Turtle Farming Expert Liang Zhenkai Generates Ten Million Yuan in Output Value in One Year
Among the farmers of Sanjiao Town, Liang Zhenkai is regarded as a "master." Having been in the farming business for over 20 years, whatever he raises becomes a hit. And once a particular species is about to decline, he is always able to retreat in one step ahead of the game.
Insight: The most important thing in farming is "distinctiveness"
Starting in the 1980s, Liang Zhenkai farmed snakehead fish. At that time, the price of snakehead reached 50 yuan per kg. After farming them for over 10 years, snakehead prices began to fall, so he switched to farming soft-shelled turtles. By 2002, he invested several million yuan in farming turtles. Seven or eight years on, his turtle farming area exceeds 100 mu. In addition, he also raises some alligator snapping turtles, Taiwan, China pond turtles, and others, making him the most famous large-scale turtle farmer in our city, with his products sold to Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, and other places.
On this point, Liang Zhenkai's insight is that the biggest taboo when choosing a farming species is following the crowd. When everyone believes that farming a certain species can make money and rushes in en masse, from a marketing perspective, that species is not far from its demise. There are far too many lessons in this regard. In fact, the most valuable part of agricultural products lies in their "distinctiveness." Being able to offer what others do not is of course the best; if you cannot achieve this, then you must cultivate distinctive factors within similar products, so as to be competitive in the market.
Positioning: Targeting high-end diners as potential customers
Before specifically investing in a particular farming species, Liang Zhenkai always carefully investigates the species' living environment, understands the technical difficulty and risks of farming it, and conducts thorough market research. At the same time, he consults agricultural science and technology departments to both understand the policy background and obtain technical support. It is precisely through this cautious approach that Liang Zhenkai has achieved success within the farming community.
In 2002, along with another wave of development momentum brought by China's entry into the WTO, batch after batch of millionaires sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain. Liang Zhenkai keenly observed that high-end foods would usher in a consumption boom. Turtles, with their high edible and medicinal value, would be favored by the vast number of diners for their outstanding nourishing and health-enhancing functions.
Liang Zhenkai learned that turtles by nature are sun-loving, warmth-preferring, and moisture-loving, which perfectly matches Zhongshan's characteristics of a mild climate, abundant rainfall, and long sunshine hours. With crisscrossing rivers, fish ponds scattered everywhere, and rich, unpolluted green waters and mulberry fields, it is an ideal habitat for turtles. Although they command a precious price, they belong to a species that can be extensively farmed. As long as they are consistently raised in ponds and natural ecological environments, combined with routine disease prevention work and feeding of high-quality specialized mixed feed or fresh natural bait, generally no major diseases will occur.
Output value: Reached nearly ten million yuan last year
Things developed just as Liang Zhenkai had predicted. Since he began farming turtles, some high-end restaurants in Guangzhou have become regular customers, occasionally sending dedicated vehicles to his farm to collect turtles.
Speaking of the benefits of turtle farming, Liang Zhenkai did a calculation for the reporter: Turtle hatchlings generally weigh 3-5 grams, initially selling for 25 yuan each, and later as cheap as 7 yuan each when prices dropped. Turtle feed is very simple; both vegetables and meat will do. A turtle generally gains 250 grams per year. From hatchling to market-ready turtle takes about 2-3 years. Last year, the turtle selling price reached 100 yuan per kg. His turtle ponds currently produce 2.5 tons per farming cycle (2-3 years), so the total sales of mature turtles from over 100 mu of turtle ponds would exceed 25 million yuan. Even spread over 3 years, the annual output value would still be eight or nine million yuan. Moreover, as a rolling-style farming operation, the actual turtle output would be even greater than this figure.
In the financial tsunami, the wealthy may have been hit harder than ordinary people. Reflected in the turtle market, this year's selling price is about 30 percent lower than last year. In response, Liang Zhenkai's mind started churning again: should he persist, or change course? After nearly half a year of deliberation, he decided to continue farming turtles. Because he believes that with the implementation of various policies and measures, China's economy will certainly emerge from the trough quickly and achieve steady development at a new height.