Junlian Yellow Cattle

Junlian Yellow Cattle

Junlian Yellow Cattle is a protected geographical indication product.

　　Junlian Yellow Cattle refers to a distinctive local cattle breed raised in Junlian County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. These cattle are bred on naturally grown pasture, through free-range grazing and by freely drinking mountain spring water and tea-infused water made from a mixture of spring water and tea leaves. They represent the largest group among the Sichuan southern mountainous (yellow) cattle breeds, developed over time through natural selection by the industrious Miao and Han peoples of Junlian. The beef is renowned for its selenium-rich meat, tender and smooth texture, natural tea aroma, firm and compact structure.

　　(I) Product Name

　　Junlian Yellow Cattle

　　(English: JunLianYellowCattle / Chinese: JunLianHuangNiu)

　　(II) Product Category

　　Junlian Yellow Cattle falls under the livestock farming category, where “Junlian” is the place name and “Yellow Cattle” is the generic term.

　　Junlian Yellow Cattle refers to a distinctive local cattle breed raised in Junlian County, using naturally grown pasture, through grazing and freely drinking mountain spring water and tea-infused water made from a mixture of spring water and tea leaves. It is the largest group among the Sichuan southern mountainous (yellow) cattle breeds, developed over time through natural selection by the industrious Miao and Han peoples of Junlian.

　　Junlian Yellow Cattle is known for its selenium-rich, tender, smooth, tea-aromatic, firm, and compact meat, along with year-round free-range grazing. The main production area—Junlian County—is a nationally renowned tea-producing region with a mild climate, fertile soil, and good ecology, making it highly suitable for raising Junlian Yellow Cattle.

　　(III) Geographic Scope

　　The administrative region under the jurisdiction of Junlian County (18 towns and townships, covering an area of 1,256.13 square kilometers), with major production areas including Junlian Town, Weixin Town, Daxueshan Town, Zhenzhou Town, Haoba Town, Wude Township, Tangba Township, Longzhen Township, Kongque Township, Tuanlin Miao Ethnic Township, Lianhe Miao Ethnic Township, and Gaoping Miao Ethnic Township.

　　(IV) Historical Background

　　The name “Junlian” originates from the county’s landscape where “bamboo covers all four mountains in a continuous hue,” derived from the locally produced Jun bamboo. During the Qin Dynasty, it was part of the land of the southwestern Yi peoples, with records suggesting the existence of the Five-Foot Path passing through. In the Han Dynasty, it belonged to Nan Guang County; in the Sui Dynasty, to Xie Zhou. In the Tang Dynasty, the counties of Jun Zhou, Lian Zhou, and Ding Zhou were established here, though Ding Zhou was abolished in the Song Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jun and Lian prefectures were merged into Junlian Zhou. In the fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1371), Junlian County was officially established. Today’s Junlian County also includes some township areas transferred from former Gao County in 1953 (equivalent to today’s Tengda Town, Weixin Town, Leyi Township, Weixin Town, Muyi Town, Zhenzhou Town, Gaokan Township, Daxueshan Town, Tuanlin Miao Ethnic Township, Lianhe Miao Ethnic Township, Gaoping Miao Ethnic Township, and Haoba Town).

　　Junlian has a long history of cattle farming. In August 1980, seventeen types of animal fossils coexisting with the molar fossil of the “Junlian Man” excavated from Gongzhu Cave in Gongzhu Township, Luomurou District included “cattle,” proving that Homo sapiens had inhabited Junlian County forty thousand years ago, with traces of cattle as well. The 1812 “Gao County Annals” recorded during the Jiaqing reign: “The Miao people raise cattle and horses for a living… marriage arrangements use horses, cattle, and cloth as dowry, and worship by slaughtering stolen cattle as offerings” (the 1914 “Xuyong County Annals” recorded: “The Miao people rely entirely on livestock for their livelihoods, and a Miao tradition considers wealth as having many cattle”). In June 1948 (37th year of the Republic of China), the “Continuation of Junlian County Annals” originally referred to them as “Junlian Mountain Cattle,” noting that “mountain cattle are yellow, raised by those who cultivate the mountains.” In August 1960, the “Yibin Agriculture (1949–1959)” renamed them “Junlian Yellow Cattle” (including today’s cattle in Gong County and Xingwen County), listing them as the only local superior draft cattle breed among the 11 counties and cities in the Yibin Prefecture (including Qingfu County). It praised Junlian Yellow Cattle for being “large in size, strong in disease resistance, hardy in labor, and famous across the counties and cities of southern Sichuan,” with the number of cows accounting for 41.43% of the total in those 11 counties and cities [1].

