Standardized mutton sheep farming becomes a new engine of prosperity in Horqin Right Front Banner
“Mutton prices are sluggish right now. Does that affect the mutton sheep farming industry?” Faced with the reporter's question, Liu Jingtang, a large-scale sheep farmer, said with full confidence: “The impact is relatively small. We adopt standardized, large-scale farming methods, so our costs are low and our mutton is high quality. At the same time, we work with more than 20 slaughterhouses and cold storage facilities across the banner. Even if mutton sales temporarily lag, we can store it in cold storage and sell it out of season once prices recover, and still get a good price.”
Liu Jingtang is the chairman of the Junwei Mutton Sheep Farming Cooperative in Yongjin Village, Balagadai Township, Horqin Right Front Banner, Hinggan League. In 2011, responding to the banner government's call to close hillsides to grazing, Liu Jingtang took the lead in developing a standardized indoor fattening sheep industry. Through careful rearing and scientific management, four batches of 800 sheep brought him 160,000 yuan in income in 2011, a net income of 200 yuan per sheep on average. Having had a first taste of the benefits of standardized sheep farming, he did not forget to lead the villagers to prosperity together. In 2013, Liu Jingtang founded the cooperative, mobilizing 200 farming households in Yongjin Village to raise fattening sheep. Today, the Junwei Cooperative has more than 130 members, more than 20 farming households in Yongjin Village market over 1,000 mutton sheep a year, and the village's direct economic benefits reach more than 5 million yuan. At present, 6 villages in Balagadai Township have developed the fattening sheep industry.
Yongjin Village is a microcosm of how the standardized mutton sheep farming industry in Horqin Right Front Banner has increased incomes and enriched farmers.
It is understood that as early as 2008, in order to improve the ecological environment and achieve sustainable development of animal husbandry, the Horqin Right Front Banner government formulated livestock policies on closing hillsides to grazing, returning farmland to grassland, and implementing standardized farming. In August 2013, the Horqin Right Front Banner mutton sheep farming standardization demonstration zone project passed the review of the 8th batch of national agricultural comprehensive standardization demonstration zone projects by the National Standardization Committee. In recent years, the banner government has adopted a “reward in place of subsidy” approach to encourage and support the construction of standardized large-scale mutton sheep farms in farming areas and semi-farming, semi-pastoral areas. With policy preference, financial subsidies and technical support, indoor sheep farming has blossomed across the entire banner.
The banner's 6 pilot cooperatives, following the standardized farming model of “unified rearing, unified management, unified services, unified processing,” have driven more than 3,000 farming and herding households to take part, playing a huge leading and radiating role. It is understood that the cooperatives not only provide members with farming and disease prevention and control techniques, but also provide unified purchasing and sales services.