How to Get Rich Raising Cattle? Chen Jianchao's Experience in Getting Rich by Raising Cattle

"Last June, my cattle farm selected and purchased 57 fine cows and 30 bulls. Through scientific feeding, there are currently 160 head of cattle on hand, which at market prices represents an increase in value of 200,000 yuan." Speaking of the development of the cattle farm, Chen Jianchao, head of the cattle farm in Shenying Village, Songcheng Office, Suiyang District, was all smiles.

On February 26, the reporter came to this cattle farm and saw that the beef cattle being raised were all plump and strong, a picture of original ecological, pollution-free farming, which became a highlight of Shenying Village's development of the breeding industry and opened the reporter's eyes.

Chen Jianchao pointed to an empty shed pen at the farm. "Last week, the beef cattle in this shed had just been sent to market, and I made 50,000 yuan," he said. "I often go to the Shenying Village office to look up materials on breeding and have learned a lot of breeding knowledge. I control the number and types of beef cattle according to market demand, which has provided great convenience for my cattle raising."

"How did you come to think of developing beef cattle breeding?" Watching the cattle in the ecological farm leisurely eating grass, the reporter asked curiously.

"In early 2011, I found that the profits from beef cattle were considerable. In recent years, fewer and fewer households have been raising cattle. After the spread of agricultural mechanization, even fewer people raise cattle, while beef prices on the market remain high. I thought this was an opportunity, and I wanted to get rich by raising cattle," Chen Jianchao said, talking about his original intention for starting the business.

In May of that year, he began raising cattle on a small scale at home, and now he already has 5 years of breeding experience. To improve the meat quality of the beef cattle, in addition to feeding them corn stalks and wheat stalks every day, he also lets the beef cattle run back and forth in the shed and sometimes lets them listen to music. "Beef cattle raised this way are truly green products. My beef cattle sell very well. Many customers come from Huainan, Huaibei and Bozhou. They all make reservations in advance, and as soon as the beef cattle are sent to market, they drive over to haul them away. The price on the market is also a bit higher," Chen Jianchao said.

In the past few years, the villagers of Shenying Village all raised beef cattle, but due to poor management, the cattle ate crops and caused many disputes, which led farmers to be unwilling to raise cattle. In recent years, as people's living standards have continued to improve, market demand for beef and cowhide has grown day by day. Chen Jianchao, in his 30s, was inspired by this. Last June, he discussed it with his family and decided to invest 800,000 yuan and use more than 3 mu of land to establish a cattle farm and lead the villagers to get rich by raising beef cattle.

At the beginning, due to a lack of cattle-raising knowledge, Chen Jianchao suffered quite a few losses, but through gradually accumulating experience, his income increased year by year. After tasting the benefits, he planned to further expand the scale of his beef cattle operation. After several years of operation and observation of the market, Chen Jianchao found that beef cattle fattening had good prospects, so at the beginning of the year he bought back more than 100 "feeder cattle" and used distillers' grains mixed with crushed corn stalks as feed for fattening. Over the course of a year, Chen Jianchao not only paid off his debts but also saved up a little money.

Having become rich, Chen Jianchao did not forget to help the masses get rich as well. According to villager Jiang Liangcheng, he does some animal epidemic prevention work for Chen Jianchao, and his monthly wage is at least 1,500 yuan.

"A cow can produce one calf each year, with a growth period of 280 days. Once its weight reaches 500 kg, it can be sold. Calculated at current market prices, each cow can yield a net profit of more than 2,000 yuan. In the future, I will also expand the breeding scale and lead more villagers to join the breeding team and get rich together." Chen Jianchao already has a blueprint for future development.