　　The newly compiled “Junlian County Annals (1911–1985)” (Sichuan Science and Technology Press, May 1998) [2], “Junlian County Annals (1986–2005)” (Fangzhi Press, November 2010) [3], and “Yibin City Annals (1911–2005)” (Zhonghua Book Company, November 2011) [4] all continued these records. Junlian Yellow Cattle have been listed under the names “Southern Sichuan Yellow Cattle,” “Southern Sichuan Mountainous Yellow Cattle,” and “Southern Sichuan Mountainous Cattle” in the “Yibin Region Livestock and Poultry Breed Annals” (Yibin Region Animal Husbandry Bureau, Science and Technology Information Research Institute, December 1983), “Sichuan Province Livestock and Poultry Breed Annals” (Sichuan Science and Technology Press, May 1987), “Sichuan Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Annals” (Sichuan Science and Technology Press, October 2009), and “China Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources Annals: Cattle Volume” (China Agriculture Press, May 2011). The latter two annals explicitly identify Junlian County as the primary production county.

　　(V) Current Development Status

　　Since 1993, Junlian County has been listed as a model county for straw-fed cattle breeding in Sichuan Province. In December 1994, three Simmental bulls were introduced from Sichuan Yangping Breeding Farm to carry out crossbreeding improvement of Junlian Yellow Cattle. In 1995, the annual inventory of Junlian Yellow Cattle accounted for 46.3% of the 10 counties and cities in the Yibin region, with breeding cows and newborn calves making up 50.87% and 47.55% respectively. Junlian Yellow Cattle slaughter accounted for 60.1% of the 10 counties and cities in the Yibin region, and the slaughter rate (28.57%) ranked 14th among the top 20 in the entire province (including districts and counties of present-day Chongqing), as reported in the October 1996 “Sichuan Province 1995 Livestock Economic Statistics.” In December 1996, the “Junlian County Yellow Cattle 124 Project Proposal” was planned and compiled (can a leading organization be added?), and in May 1997, it passed expert appraisals by the Sichuan Provincial Animal Husbandry and Food Bureau (now merged into the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture), Sichuan Veterinary and Animal Husbandry College (now the Rongchang Campus of Southwest University), and others. A Junlian County Livestock and Poultry Breeding Center focused on developing Junlian Yellow Cattle was newly built on Zhenwu Road in Junlian Town to actively explore the industrial development of Junlian Yellow Cattle. In June 1997, the technique of frozen-thawed semen from fine-bore yellow cattle was promoted. In April 1998, it was officially listed as one of the province’s 15 yellow cattle improvement base counties, and in 2000, 2001, and 2003, it was consecutively listed as a provincial high-quality beef cattle production base county [3].

　　In July 2003, Junlian County (Yellow Cattle) was approved as a Sichuan Province pollution-free livestock product production base (WGHJ0051). In August 2004, it was certified to use the Sichuan Province pollution-free product label (WGHC0194). In January 2005, the Yellow Cattle (beef cattle) application submitted by the Junlian County Cattle Breeders Association obtained the National Pollution-Free Agricultural Product (Beef Cattle) Certificate (WCH0500242) from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center [3]. In November 2010, it was included in the city’s modern characteristic livestock industry (Wumeng Beef Cattle) project. Beef cattle farming was listed as a provincial agricultural standardization demonstration zone in March 2011, and in July 2011, it was further included in the provincial finance-funded modern animal husbandry development special fund project (beef cattle). In December 2013, it passed a fourth review and was re-certified for another three years (2013–12 to 2016–12) as a Sichuan Province pollution-free livestock product origin (WNCRSC1300351). In March 2014, it received a renewed three-year (2014–03–18 to 2017–03–18) National Pollution-Free Agricultural Product Certificate (WCH0500242). In July 2014, it was included in the Ministry of Agriculture’s Beef Cattle Foundation Cow Herd Expansion Project. In December 2014, it was officially designated as a Sichuan Provincial Agricultural Standardization Demonstration Zone [5], and remains the only such zone in Yibin City related to Yellow Cattle (beef cattle).

