How did Liu Jinxiu get black goats out of the mountains?

“The black goats here eat Chinese herbs, drink mountain spring water, and grow up freely courting in a natural oxygen bar. They are a black pearl of the Dabie Mountains.” Liu Jinxiu, founder of the Jinxiu Forestry and Animal Husbandry Professional Cooperative, described her work this way. Black goats are known for their black hair, and their meat is tender and delicious, with dietary and medicinal value. The people of Huangtu'ao Village, Sanlifan Town, Luotian County, mainly increase their income by raising goats.

Liu Jinxiu was born into a poor farming family. She had only 5 years of schooling and set out to work away from home to make a living at the age of 13. After more than a decade of hard work, Liu Jinxiu accumulated rich knowledge and experience. After careful consideration, she finally chose to rely on the unique natural resource advantages of her hometown Luotian, and decided to turn waste into treasure by developing the breeding industry.

In September 2007, Liu Jinxiu joined with 5 local large goat-raising households to register and establish the “Luotian County Jinxiu Forestry and Animal Husbandry Professional Cooperative” with the county industry and commerce bureau, with registered capital of 1.5 million yuan. The cooperative went all out to build the largest goat industrialization base in eastern Hubei. In just a few years, the cooperative was awarded titles such as “Top Five Professional Cooperative in the Province” and “Scientific Research Base of the National Mutton Sheep Industry Technology System.”

Liu Jinxiu introduced that people in her hometown make a living by raising black goats. This is not only a rich source of wealth, but can also connect with the production activities of local people and drive them out of poverty toward prosperity.

“In the past, the per capita annual income was less than 800 yuan. Now we raise more than 100 goats, and the per capita annual income of the family has reached 8,000 yuan.” Tian Long, a poor household in Luotian County, Hubei Province, deep in the Dabie Mountains, could not stop smiling when talking about income. “Since the government formulated the ”Rain and Dew Plan“, not only have I learned a skill, but my whole family has also embarked on the road to prosperity.”

At present, the Jinxiu Forestry and Animal Husbandry Professional Cooperative has absorbed more than 1,100 breeding members in the county. Members annually send 110,000-120,000 mutton sheep to market, demonstrating and driving the development of the black goat industry throughout the county. The cooperative has also established Hubei's first beef and mutton industrialization base integrating slaughtering, processing, and sales, radiating to the three provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Hubei, and driving 7,726 farming households onto the road of escaping poverty and becoming prosperous by raising goats.

Liu Jinxiu said that the whole goat is a treasure. After fine processing, the value of one goat can be quadrupled. If a couple raises 100 goats, they can earn 80,000 to 100,000 yuan a year. Farmers who have raised cattle and sheep for more than 3 years, including some disabled farmers, have all escaped poverty and become affluent households.