Who exactly is the national front-runner in ecological chicken farming?
Why does a match made in heaven struggle to become a union?
Recently, Li Gengxi, a major chicken farmer in Zhangwan District, Shiyan City, called the reporter for help, saying he had more than 200,000 free-range eggs piling up at home and urgently needed to sell them, hoping someone would buy them. Li Gengxi said the chickens he raises are free-range in the mountains during the day and are supplemented with feed such as corn, pumpkin, garlic and grains, making them genuine free-range chickens and free-range eggs.
Meanwhile, Huang Hai, who runs several free-range egg specialty stores in Wuhan, plans to introduce free-range eggs into supermarket sales and is looking around to order free-range eggs. The reporter intended to connect the two and help them strike a deal, but Huang Hai was not quite at ease. Why? He explained that he only wanted to order eggs produced by units certified under the provincial large-scale ecological chicken farming production method, as such eggs are more reliable and relatively easier to sell.
The reporter learned from the Provincial Animal Husbandry Bureau that ecological chicken farming is a common method at home and abroad for producing high-grade poultry products. The provincial government and the Provincial Animal Husbandry Bureau have also given certain support to the ecological chicken farming industry. Among the province's seven modern agricultural industry systems, one is animal husbandry, namely the local chicken industry. To promote the development of the ecological chicken farming industry, the Provincial Poultry Association specially established the Local Chicken Industry Branch. In August last year, the Provincial Poultry Association, following common international practice, issued China's first local ecological farming method, the "Hubei Province Measures for the Implementation of Certification of Ecological Chicken Farming Production Methods," and began organizing experts to carry out free certification among local chicken farmers (cooperatives, enterprises) across the province.
“As people's living standards improve, they have higher requirements for food quality, and the demand for ecological chickens and eggs is also growing. But 'free-range chickens' and 'free-range eggs' on the market are a mixed bag, and consumers have been frightened off by fake free-range chickens and fake free-range eggs. What we are doing now is using technical certification to regulate ecological chicken farming practices and give consumers peace of mind.” said Li Chaoguo, Secretary-General of the Hubei Province Poultry Industry Association.
Ecological chicken farming is a good way to make money, at least 40 yuan per chicken
Ecological chicken farming - such words are often seen on the market and on farms, but whether it is truly ecological farming used to be impossible to tell. Now there are rules to follow.
The reporter looked through the "Hubei Province Measures for the Implementation of Certification of Ecological Chicken Farming Production Methods" and found that it sets clear requirements for the sites and facilities, breeds, brooding techniques, free-range techniques, feed and nutrition of ecological chicken farming. For example, a flock should be no larger than 500 chickens, no more than 50 chickens should be free-range per mu of land, and the optimal culling date is around 300 days. This farming model is also called the large-scale ecological chicken farming "553" model.
“The '553' model was created with reference to international ecological chicken farming standards and domestic conditions. Three years of trial results show that it has achieved the goal of both chicken farming and ecological protection, and it has now been designated by the Ministry of Agriculture as a main recommended technology for nationwide promotion.” Li Chaoguo said that chickens raised this way are healthy and lively, with bright and intact feathers, and the egg yolk Roche color fan is mostly at level 10-11 (improved breed laying hens are generally around level 7), so the “money” prospects are great. Under normal sales, the net profit per chicken is at least more than 40 yuan.
Dong Yiliang, owner of the Qichun Shizhen Binhu Mountain Free-Range Chicken Garden, has deep personal experience of this. In July last year, his 20,000 free-range Jianghan chickens passed expert certification organized by the Provincial Poultry Branch and obtained the “Hubei Province Ecological Chicken Farming Production Method Certification Certificate” and related labels. After that, he printed the certification label on egg packaging boxes and tied it to the legs of chickens for sale. “I didn't expect this trick to work so well. Before, one egg sold for only 1 yuan; after certification it sold for 1.3 yuan. Culled chickens sold for 20 yuan/jin; after certification they sold for 22 yuan/jin.” Dong Yiliang said that promotion is still not sufficient, otherwise the price would be even higher.
By comparison, Liu Xiangyin, owner of the Baimashan Organic Tea Farm in Shiyan City, has an even better way of making money. He free-ranges Gushi chickens in the tea garden. The tea garden no longer applies pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, which saves input costs and also improves tea quality. Previously it sold for only 1,600 yuan/kg, but now it sells for 2,800 yuan/kg.
It is understood that Hubei-produced ecological eggs are now selling well in markets inside and outside the province. In the Wuhan market, they generally sell for 1.4 to 1.6 yuan each, while in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places, they sell for as much as 3 yuan each.
Development hits a bottleneck on the road ahead, urgently needs a helping hand from the government
Since the second half of last year, 90 chicken farming enterprises, cooperative organizations and individuals across the province have passed certification under the ecological chicken farming production method. To prevent farmers from changing production methods after the first certification and causing product quality to decline, the certification certificate and announcement are valid only for one production batch.
Li Chaoguo said that as long as consumers buy ecological chickens and ecological eggs produced by the certified units on the announcement list, they can consume with clarity and confidence. Consumers can check the relevant announcement information on the Hubei Rural Network and the Hubei Poultry Industry Information Network.
“After chicken farmers got a taste of the benefits, their enthusiasm for applying for certification is very high.” Li Chaoguo said they will strive to complete the province's certification work this year, and chicken farmers (cooperatives, enterprises) can apply at their local animal husbandry technology promotion stations.
However, Li Chaoguo also has worries. Although our province's ecological chicken farming industry started relatively early, it is still a late-developing marginal industry, with insufficient government support and many difficulties facing its development. At present, the certification and management of ecological chicken farming production methods are still carried out spontaneously by the association, local governments are not highly motivated to participate, and there are difficulties of insufficient funding and personnel. In addition, ecological chicken farming is mainly cooperative-based, and they mostly produce and sell on their own. Because ecological chicken farming certification has not been carried out for long and market awareness is not high, farmers have not benefited much, and some are even operating at a loss, which to a certain extent restricts the development of our province's ecological chicken farming industry.
“We are very optimistic about the market for ecological chickens and eggs, but the resistance right now is not small. Fake free-range eggs sell better than real free-range eggs. Those of us who truly want to sell ecological eggs are not living comfortably, and some are still losing money.” Huang Hai said there are mainly three reasons for this situation: first, insufficient certification of ecological chicken farming and insufficient product promotion; second, the market for ecological chickens and eggs is too chaotic, making it hard to tell real from fake; third, there is a lack of policy support in the farming and sales stages of ecological chickens.
Li Chaoguo suggested that governments at all levels should treat ecological chicken farming as a resource-saving and environment-friendly industry, incorporate it into industrial development planning, support its healthy development and make it bigger and stronger; increase publicity for ecological chicken farming certification practices and products so that more people understand ecological chicken farming and improve their ability to identify ecological chicken products; issue relevant rules to regulate the production and sales stages of ecological chicken farming, especially strictly distinguish ordinary poultry products from ecological poultry products, and strengthen supervision. Finally, large sales organizations should also be established to carry out unified sales of ecological chickens and eggs.