Pig farming links together a green industry chain
Raised free-range in the mountain forests, eating green grass and wild vegetables, drinking mountain spring water... A reporter recently visited the breeding base in Datang Village, Datang Village Committee, Daluobian Town, and saw these extraordinary Lianzhou fragrant pigs.
"Lianzhou fragrant pigs have strong wild instincts, come and go freely, and breed on their own in the mountain forests. Once a sow suddenly brought back a group of piglets, each already weighing more than 10 kg." Speaking of these "treasures," Deng Gonghua, head of the Lianzhou Gonghua Cattle Raising Farmers' Professional Cooperative, revealed this amusing anecdote.
The praise of diners is even more convincing. "This pork really isn't greasy at all, it's very refreshing, and it really tastes like pork." At the Lianzhou Senpin Farmhouse in the village, many diners from the Pearl River Delta come specially to taste Lianzhou fragrant pork.
Fragrant pigs have a farming history of more than a thousand years in China, and are a relatively precious local breed in China's pork industry. As a meat food, fragrant pigs have the characteristics of high protein, low fat, comprehensive nutrition, tender meat and fresh taste, and are rich in essential amino acids and trace elements.
It is worth noting that the farming method of Lianzhou fragrant pigs differs from that of traditional fragrant pigs. Living in the mountain forests, eating wild grass and wild vegetables, drinking mountain spring water... The unique farming method makes their meat more tender and refreshing than ordinary pork, with a sweeter and fresher taste. Earlier this year, Lianzhou fragrant pigs were reviewed and approved by the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture as a pollution-free agricultural product, and Lianzhou fragrant pigs have entered many supermarkets in the Pearl River Delta.
Thanks to their green and healthy quality, Lianzhou fragrant pigs are favored by consumers and have further promoted the development of local rural tourism. At present, by establishing a cooperative, Lianzhou fragrant pig farmers have broken the shackles of rural development in technology, information and other aspects, promoted the sales of Lianzhou fragrant pigs and even more agricultural specialty products, and driven villagers to increase their incomes and become prosperous.
Grown on wild vegetables and mountain spring water
A purely natural free-range model is adopted, allowing the fragrant pigs to forage and breed in the mountains, drink freely from clear springs, and eat natural green grass, leaves, wild vegetables and so on.
Under the enthusiastic guidance of Deng Gonghua, head of the Lianzhou Gonghua Cattle Raising Farmers' Professional Cooperative, the reporter arrived at the Lianzhou fragrant pig breeding base located in Datang Village, Datang Village Committee, Daluobian Town, Lianzhou. This base consists of more than 2,000 mu of mountain forest and 2 "rest stations." Deng Gonghua told the reporter that this mountain forest is all within the activity range of the Lianzhou fragrant pigs, and is their "home."
"We adopt a purely natural free-range model, letting the fragrant pigs forage and breed in the mountains, drink freely from clear springs, and eat natural green grass, leaves, wild vegetables and so on. The two rest stations built are places for them to escape the summer heat and keep out the cold in winter, and they can come and go freely." Deng Gonghua told the reporter.
The reporter saw that these small fragrant pigs are generally not large in size, with black-and-white spotted coats, very agile in movement, and moving freely through the mountain forests. It turns out that Lianzhou fragrant pigs are produced by crossbreeding local Meihua pigs, fragrant pigs and wild boars, taking the essence of the three pig breeds, and thus have the characteristics of tolerating coarse feed, strong adaptability and easy management, and fundamentally overcome the shortcomings of fragrant pigs such as greasiness, thick skin, low lean meat rate and slow growth, with higher nutritional value and more fragrant meat.
Ding ding ding... At around 10 a.m., a keeper rang a bell. Hearing the bell, three or five small pigs slowly walked toward the rest station. Deng Gonghua said: "Sometimes there isn't much food in the mountains, especially in winter, so we provide specially made food for them to eat. In summer it's once a day, in winter twice a day." These specially made foods are mainly farmhouse whole grains such as corn, rice, wheat bran and soybean meal, paired with a certain proportion of forage grass, to ensure the healthy growth of the fragrant pigs. "The forage grass is also grown by us, without pesticides." One pig has one mu of land as activity space
Lianzhou fragrant pigs have strong wild instincts, come and go freely, and breed on their own in the mountain forests. Once a sow suddenly brought back a group of piglets, each already weighing more than 10 kg.
