Farmer Mahemuti of Yanqi County: From Vendor to Leader in Entrepreneurial Wealth Creation

In late autumn, Yanqi is warm one moment and cold the next. Early in the morning on November 8, Mahemuti Aximu skipped breakfast and hurried to the Saikere Fattened Cattle Breeding Cooperative. "Today a batch of processed meat products is being shipped out. I have to go take a look, or I just won't feel at ease," Mahemuti said.

Mahemuti, 43 this year, is a farmer from Chahanqu Village, Wuhaoqu Township, Yanqi Hui Autonomous County. After graduating from junior high school, he made a living selling beef and mutton at the farmers' market. In 1996, as meat prices rose, Mahemuti's beef and mutton business became brisk. But sometimes the cattle and sheep he bought from suppliers were not well fattened, and after slaughter the meat yield was so low that he could only break even. To change this predicament, Mahemuti began raising sheep in his own small yard to supply his meat shop, earning more than 20 yuan per sheep. As his meat shop business grew, Mahemuti also became one of the first well-off households in the village.

By 2009, Mahemuti's breeding scale had grown from the initial few dozen cattle and sheep to more than a hundred cattle and sheep, making him a true large-scale breeder in the village. As his breeding scale expanded, Mahemuti focused his fattening efforts on cattle. "The profit margin on cattle is relatively large, and market demand is strong too, so I ultimately chose to focus on fattening beef cattle," Mahemuti recalled.

In the long process of fattening cattle, Mahemuti always paid attention to scientific feeding. Mahemuti shared his fattening experience: "The feed I use for fattening cattle is a scientific formula developed over a long period. Oil residue, cottonseed hulls, forage and corn are made into mixed feed in certain proportions. In autumn, I make silage and yellow storage feed. Through fermentation, these feeds have increased protein content. After eating them, the cattle not only fatten quickly, but their meat is tender and of good quality."

In June 2011, Mahemuti, who had already become well-off first, did not keep the secret of profitable beef cattle fattening to himself. He joined with 8 farming and herding households from the village to invest 2.74 million yuan and built cattle pens of nearly 2,000 sq m and a meat processing plant covering 750 sq m in the village. The Saikere Fattened Cattle Breeding Cooperative was officially announced.

Cooperative member Aisha Rouzi said: "Because the village has many people and little land, we followed Mahemuti in beef cattle breeding and fattening. Now 8 households have joined the cattle and sheep breeding cooperative. Over a year, everyone's income is considerable, and everyone is highly motivated. Now the Party's preferential agricultural policies are stronger every year. There are subsidies for both farming and cattle raising, and we feel very satisfied."

Cooperative member Wufuer Hailili chimed in: "To support us in developing modern animal husbandry, the county secured 200,000 yuan in higher-level project funds and 90,000 yuan in livestock subsidies for our cooperative."

After the cooperative was established, Mahemuti personally taught members breeding experience and marketing methods. To other breeders from nearby villages who came to him because of his reputation, Mahemuti also enthusiastically passed on his experience, and when he had time he even visited their homes to give guidance. Simayi Aishan, a large-scale beef cattle fattening breeder from a neighboring village, said: "All my cattle and sheep fattening techniques were taught by Mahemuti. There are many other people like me who went to him to learn techniques. Last year I earned 500,000 yuan from cattle and sheep fattening. Without his help, we wouldn't have the good life we have today."

In early 2014, Mahemuti also applied to register the "Saikere Fattened Cattle" trademark for the cooperative, packaging and selling beef by category as ground meat, ribs, boneless cuts and lean meat, further extending the industrial chain. The cooperative became a one-stop production and processing enterprise integrating breeding, slaughtering, cutting, packaging and sales. At the same time, it also explored an operating model of "farmers + cooperative + product sales," greatly increasing members' income. In 2014, the cooperative marketed 3,000 beef cattle and achieved sales exceeding 5 million yuan.

Mahemuti said: "In addition to being sold in markets within Xinjiang such as Urumqi and Aksu, our products are also sold far away to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places. Animal husbandry has great room for development and great potential. As long as everyone pulls together to speed up development, continuously expands the cooperative's breeding scale, and further increases the added value of livestock products, it would be hard not to become rich."

Today's Saikere Fattened Cattle Breeding Cooperative has built 3 new fattening cattle barns, with a barn area reaching 2,250 sq m. It has also built a new 300 sq m manure storage yard, and supporting facilities such as a beef cattle slaughter workshop, acid-discharge beef room and cutting and packaging workshop are all fully available.

"Livestock and poultry industry has become a major pillar industry for increasing local farmers' and herders' income. Next, I plan to strengthen the cooperative, absorb more members, and let everyone walk the road to prosperity together," Mahemuti said with full confidence.