A migrant worker returns home to start a business and blazes a new trail to prosperity
These past few days, Ke Changwu, a villager from Cangshang Town in Baihe County, has been busy shipping beef cattle from his family ranch to other places through the "internet + e-commerce" model. Two years ago, Ke Changwu used the savings he had accumulated as a migrant worker to return home and start a cattle-raising business. Today, the total investment in the ranch he runs has reached 4 million yuan, making him a local "cow ace" who has found prosperity through entrepreneurship.
Choosing to return home and start a business without hesitation in order to care for his mother
"Boss Ke, are you slaughtering a cow soon? Save me a few dozen jin of ribs, the kids will want them when they come back," asked Fan Deli, a villager from Dongzhuang Village in Cangshang Town. Ke Changwu, who was feeding the yellow cattle, smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely save enough for you."
Ke Changwu is the person in charge of Chang'an Farm. He is not tall, has dark skin, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes are especially obvious when he smiles. He does not speak as roughly as one might imagine, and his temperament is always unhurried and mild. Now 42 years old, he once supported his family by doing odd jobs, but to care for his frail and sickly mother, he decided to return home to develop his prospects. In 2013, after learning that the government had introduced policies encouraging the establishment of family farms, he began making inquiries and registering, starting his path of entrepreneurship.
In May 2014, with coordination from village and township officials, the registration of Chang'an Farm was completed smoothly. After more than a year of careful operation, Chang'an Farm has begun to take shape. The farm integrates breeding, planting, leisure and dining, and radiates outward around Cangshang Town to form a modern ecological agriculture demonstration park.
Through online research, Ke Changwu learned that raising Shanxi yellow beef cattle had promising prospects, and that the breed has excellent characteristics such as tolerance to roughage, strong disease resistance, a gentle temperament, good adaptability, stable heredity and good meat taste. The area where Chang'an Farm is located also has a beautiful natural environment and ample sunlight, making it suitable for livestock. He then went with the farm's other partner, Gao Yuxi, to Shanxi to investigate, making 3 trips back and forth before finally reaching an agreement.
After introducing the yellow cattle, the feed problem had to be solved. With coordination from the village, they secured 1,200 mu of transferred forest land and farmland for growing forage grass, built a supporting silage pit of 1,000 cubic meters, and bought 1 set each of a grinder and a baler for green feed processing equipment, processing more than 100 tons of green feed per year.
Opening up the "internet + e-commerce" model to expand sales channels
Baihe County is located at the border of Qin and Chu. Within the towering Qinba Mountains there are many unique resources, but the geographical environment also makes it difficult for many local agricultural and sideline products to reach the outside market. Ke Changwu's beef cattle business had just gotten on track, yet it faced new problems. He first cooperated with some enterprises and school canteens, but as the herd grew and the business got on track, this sales method still could not solve the long-term problem. Therefore, how to expand sales channels became an urgent problem for Ke Changwu to solve.
He consulted many people one after another. After learning about the "internet + e-commerce" sales and operation model, he was overjoyed and prepared to build a sales website of his own to sell his beef cattle to places far and wide. In addition, he also planned to build a beef cold storage warehouse and buy a set of compressors. He said confidently, "This can both expand sales channels and meet customers' different needs, achieving diversified economic benefits."
It is understood that Ke Changwu's Chang'an Farm currently has a total investment of more than 4 million yuan, with the beef cattle business accounting for 1 million yuan, and has also built a pheasant captive-breeding area, a southern Shaanxi white goat ecological breeding area and an ostrich area. Two new standardized cattle pens have been built, with an area of 1,104 sq m, and 1,000 mu of forage grass has been planted. He has introduced 100 Shanxi yellow cattle, with an annual output value of 1.2 million yuan, an annual profit of more than 400,000 yuan, and the ability to drive the employment of more than 20 local people. He has truly become a local "cow ace" who has found prosperity through entrepreneurship.