Recalling the hardships of raising wild-native pigs at the beginning, Deng Gonghua said that at first 40 were bred, but because they did not adapt to the growing environment of mountain streams, in the end only 8 survived. Ultimately, through continuous breeding and experimentation, the breed of Lianzhou fragrant pigs is now very stable.
Despite many years of breeding, the number of Lianzhou fragrant pigs raised and sent to market is not large. He explained that Lianzhou fragrant pigs have relatively strong wild instincts and like to run freely on mountain grasslands, so the activity space they need is not small. Now, in more than 2,000 mu of mountain forest, there are more than 2,000 Lianzhou fragrant pigs in total. "One pig needs an activity range of at least 1 mu of land."
At the same time, because they follow the natural growth laws of pigs, the farming cycle of Lianzhou fragrant pigs is also much longer than that of ordinary pigs. Deng Gonghua said that ordinary domestic pigs can grow to 100 kg in 4 months, while Lianzhou fragrant pigs need 1 year to 1.5 years to reach about 50 kg. Because of the unique farming method of Lianzhou fragrant pigs, their number is also difficult to count accurately. "They breed on their own in the mountain forests. Once, a sow suddenly brought back a group of piglets, each already weighing more than 10 kg. At the time we were both pleasantly surprised and stunned." Deng Gonghua said.
The natural free-range model can not only enhance the physical fitness of the fragrant pigs, but also improve their disease resistance, and further reduce the cost of pig farming.
Good mountains and good water have created the fresh, tender and smooth meat quality, rich meat flavor, good taste and high nutritional value of Lianzhou fragrant pork. Earlier this year, Lianzhou fragrant pigs were further reviewed and approved by the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and approved as a pollution-free agricultural product.
Ordered by many supermarkets in the Pearl River Delta
The cooperative has already reached agreements with many supermarkets in the Pearl River Delta to serve as a supply base for green, pollution-free agricultural products for the supermarkets, providing a strong guarantee for the sales of members' agricultural and sideline products.
Green, ecological, healthy and tasty Lianzhou fragrant pigs exactly match people's current consumption views, are highly favored by consumers, and the price has been rising steadily. At present, the ex-farm price of Lianzhou fragrant pigs is 27 yuan/jin.
Under the traditional production model of household contract responsibility, the quality of agricultural and sideline products produced by villagers in the past was uneven, and sales prices fluctuated greatly. "A few years ago, the purchase price of pork was too low, the prices of other agricultural products also fluctuated relatively greatly, and we lacked information and technology, so situations of losing everything happened from time to time." A Datang villager told the reporter.
How can the quality advantage of Lianzhou fragrant pigs be transformed into a brand advantage, and ultimately into an economic advantage, to satisfy the market, drive the development of the fragrant pig industry, and thereby drive villagers to increase their incomes and become prosperous? Establishing a professional cooperative and integrating the strength of the villagers is a good path.
In 2008, under the leadership of Deng Gonghua, the Lianzhou Gonghua Cattle Raising Farmers' Professional Cooperative was officially established. At present, it has more than 100 members, covering five natural villages around the Datang Village Committee, mainly raising cattle, pigs and sheep as well as planting taro and so on. "Everyone was very supportive, and the cooperative was established in a very short time." Deng Gonghua said with deep feeling.
In order to solve the difficulties of farmers lacking technology, information and channels, the cooperative, according to actual conditions, hired experts and technical personnel in planting and breeding to teach and provide hands-on training for members; uniformly purchased fine seedlings, put an end to vicious price cutting, and implemented branded packaged external sales, and so on.
The implementation of various measures has greatly improved the ability of growers and breeders to resist industry risks and guaranteed the feasibility of sustainable development. At present, by integrating resources and sharing information, the cooperative has already reached agreements with many supermarkets in the Pearl River Delta to serve as a supply base for green, pollution-free agricultural products for the supermarkets, providing a strong guarantee for members' production and sales of agricultural and sideline products.
There is data as evidence: in 2008, the annual per capita disposable income of the cooperative's members was more than 3,000 yuan; by 2015, the annual per capita disposable funds of members reached more than 15,000 yuan.
Villagers set up a farmhouse
The farmhouse, first, has the farmhouse cook dishes and charges ingredient fees and processing fees; second, provides stoves for consumers, who make dishes themselves, adding extra fun.
