Ridge Family Millet

Ridge Family Millet

　　1 kilogram of millet for 40 yuan ($5.6)! At the first annual Chunwan fair in Chengde, recently hosted by the Chengde Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the boxed eco-friendly millet "Ridge Family" produced by Chengde Aigerui Food Co., Ltd. stood out as soon as it made its appearance. Meanwhile, at a large supermarket adjacent to the fair venue, ordinary millet was selling for just 13 yuan per kilogram.

　　Despite the high price, there were no shortage of buyers. Distributor Wang Xiaoli sells over 100 boxes every day. But for Tian Guangyan, chairwoman of Aigerui, this price still has room to rise. “Once we obtain the organic product certification this September, my millet can sell for 60 yuan per kilogram!”

　　Why is “Ridge Family” millet so expensive? The root of it lies in Tian Guangyan herself. Although she came to farming relatively late in life, she has her own unique methods—some even consider them foolish.

　　Kuancheng Manchu Autonomous County is located in the eastern section of the Yanshan Mountains, rich in mineral resources. By running an iron ore business, Tian Guangyan had already amassed assets worth tens of millions of yuan by 2009. At a time when iron ore prices were soaring, Tian unexpectedly sold all her shares in the iron mines and returned to her hometown at the foot of Dushan Mountain to rent land and grow millet. Those who knew Tian said she was crazy: “After working hard all year, how can that compare to the quick money from selling just two truckloads of iron ore?”

　　Facing the doubts, Tian had her own plans: First, she worried about major fluctuations in the iron ore market and the uncertain future of mining. Second, as national food safety standards became stricter, there was great potential in high-end agriculture around Beijing and Tianjin. Third, seeing the region’s premium local specialties sell at low prices motivated her to create her own brand and help farmers prosper.

　　When it came to renting land, Tian did something else that puzzled people. Instead of leasing large, flat plots, she led experts she had hired from Beijing to explore remote mountain valleys. In the end, in Dahegou Village, Liangjiatai Town, she rented 70 acres of sloping land at a high price of 900 yuan per mu (about 0.067 hectares). Behind this effort was Tian’s determination to pursue high-end agriculture and produce organic products. “To smoothly obtain organic food certification, we must start with the soil itself, and sloping land has advantages in this regard.” It turned out that after repeated inspections, Tian chose to be guided by the Beijing Wuyue Huaxia Science and Technology Management Center for organic certification, and the decision to rent sloping land was based on expert advice.

　　After securing the land, Tian didn’t rush to plant in the first year—instead, the 70 acres were left covered in weeds. Some kind-hearted villagers offered to help remove the weeds and plant something, but Tian stopped them. “She let the land sit idle for a whole year, wasting tens of thousands of yuan in rent. What on earth is she up to?” the villagers wondered.

　　In the second year, millet was finally planted, but her method was quite “peculiar”: for plowing, she used oxen and human-pulled plows instead of tractors. It took 15 farmers 10 days to finish cultivating the 70 acres. For fertilization, instead of using readily delivered chemical fertilizer, she paid high prices to source organic fertilizer from elsewhere. She avoided herbicides, hiring over 20 villagers to manually hoe the fields three times and pull weeds by hand twice. The villagers grew increasingly baffled by her methods.

　　Finally, during harvest season, Tian remained unconventional: instead of using harvesters, she hired workers to cut the grain by hand with sickles and scissors. She leveled a special threshing ground, sun-dried the crop for 20 days, and then manually threshed and bagged it. When Tian gave freshly milled millet to the village elders to try, the villagers finally understood: Tian’s millet was not only larger, plumper, rounder, and more golden in color, but also had a better taste. “This millet is so fragrant—it tastes just like the rice we ate as kids!” That year, Tian registered the “Ridge Family” trademark. The millet sold out quickly, reaching a top price of 20 yuan per kilogram. The villagers were finally convinced: “This woman really knows how to farm!”

　　Over four years of pursuing organic certification, Tian gained deep insight. Organic food has almost draconian requirements for soil, climate, water sources, seeds, fertilizers, planting, harvesting, processing, packaging, and transportation. “But the stricter the requirements, the more reliable the product quality—and the greater the profit potential in the future.” According to feedback from Wuyue Huaxia, Tian is expected to receive the organic food certification mark this September.

　　Seeing the success of Tian’s farming methods, many villagers began to follow suit. On the condition of passing inspections, Tian also buys some millet from villagers to sell as lower-end products. “Villagers sometimes aren’t sure about the use of fertilizers and pesticides, resulting in inconsistent quality and naturally lower prices,” Tian said. After obtaining organic certification this year, she plans to expand the industry through a “company + farmer” model to help more people prosper. “Consumers’ demand for safe food is becoming more urgent—someday, my small grains business will surprise my former peers.”