　　In 2014, the county had an inventory of 82,600 (to be rechecked with Zeng Jun) Yellow Cattle (statistical bulletin) and a slaughter of 34,900 head (statistical bulletin), achieving a Yellow Cattle output value of 279.2 million yuan and profits and taxes of 69.8 million yuan. Wang Ning, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Governor, and Qu Mu Shihua, Vice Governor, visited Junlian County on May 7–8 and April 2, 2015 respectively, to investigate beef cattle farming and gave full recognition to its development. The Yibin City Beef Cattle Industry Development On-site Meeting (hosted by the Yibin Municipal People’s Government) and the China Southern Beef Cattle Industry Development Seminar (hosted by the National Beef and Yak Industry Technology System and the Yibin Municipal People’s Government) were held in Junlian County on April 22 and June 28–29, 2015, respectively, to promote Junlian County’s beef cattle “Six-Three” experience and its “mountain breeding, plain rearing, and household cattle storage” courtyard cattle farming model [6–7].

　　In recent years, the Junlian County Party Committee and County People’s Government have consolidated the national pollution-free agricultural product (beef cattle) production base, nurtured high-quality beef cattle farming communities, standardized large-scale centralized cattle farms, and leading enterprises in refined beef processing. They are striving to build a 200,000-head pollution-free high-quality cattle and sheep industry belt. The beef cattle industry covers all 18 towns and 243 villages in the county, with 29 key specialized villages and 23 cattle breeding cooperatives. There are three leading enterprises in refined beef processing (Yunhu Commerce and Trade Co., Ltd. of Junlian County, producer of the Yibin specialty “Laowopuo” cured strip beef; Hao Niuwang Kaixuan Food Co., Ltd. of Junlian, producer of the Yibin specialty “Haoniuwang” beef short ribs; and Junzhou Xinchen Commerce and Trade Co., Ltd. of Junlian County, specializing in the “Junmiao,” “Chuanmiao,” and “Wumengmiao” series of “Miao Family Yellow Cattle Dried Beef”), and one beef cattle trading market (the Junlian County Southern Sichuan Beef Cattle Trading Market constructed by Xiangyang Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. of Junlian County).

　　“Miao Family Yellow Cattle Dried Beef” is a famous Sichuan livestock product made using traditional Miao sun-drying techniques. Its raw material comes from Junlian Yellow Cattle raised through free-range grazing in Miao-inhabited areas of Junlian. It is exclusively produced by Yunzhou Xinchen Commerce and Trade Co., Ltd. of Junlian County, registered with the Junlian County Administration for Industry and Commerce in September 2011. The company’s “Miao Family Yellow Cattle Dried Beef” has participated in the specialty product exhibitions at the China Yibin Wine Saint Festival and China Baijiu Culture Festival held in Yibin. In September 2012, it was shortlisted in the “Yibin Famous and Quality Specialty Products” selection. In August 2013, it obtained a National Industrial Product Production License (for cured meat products) from the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, and in May 2014, it acquired another (for sauce-braised meat products). This enabled the production of both raw and cooked varieties of Miao Family Yellow Cattle Dried Beef. In September and October 2014, it participated in the 10th China Food Expo (Chengdu Food Expo) and the 15th China Western International Expo (West Expo) respectively. Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee Lü Xiaoli visited the West Expo exhibition booth for guidance, while County Party Secretary Wang Ping and County Governor Liu Chaoping also visited the Baijiu Culture Festival exhibition site to learn about product development. In November 2014, “Miao Family Yellow Cattle Dried Beef” won the Special Product Award at the Sichuan Agricultural Expo [8]; in December 2014, it topped the list of eight recommended livestock products at the first Yibin Animal Husbandry Expo. In January 2015, it was named a Yibin “Famous, Quality, Specialty, New” Agricultural Product.

　　The production area of Junlian Yellow Cattle is the current administrative region of Junlian County, Sichuan Province.

　　“Letter from the People’s Government of Junlian County on Delimiting the Protection Scope of the National Geographical Indication Product – Junlian Yellow Cattle,” Jun Fu Han [2015] No. 59

　　Local Standards of Junlian County, Sichuan Province:

　　DB511527/T002-2015 “Geographical Indication Product – Junlian Yellow Cattle” (Draft)