Cattle-raising whiz has clever tricks: walking cattle under the trees and feeding them distillers' grains

Tian Yongqiang, a farmer in Wulong County, Chongqing, uses "unusual tricks" to raise cattle: in the morning he "forces" the cattle to "exercise," and he also "indulges" them with "drink." "Once they pass 1000 jin, the cattle are ready for market, and one can sell for more than 10,000 yuan. This year I can bring at least 100 head to market." Tian Yongqiang said with a chuckle that after deducting the cost of raising cattle, he can still make a 20% profit margin. "If I keep at it long term, there's still a future in it."

Recently, in Tian Yongqiang's cattle shed in Haokou Village, Haokou Township, Wulong County, the reporter saw newborn calves eating a nutritious "breakfast," while the mother cows had been driven out into the woods for "exercise" early in the morning.

Walking cattle under the trees and feeding them distillers' grains: when Tian Yongqiang first entered the breeding business, he did not follow the conventional approach of keeping cattle penned in a shed for feeding. Instead, he adopted some "unusual tricks" for raising cattle, and in no time he became a "cattle whiz" known to everyone for miles around. So what effective tricks did he actually use?

"Forcing" cattle to "exercise"Boosts disease resistance

Tian Yongqiang's cattle shed is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a wide road on the fourth, lush pastures in the mountains, and very convenient transport - it has every advantage of "location."

Every morning at six o'clock, Tian Yongqiang promptly drags the cattle out of the pen to the "track" under the trees nearby for "morning exercise."

"Especially in spring and summer, when the wild grass grows thick, the herd can eat fresh green grass." Tian Yongqiang said the "track" under the trees not only gives the herd room to exercise and cool off, but also provides fresh green grass to replace coarse grain and straw, saving a great deal on feeding costs.

But the reason Tian Yongqiang does not mind the trouble and insists on taking the cattle to exercise under the trees is his belief that moderate exercise can promote the herd's metabolism, boost disease resistance and reduce illness.

"If cattle are kept penned up for a long time, their space is too small and they do not get enough exercise, which affects their growth. And in the shed they eat a monotonous diet, which can even bring them many diseases." Tian Yongqiang said that leading the cattle out of the shed, all the way to the foot of the mountain, and then slowly guiding them back from the foot of the mountain to the shed comes to about two kilometers. The herd spends nearly two hours on one loop through the woods, grazing and walking along the way, sometimes running and sometimes stopping. The herd is very free, the amount of exercise is not too great, and the goal of exercise is achieved.

"We found that after sticking with morning exercise for a long time, the cattle's disease resistance improved and the illness rate dropped greatly." Tian Yongqiang said.

"Indulging" cattle with "drink"Keeps the meat fresh and tender

Cattle drink too? Hearing this, the reporter could not help asking.

"Of course not, but the cattle eat distillers' grains, which contain very little alcohol, so you could call it 'drinking in trace amounts'!" Tian Wenqiang answered.

Beside Tian Yongqiang's cattle shed, the reporter saw two huge brick grain silos, one filled with straw and corn powder, the other filled with distillers' grains.

"Last month I shipped back 260 tons of distillers' grains from Yibin, Sichuan." Tian Yongqiang said that feeding cattle distillers' grains requires being willing to spend serious money. "In one month I buy 400 tons of distillers' grains at 200 yuan a ton, while straw costs only a little over 100 yuan a ton - the cost is much higher."

Although the cost is a bit high, Tian Yongqiang thinks it is well worth it. First, distillers' grains produced by making baijiu are often discarded at will as a pollutant, but when turned into feed they can reduce environmental pollution; second, distillers' grains have a fairly high protein content, and if eaten in moderation, the beef from cattle sent to market is very fresh and tender; third, distillers' grains are highly palatable and easy to digest, and because they contain a certain amount of alcohol, they can also effectively prevent cattle from developing rumen bloat, helping the cattle lie down and ruminate peacefully after eating.

Through these small breeding tricks, in just two short years, Tian Yongqiang's breeding scale expanded from the initial 40 mother cows to the current 150.

"Once they pass 1000 jin, the cattle are ready for market, and one can sell for more than 10,000 yuan. This year I can bring at least 100 head to market." Tian Yongqiang said with a chuckle that after deducting the cost of raising cattle, he can still make a 20% profit margin. "If I keep at it long term, there's still a future in it."

(Original title: "Exercise and drink" - his cattle-raising tricks are a bit "niu")