Large-eared goat farming becomes a good path to wealth

On June 1, as sunlight pierced the thin mist and spread across the land, the 100 large-eared goats at the Jiulong group large-eared goat breeding base in Shuanghong village, Yanzhu township, Yingjing county had just opened their drowsy eyes to enjoy the breakfast carefully prepared by their owner, Guo Bing……

Five years ago, Guo Bing "invited" 100 large-eared goats from Jianyang to settle in the Jiulong group, beginning his journey of raising large-eared goats on a large scale.

Over the past five years, Guo Bing has endured the hardships and bitterness of mass deaths among his breeding stock, his partners "dissolving the partnership," and selling goats to save the base, but he refused to give in or admit defeat, letting the large-eared goats multiply in the Jiulong group and bringing life and vitality to the desolate barren hills.

Refusing to give in: the breeding base "escapes death"

On the morning of the 1st, in the Jiulong group of Shuanghong village, Yanzhu township, Yingjing county, the mountain road was somewhat muddy after the rain. Driving two kilometers along this road brings you to Guo Bing's goat breeding base. At the entrance hangs a sign reading "Yanzhu Township Large-Eared Goat Cooperative." Entering the base, the pens built of wooden strips look somewhat crude, and the evenly sized compartments are the homes of the large-eared goats. After breakfast, some goats strut about with bulging bellies, while others have already gone back to sleep.

"Although there are only 100 goats now, it's already good that the base has survived." After taking a turn around the breeding base, Guo Bing frowned and spoke of the difficulties of raising large-eared goats.

The story goes back to 2011. Guo Bing, who had years of experience raising goats, pooled money with two fellow veterans to establish the Yanzhu Township Large-Eared Goat Cooperative, built a goat breeding base in the local mountain forest, and purchased 100 large-eared goats from Jianyang.

This breed of goat is a superior population formed by crossbreeding imported Nubian goats with local Jianyang goats, so naturally its breeding requirements are higher than those of ordinary goats. On the first attempt at raising them, due to non-standard techniques, climate incompatibility and various other reasons, 20 of the 100 goats died. With such an inauspicious start, Guo Bing's fellow veterans, fearing excessive losses, began to entertain the idea of selling the breeding base.

Seeing the breeding base they had built with their own hands about to change owners, Guo Bing refused to give in, so he bought back his partners' shares and ran the base alone. Because of limited funds, Guo Bing could not afford to hire workers, so he had to take his wife and two young children to "retreat" into the mountain forest, handling all affairs himself. Cutting grass, feeding, disease prevention, breeding…… since pouring the family's hard work and livelihood into the goat base, Guo Bing and his wife have never slept in again.

"With three children in school, working for others is not a long-term solution." Over the past five years, watching one lamb after another being born and one meat goat after another being successfully sold, Guo Bing and his wife firmly believe that developing large-eared goat farming is not only a means of survival but also the hope of prosperity.

Even when the market was poor and he had to sell breeding goats to keep the base running, Guo Bing refused to give in. "At the lowest point, there were only 20 goats." Looking back now, Guo Bing cannot quite explain where he found the courage to persevere at the time.

With this tenacity, Guo Bing's breeding base "escaped death." Over the years, batch after batch of lambs have been sold and pen after pen of goats fattened, "more worthwhile than working for others."

Fighting poverty: the breeding base shows vitality

Every morning, as soon as Guo Bing enters the pen, the large-eared goats reflexively stick their heads through the railings, waiting for fodder to be added. Watching the goats bury their heads and eat voraciously, Guo Bing always murmurs, "Eat up, grow fast." Only after feeding the goats does Guo Bing use his motorcycle to take the two younger children to school in the county town.

"Feed them once in the morning and once in the evening. After improving our methods, our workload has decreased quite a bit." Guo Bing said that large-eared goats eat two meals a day. Previously they ate green grass morning and evening; after revising the meal plan, they eat green grass in the morning and grain in the evening. After switching to "nutritious meals," the large-eared goats' coats have become better, and the workload of cutting grass for Guo Bing and his wife has naturally decreased.

Last year, a First Secretary came to Shuanghong village, and Guo Bing also welcomed new opportunities for development.

"After Secretary Gao arrived, he helped get the road opened up." Guo Bing gazed at the newly opened 3-kilometer rough road and said that this road was also one of the factors restricting the development of his base. Back when Guo Bing and his partners built the breeding base, this place was still a stretch of desolate green hills, with narrow winding paths overgrown with weeds.

To support the development of Guo Bing and others, Yanzhu township sought policy support, helped Guo Bing widen the road to one meter, and had it hardened. Over the years, Guo Bing has relied on this road and a motorcycle to come and go. Looking in the direction Guo Bing pointed, the road stretches 2 kilometers on one side and 1 kilometer on the other. Guo Bing said that these two roads lead in different directions, making it more convenient to sell goats in the future.

On both sides of the road, vegetation flourishes, and a patch of level land adjoins the breeding base. Guo Bing said that this is reserved land he plans to use for expansion. Once the road infrastructure is improved, he will raise funds, look for partners interested in farming, build a standardized breeding base, expand the scale of breeding, and invite villagers willing to develop to join the cooperative and raise large-eared goats together.

Gao Peng, First Secretary of Shuanghong village, said that with large-scale farmer Guo Bing as the leader and with the help of the Yanzhu Township Large-Eared Goat Cooperative, introducing standardized goat farming and thereby radiating and driving local villagers' development is a good way for Shuanghong village to escape poverty and increase income.

Guo Bing and his wife have already agreed that they will also invite the large-eared goats' "natal family"——the Jianyang merchants who originally supplied his breeding stock——to come into Shuanghong village and build a comprehensive breeding base integrating farming, processing and sales in a "one-stop" operation, resolving his worries about selling, letting the large-eared goats thrive endlessly in Shuanghong village, and making the road to increased income and prosperity ever wider.