Xinye Pi’nan Beef Cattle

Xinye Pi’nan Beef Cattle

　　Xinye Pi’nan beef cattle is a specialty of Xinye County, Nanyang City, Henan Province. Pi’nan beef cattle are the hybrid offspring of Piedmontese cattle and Nanyang yellow cattle. They have fine and thin hair, dense and elastic hide, making them ideal for producing high-end leather. The meat is tender, fresh, flavorful, and rich in protein and vitamin A, with low fat and cholesterol content, making it highly favored by consumers.

　　In 1987, Xinye County introduced Piedmontese cattle, known as the “father of world beef cattle,” from Italy to improve the local Nanyang yellow cattle. Nanyang yellow cattle is one of China’s five famous indigenous yellow cattle breeds, renowned both domestically and internationally for its large size, excellent meat quality, and superior hide, often referred to as the “southern hide.” After more than 20 years of persistent efforts, the improved Pi’nan beef cattle population in Xinye has continued to expand. The Animal Husbandry Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences conducted crossbreeding experiments between Piedmontese cattle and Nanyang cattle in Beijing, and the results showed that Pi’nan cattle exhibit the characteristics of “one fast, two low, four high”: one fast — rapid growth rate (on average 49.3% higher than Nanyang cattle); two low — low cholesterol (on average 37% lower than Nanyang cattle) and low fat (on average 26% lower than Nanyang cattle); four high — higher meat yield (on average 18.4% higher than Nanyang cattle), higher ratio of premium beef cuts (on average 129.1% higher than Nanyang cattle), higher live cattle price (on average 16.7% higher than Nanyang cattle), and higher product added value (on average 108% higher than Nanyang cattle after processing and cutting). Over the past 20 years, Xinye County has consistently focused on breeding the Pi’nan cattle variety and has now submitted an application to the National Commission on Genetic Resources of Livestock and Poultry according to proper procedures. At the same time, the county has always emphasized improving livestock production levels and farming efficiency, playing to its strengths and forging a distinctive path.

　　To promote the Xinye Pi’nan beef cattle brand beyond Xinye, across China, and to the international stage, in 1990, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Henan Provincial Animal Husbandry Bureau, and leaders from the Nanyang region hosted a Pi’nan beef tasting event at the Beijing Shangri-La Hotel. Swiss chefs commented that the beef fully met the requirements of top-grade steak meat, with the tenderloin estimated to be worth $25 per kilogram. The quality of Pi’nan beef was affirmed by experts both in China and abroad. In 2004, Xinye County became the first in the country to register the live cattle trademark “Shi’erhei” (Twelve Black) for Pi’nan beef cattle under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. On May 25, 2006, a press conference for the identification of Xinye Pi’nan beef was held in Beijing, where Pi’nan beef was recognized by Chinese and foreign beef cattle experts as a high-end, nutritious, health-oriented, double-muscle type beef. On November 10, 2009, during the 4th National Cattle Industry Development Conference, over 600 experts and scholars from across the country visited Xinye’s Pi’nan beef cattle and spoke highly of them, further promoting the Pi’nan cattle brand.

　　Currently, Xinye County has a cattle inventory of 146,000 head, with an annual output of 79,000 Pi’nan cattle, making it the largest core production area for Pi’nan beef cattle in the country.