How "Grasshopper King" Liu Tao raises grasshoppers
"I won't have a quiet Spring Festival this year, I have to look after these grasshoppers, they're all treasures!" On Chinese New Year's Eve, Liu Tao of Cenbeiya Village, Shangye Town, Fei County, told reporters. Liu Tao, 29 this year, has 7 years of migrant work experience. Before returning home in August last year, he was the kitchen supervisor at a large restaurant in Qingdao. Using the knowledge he learned during his time as a migrant worker, he came home to start a breeding business and became the "Grasshopper King."
In 2002, through skills training, Liu Tao became a chef. 3 years ago, he came to Qingdao and started as a helper at a large restaurant, gradually working his way up to kitchen supervisor, with a monthly income of more than 2,500 yuan, becoming a "blue-collar" worker envied by many. During his work, a client who often delivered grasshoppers to the restaurant caught Liu Tao's attention. He made a point of dealing with this person, learning about grasshopper breeding techniques and market conditions, and he felt the project had broad prospects. In the second half of last year, as the financial crisis spread, Liu Tao noticed that the number of people dining at the restaurant dropped noticeably, and his income fell sharply. In August, he resolved to return to his hometown of Fei County to raise grasshoppers.
Liu Tao observing grasshoppers in a shade-net shed. (File photo, source: Linyi Dazhong Net)
Liu Tao feeding grass to the grasshoppers. (File photo, source: Linyi Dazhong Net)
When he told his father Liu Jingshi about the idea, he met with opposition. His father said: "I've never heard of anyone getting rich raising grasshoppers, and besides, we don't know anything about it, how would we raise them!" Liu Tao said: "Grasshopper breeding doesn't require spraying chemicals, and the food is mainly the green grass that grows everywhere on the hills here, which fits modern people's pursuit of healthy, green food, and if we don't know the techniques, we can learn." After repeated explanations, his father agreed to let him build one breeding shed to try. In order to master the techniques well and get a clear picture of the market, Liu Tao made several trips to Qingdao and other places to learn, understand the market, find customers, and buy materials.
After doing sufficient research, in September, his first grasshopper shed was built. "The results exceeded everyone's expectations. In just over a month, the entire first shed of grasshoppers was bought up by Qingdao customers at 40 yuan per kilogram," Liu Tao said. Then, using the money he had earned during his time as a migrant worker, he expanded the scale, building 9 small sheds and 4 large sheds, and also planted a patch of turf as grasshopper feed, truly becoming the "Grasshopper King." In one grasshopper shed, Liu Tao showed off the grasshoppers he raises. He said: "In winter there's less sunlight and the temperature is low, so the grasshoppers grow slowly, which is why they're all quite small, but the price is very high, reaching 60 yuan per kilogram." Because demand exceeded supply, in just four or five months he had already sold more than 600 kilograms of grasshoppers, of which more than 100 kilograms were even sold abroad.
The news that Liu Tao got rich raising grasshoppers spread quickly, and the villagers around him came one after another to learn from him; farmers from Jining and Tai'an came too. Liu Tao was very open-minded, not only teaching techniques but also promising to buy back the grasshoppers and help them with sales. Talking about his future plans, Liu Tao believes the grasshopper market will be fine for three years, so he plans on the one hand to continue expanding the scale through loans, and on the other hand to help some of the surrounding farmers develop grasshopper breeding, helping everyone get rich together. He told reporters: "The Party committee and government care a great deal about me, a migrant worker who returned home. The town official Li Jijing brought consolation money, and also promised to help coordinate the land and funds needed to expand the scale. Especially now that the state attaches unprecedented importance to rural areas, I feel I can accomplish something in the countryside too."