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The 2012 Yuanli Good Wheat Community Concert Came to a Lively Close

General News By Emily Carter 0 views

Wheat Is No Longer a Wild Dream; Farmers Take Up the Baton of Energy

A cold snap arrived, and flags fluttered along County Road 140 in Miaoli. Turning onto the farm road, weathered brown faces lined with deep creases waved batons, directing vehicles to stop. The crowd was already buzzing, and in the distance, a high-speed train whistled through the chilly air and sped away.

In Yuanli, Miaoli, the wheat field of Li Hsin-wu, a contract farmer for Joyful Wheat, was the venue for this year's "2012 Good Wheat Resonance Concert." Since the "Wheat Rhapsody" of 2010, this was the third consecutive year that Shi Ming-huang, the "chief manager" of Joyful Bakery, and a steadily growing group of contract farmers had held the wheat concert.

This year was very different. The previous two concerts had been held at Joyful Bakery in Fangyuan, but this year the public was truly drawn to the production site itself. From the venue and activities to every detail large and small, everything was discussed and planned by the contract farming group. Chief Manager Shi, who had once planned everything single-handedly, stepped back to the second line, discussing and dividing the work together with everyone.

Organizing such a large event for the first time, the farmers had begun planning months in advance, nervous and excited. Li Hsin-wu joked and complained that there were too many inquiry calls, which kept him from traveling far. Another contract farmer, Chen Wen-lung, said he was afraid no one would come, or that the event would not be well run, "which would be very embarrassing." It was only when it was confirmed that more than 600 people would attend that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Today's activities included an agricultural products market and talks on the rice-drying ground, with surrounding activities such as earth-oven baking, sickle-grass cutting experiences, displays of traditional farm tools and ox carts, a puppet street parade, and a wheat field sketching competition. The concert invited the Yuanli Coarse Grains Production and Marketing Group, farmers, the Homemakers United Foundation and related groups, as well as local elementary schools and elementary students who had taken part in the "Wheat Field Study" to perform. The abundant and generous program made people truly feel the seriousness and dedication of the organizers.

The Homemakers United Foundation Consumer Cooperative, which has sold Joyful Bakery products since 2000, is a long-time partner of Joyful. During the morning "rice-drying ground talk" event, self-made "Good Farmer" sashes were presented to the wheat contract farmers in thanks for producing high-quality food for the cooperative and for their important contribution to Taiwan's food self-sufficiency. For the award ceremony, children were brought in dressed as egrets to drape the sashes over the farmers. Accompanied by voices, the simple ceremony conveyed deep respect and gratitude to the farmers.

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Children from the Homemakers United Foundation dressed as egrets present awards to good farmers who have contributed to the land.

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This time a "rice-drying ground talk" event was also designed, inviting all wheat contract farmers and guests to share, speaking in front of a crowd, an experience rarely had in the farmers' lives. Of the eleven farmers, the two sentences they said most often were "We've never had such a grand event in Yuanli" and "We invite everyone to come visit Yuanli more often." Hsiao Hsiu-chun, who had been busy directing traffic all day and rushed over, praised Chief Manager Shi greatly and also said to the Yuanli Farmers' Association general manager, who appeared unexpectedly: "I hope our Yuanli Farmers' Association can also develop."

One event made the farmers, despite their busy farming schedule, stand at such strict attention. For what? Chief Manager Shi put it this way: "I hope to transfer the social energy from the public's attention to the development of Joyful Wheat over these past few years to the main body of the food self-sufficiency movement, the producers, so that the farmers become the true hosts. Let participants feel a grassroots, sincere, and plain celebratory ceremony."

Year Five of Local Wheat: 65 Hectares Write a New Page in History

Supporting this lively ceremony was the local wheat revival movement, which had accumulated five years of energy.

In 2007, Joyful Bakery first attempted contract farming of one hectare of wheat with farmers in Daya, Taichung, launching the local wheat revival movement. By 2012, it had expanded to 42 people across Taiwan participating in the "Joyful Wheat Contract Farming Group," with a contract farming area of 65.5 hectares. It was originally expected to produce 150 metric tons of local wheat flour. Although weather factors prevented it from fully achieving this, it had already written a new page for local wheat.

Shi Ming-huang, the chief helmsman of this movement, said: Now that wheat has entered its fifth year, being able to achieve today's results is thanks to solid partners along the way, such as the Homemakers United Foundation Consumer Cooperative. With the support of this base, Joyful has been able to make it to today. In addition, Lien Hwa Industrial Corporation, which joined the lineup this year, is the focus of everyone's attention for Joyful's next step.

Lien Hwa Industrial Corporation is Taiwan's largest flour mill. In 2009, Lien Hwa flour's domestic market share reached 20.4%, ranking first, while the Joyful Wheat Contract Farming Group could be called "the wheat farmers with the smallest average cultivated area in the world," with cultivation areas ranging from a few tenths of a hectare to several hectares. The fact that the two could join hands could be called a unique Taiwan experience.

Starting this year, Lien Hwa Industrial Corporation will actually assist with the milling and processing of local wheat, as well as flour storage, transport, and sales. General Manager Jing Hu-shi once said in an interview that although Taiwan's wheat production is very small and cultivation is not easy, considering the need to raise the food self-sufficiency rate and support local agriculture, even if the factory must modify production equipment to handle local wheat processing, Lien Hwa Industrial Corporation is willing to invest regardless of cost. (See: https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/Article_Single.aspx?ID=389)

Lien Hwa Industrial Corporation's investment means that Joyful Wheat's efforts over the past five years have been recognized, but can these two very different styles of enterprise successfully adapt to each other? Director Shi said:

"'Atypical' has always been Joyful's style and key to success. The cooperation model with Lien Hwa Industrial Corporation will be completely different from existing business models. We should not take a solely antagonistic attitude toward capitalist society; there should be a better way to integrate with it."

Shi Ming-huang (center), director of Joyful Bakery, who sparked the revival movement for local wheat and coarse grain cultivation.

Farmers Pass the Baton to One Another; Good Wheat Sings All the Way to the Back Mountain

After successfully launching the local wheat revival movement, enabling farmers to develop their own momentum is an important task for Director Shi in further deepening Taiwan's agricultural soft power.

This year was the first year that farmers themselves took part in the Joyful Wheat Field Concert. Chief Manager Shi said he hoped it could be held every year in the future. After the western Yuanli session ended, the next eastern session would be held in Dongfeng, Yuli. Farmer Tseng Kuo-chi, who was responsible for organizing it, also specially brought a group to observe today. On March 3, everyone was invited to come east together to experience another style of the "Good Wheat Resonance Concert."

From "Wheat Rhapsody" to "Good Wheat Resonance," from a one-hectare experiment to 65 hectares of local wheat, Shi Ming-huang kept challenging what others saw as "impossible." He said: "Someone once asked me, do you have confidence in agriculture? I said I am very confident, because I see many farmers who are very willing to give, very willing to learn, and very serious about doing things. But I also see that we really need more strength from the consumer side to support farmers. That we have come this far is this strength, the strength summed up by many people."

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Adults and children alike brave the cold wind and gather in the wheat field every year. This is the strength of local agriculture.

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People from all walks of life took part in performances, warming the winter wheat field.

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On March 3, the wheat field concert moves to Yuli, Hualien. Yesterday, western farmers handed the flag over to eastern farmers, in the hope that this good wheat music would resonate across Taiwan!

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