By establishing a cooperative, the production model of fighting alone has been changed, and the incomes of villagers in Datang Village and its surrounding villages have continued to rise. The recently established Lianzhou Senpin Farmhouse has become another good way to promote the sales of agricultural and sideline products.
"In the past, because we lacked cold storage methods, we all sold whole pigs, and thus missed many consumers who did not want to buy a whole pig. With the farmhouse, we can achieve retail sales of pork and other agricultural products." Deng Gonghua said. The farmhouse currently mainly sells Lianzhou fragrant pork, beef, mutton and other agricultural specialty products. Most uniquely, the farmhouse provides two ways to taste agricultural specialty products: first, the farmhouse cooks the dishes and charges ingredient fees and processing fees; second, the farmhouse provides stoves for consumers, who make the dishes themselves, and the farmhouse only charges ingredient fees.
In this way, consumers can choose ingredients themselves and cook dishes according to their own tastes, thereby gaining a more intuitive and comprehensive experience of the cooperative's agricultural specialty products. Deng Junbao, head of the farmhouse, explained: "This is a place for consumers to eat and stay, and even more a small supermarket for the Lianzhou Gonghua Cattle Raising Professional Cooperative to display agricultural specialty products."
In this regard, Ouyang Junjie, mayor of Daluobian Town, said he hopes Senpin Farmhouse will comprehensively raise the level of the "farmhouse" and build up the "farmhouse" brand; ensure food quality, provide good service, deeply explore resources such as culture, ecology and folk customs, base itself on the local character of farmers, rural areas and folk culture, carefully design leisure and entertainment projects, and enhance the taste of the "farmhouse."
Deng Junbao told the reporter that the next step will be to combine the farmhouse, the Lianzhou fragrant pig breeding base, and local natural scenery to create leisure and sightseeing agriculture integrating a green base, pastoral scenery and leisure entertainment, further attract consumers, and drive local villagers to increase their incomes and become prosperous.
■ In depth
Forming a green industry chain for fragrant pigs
Connecting the upstream and downstream of production and processing
The unique ecological farming of Lianzhou fragrant pigs has created a brand and reputation.
"Some supermarkets in the Pearl River Delta have proposed designated sales of Lianzhou fragrant pigs and asked us to supply continuously. We are working hard to expand the breeding scale in this direction." For this, Deng Gonghua said the most important thing is to build their own cold-chain logistics.
Due to the lack of cold-chain logistics technology, the sales of Lianzhou fragrant pigs are greatly restricted, which in turn makes it impossible to expand the breeding scale. "Shipping pork fresh to the Pearl River Delta and even all over the country would be impossible without cold storage and preservation technology." Deng Gonghua explained.
Next, the Lianzhou Gonghua Cattle Raising Professional Cooperative will take "Lianzhou fragrant pigs" and other high-value-added products as the lead, and shift to a "vertical integration" business model, from fragrant pig breed cultivation to feed production, green farming, cutting and processing, deep processing, and market sales, covering all links in the upstream and downstream of fragrant pork product production and processing, forming a green industry chain for ecological fragrant pigs, giving play to economies of scale, and improving comprehensive competitiveness and profitability.
It is worth noting that the development of the cooperative has raised the economic income of the masses, made life better and better, and also greatly changed the awareness of the masses. Taking environmental hygiene habits as an example, under the broader environment of government departments vigorously promoting rural environmental improvement, the previous phenomenon of littering almost disappeared.
"Now the members all understand that the past production model of fighting alone must be changed, and know that only by pulling together can big things be done, and they especially applaud land consolidation and the integration of agriculture-related funds." Deng Gonghua told the reporter.
"One of the work priorities of Daluobian Town will shift to focusing on the construction of beautiful villages and the development of characteristic tourism industries, and further carry out investment promotion work in agricultural projects in an all-round, vigorous and multi-level manner." Ouyang Junjie said he hopes cadres and masses throughout the town will take this as an opportunity to further emancipate their minds, change concepts, create a development environment, and foster a good atmosphere for building the Daluobian brand. Integrate resources such as farmhouses, leisure fishing, Guhua Temple, ancient villages, the Qin-Han Ancient Road, Phoenix Ancient Cave, one hundred thousand mu of oil tea, China Resources windmills and Shantang cuisine, encourage people from all sectors of society to invest and develop, make rural leisure tourism and cultural heritage tourism bigger and stronger, and create more development opportunities and development potential for Daluobian Town.