Ring-necked Pheasant Farming Lets a Post-80s Young Man Blaze a New Trail to Prosperity
The photo shows a ring-necked pheasant coop.
Pan Dongmeng, born in 1981, is a genuine member of the post-80s generation. At just 34 years old, he was among the first in Duqiao Town, Jing County, to return to his hometown to start a farming enterprise. With precise market positioning and firm perseverance, he built a "parasol tree" in a small village that attracted the "golden phoenix" of ring-necked pheasants, becoming a local leader in promoting agriculture and rural prosperity.
Seizing the Business Opportunity, Being the First to Eat the Crab
In 2012, Pan Dongmeng was already a deputy general manager of a private company with a considerable annual income, but he never forgot that he was a farmer's son. Facing his aging parents, he ignored his wife's objections and returned to his hometown to become a farmer, raising ring-necked pheasants.
In his own words, "It's not that I don't know how to enjoy a comfortable life, but once you truly spot a market opportunity, you have to act without hesitation!"
On one hand, the ring-necked pheasant, commonly known as the mountain pheasant or pheasant, is named for its colorful plumage. It is a precious wild game bird valued for its meat, ornamental appeal and medicinal properties, hailed as the "king of game birds" and "animal ginseng." It is a high-protein, low-fat game food and was a royal tribute in past dynasties. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was so impressed after tasting it that he wrote the famous line: "Its fame shakes the northern frontier for three thousand li, its flavor surpasses the twelve towers of Jiangnan." On the other hand, in recent years, just a few cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shanghai alone have demanded 64 million ring-necked pheasants annually, while actual supply is less than 9 million, leaving a gap of 55 million, with even greater demand in northern regions. Through the industrial model of "self-breeding and self-raising, combining planting and breeding," standardized production of high-quality commercial pheasants has broad market prospects. He seized upon this enormous demand, persuaded his wife, and using funds accumulated over the years as well as money borrowed from relatives and friends, introduced 2,000 chicks from Shandong and set about being a farmer of the new era in earnest.
Holding Fast in Hardship, Being a Person of Persistent Striving
When the company was first established, conditions were extremely difficult. The coop was converted from an old house, and the cost of grain feed was very high. More critically, due to a lack of farming experience, nearly half of the 2,000 chicks introduced at the start died within just over a month. Because there was no local experience in raising wild pheasants, he repeatedly went to Shandong and Jiangsu to learn techniques and gain experience. He visited many places and toured many farms, but also suffered many cold shoulders and disdainful looks. Sighing, he continued, "Peers are rivals. People aren't willing to give you the real know-how! But I won't give up. This is an opportunity, and more importantly, a way out for rural people in the future."
His persistence eventually won the understanding and support of his fellow villager, Brother Zhang. Brother Zhang had run a wild pheasant farm in the south for many years and possessed rich experience and skills. He personally visited Pan Dongmeng's farm and unreservedly passed on his knowledge of seed selection, breeding, feeding, disease prevention and processing to the young man. Finally, this infant enterprise survived.
But then new problems arose: insufficient funds and small scale. Upon hearing that Postal Savings Bank was promoting its "inclusive finance" strategy, rolling out a series of measures and innovative products to strongly support agriculture, rural areas and farmers, he resolved to make his rural enterprise strong and big. With a try-it-and-see attitude, he applied to the Jing County Postal Savings Bank for a family farm loan. "I didn't expect that as soon as I submitted the materials, bank staff came to the farm to investigate. They didn't even drink a sip of water. In less than 10 days, I received 500,000 yuan. It seems Postal Savings' inclusive finance really isn't just talk!" he said with emotion.
With the support of Hengshui Postal Savings Bank, Pan Dongmeng took root in the countryside to develop his business, and his enterprise gradually got on track. To better leverage the farm's radiating and driving capacity, increase farmers' income and help more farmers prosper, in January 2015 he established Jing County Changxing Farming Co., Ltd., with 10 employees, including 1 senior animal husbandry engineer, 1 veterinarian, 1 accountant and 2 technicians. It set up an administration department, production department, finance department and marketing department. Internally, the farm operates with the management model of a modern livestock enterprise, with standardized operations. The enterprise adopts a company-base-farmer model, implementing a one-stop supply-production-sales system and integrating agriculture, industry, trade and technology. It annually sells 20,000 pheasant chicks and 10,000 finished pheasants. While reasonably disposing of poultry manure, it protects the ecological environment and achieves comprehensive benefits. On September 15, Hengshui TV also aired a special report titled "Hengshui Post-80s Young Man Farms Ring-necked Pheasants." He said excitedly, "I never imagined that doing a little something could get me on TV. It seems I chose the right path!"
Setting Sail Again, Being a Person Who Never Stops
But he has always been someone who can't sit still. Recently, Pan Dongmeng has been busy again -- it turns out he entered the "Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation" (Hebei Division) competition held by Hengshui Postal Savings Bank. In the course of his dealings with the bank, he learned that Postal Savings Bank of China, in response to the national call to "support the real economy" and "support the development of small, medium and micro enterprises," organizes a wealth creation competition every year to help enterprises, merchants and farmers like him overcome difficulties and achieve prosperity through entrepreneurship. It is an effective model for continuously supporting agriculture, rural areas and farmers as well as small and micro enterprises. He said, "Participating in this competition is not just to obtain financial support, but more importantly to promote my philosophy -- the vast countryside offers great opportunities!"
Pan Dongmeng systematically summarized his experience of recent years and, carefully starting from project prospects, competitiveness, enterprise organization and operation, project financing needs, project risk assessment and circular utilization, formulated a blueprint for sustainable rural development. In addition, the field of deep processing of ring-necked pheasants is still a blank, and he also plans to expand by negotiating a colorful braised chicken project with some enterprises in Dezhou, Shandong.
He said excitedly that if the project succeeds, he will introduce 275 groups of high-quality breeding pheasants, build a new 70-mu free-range and breeding area, build new coops of 37003700 sq m, a feed processing workshop of 1200 sq m, and auxiliary rooms of 645 sq m including offices, a veterinary room, a feather craft creation research studio and warehouses, and add 4,916 units (sets) of facilities and equipment. After the project is completed and put into operation, it will add 20 jobs with total annual wages of more than 300,000 yuan, and will radiate and drive 400 farming households to engage in pheasant farming, with an annual output of 40,000 commercial pheasants, total sales of 3.2 million yuan, a profit of 880,000 yuan, an average income increase of 2,200 yuan per farming household and 628 yuan per capita.
"Young people should have ideals and, more importantly, aspirations. I also hope the Postal Savings Bank wealth creation competition can help me realize my dream!" he said.