporters when talking about his years of vegetable-growing experience. They now have a total of 56 vegetable varieties throughout the year, basically focusing on producing emergency and seasonal vegetables. "We advocate the traditional methods of our ancestors. Eating vegetables according to the season is the healthiest way. Those off-season vegetables should be eaten as little as possible."

While doing a good job in greenhouse planting of seasonal vegetables, the cooperative pays even more attention to the vegetable quality issues that consumers care about. "The fertilizers used on our vegetables are all fermented from corn sprouts, Sichuan pepper seeds, peanut cakes, and other materials, and are used together with low-toxicity biological agents. They are absolutely green and pollution-free," Chen Mingli told reporters. In terms of pest and disease control, the cooperative promotes comprehensive physical control. Insect-killing lamps, sticky insect boards, and insect-proof nets are methods they have always used. "Our cooperative absolutely does not use any drugs explicitly prohibited by the state. What we want to grow are trustworthy, conscientious vegetables that consumers can trust."