Black goat farming puts Pengshui returnee villager Su Defu on the road to prosperity

On June 1, Su Defu, a villager from Group 6 of Xiaoba Village, Sanyi Township, arrived at the township government early. Today he came to submit some materials for his black goat farm. During this period, Su Defu had been busy with matters related to the introduction and improvement of black goat breeds, frequently traveling within and outside the county. He planned to introduce some more advantageous breeds for breeding, expand the scale, and increase returns.

With technology in hand

Returning home to start a business and getting a first taste of success

In Su Defu's home, there are still displayed the award plaques he has received since he began raising goats: for four consecutive years he was rated by the Sanyi Township Government as a large-scale breeding household and an advanced individual, and was rated by the county government as a science and technology demonstration household.

According to reports, Su Defu had served as a soldier. After being discharged, he ran a marble factory and a washing powder factory, sold feed, and raised pigs... While working at a feed company in Beijing, he mastered a great deal of knowledge related to cattle and sheep feed. When he returned home in January 2012 for the Spring Festival, he learned that the government was vigorously supporting the development of the black goat industry. Combining this with his hometown's vast land and sparse population, its rich forage resources, and the considerable technology he himself had mastered, he resolutely decided to return home to develop a goat-raising business.

He acted as soon as he decided. In September of that year, Su Defu had already built a farm and introduced 168 black goats. Relying on the technology he had learned outside and the region's uniquely advantaged pasture resources, Su Defu went smoothly all the way. In August 2013, the first batch of commercial goats was ready for market, and Su Defu earned his first pot of gold since returning home, getting his first taste of the sweetness of raising black goats.

　 Business success

Leading villagers to prosperity through breeding

Having tasted success, Su Defu proceeded steadily, building standardized pens, standardizing management systems, strengthening disease prevention and control, and gradually expanding the scale of breeding. Since the farm was established in 2012, a total of 1,516 goats have been sent to market, with total revenue reaching 1.46 million yuan.

"Every year, apart from the government giving the flock two rounds of epidemic prevention, we ourselves give 8 rounds of prevention, so the flock has almost never had any serious illness," Su Defu said.

While achieving success himself, Su Defu did not keep the technology to himself. Instead, he actively led villagers to raise black goats alongside him and took the initiative to provide them with technical guidance. As his reputation grew, the breeders he had helped spread across many townships including Lianhu and Puzi. Su Defu often received calls for help from breeders, and he always patiently explained the key technical points to them. When the situation was complex, he would even visit them in person to help everyone solve their problems.

"Our local resources are suited to taking a path of distinctive development. Raising black goats can increase everyone's income and also fits well with the local ecological resources, so why not do it?" Su Defu said.

Prices falling

Introducing new breeds for transformation and upgrading

According to reports, our county currently has more than 300 goat-raising households of various kinds, with 260,000 black goats on hand. Because black goats are small in stature, with adult black goats averaging only 34 kg in weight and having small carcasses and a low meat yield, they are mainly used for roast goat. But in the past two years, due to a sharp decline in roast goat consumption, sales of black goats have been affected, and prices have fallen again and again, causing some breeders to lose confidence in raising them.

Su Defu was not crushed by this market shock. He believed that the decline in black goat sales was mainly due to their light weight and narrow market channels. If a heavier breed could be developed, sales would surely not be a problem. So Su Defu introduced other fine breeds for crossbreeding to find a way out. The adult crossbred goats can reach a weight of more than 40 kg, and each goat can bring more than 500 yuan in net income above that of the uncrossed breed.

"At first we introduced a small number of Nubian breeding goats to reproduce. Now that the results are so encouraging, this year we can introduce breeding goats in large numbers to reproduce, and by then everyone's confidence in raising them will surely recover too." As he spoke, the reporter could see that Su Defu was full of expectations for the future.