Salt Lake Millet

Salt Lake Millet

Salt Lake millet is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Millet and other small grains have been cultivated in Salt Lake for a long time using traditional farming methods. The products are eco-friendly and pollution-free, and are exported to regions such as Yunnan and Sichuan, while also being popular in nearby large and medium-sized cities like Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Salt Lake millet is a nationally protected geographical indication agricultural product.

　　The 350,000-acre rain-fed dry farming area in Mahuangshan and Dashuikeng regions of Salt Lake County has virtually unpolluted air, soil, and irrigation water, offering an excellent natural environment that is highly conducive to the production of high-quality, pollution-free, green, and organic small grains. This area has been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture as a pollution-free agricultural product production base, a buckwheat green raw material base, and a green food base. Buckwheat, proso millet, and foxtail millet have obtained organic certification. In recent years, Salt Lake County has fully leveraged these advantageous resources, using 40% of its arable land to grow small grains such as buckwheat and foxtail millet, and has developed seed breeding bases for these crops, yielding over 20,000 tons of small grains annually. The county has established an integrated production and sales philosophy of “expanding scale, building brands, expanding markets, and refining processing,” and has supported the development of two leading small grain processing enterprises, giving rise to small grain brands such as “Shandouzi.”

　　In 2014, “Salt Lake Millet,” applied for by the Salt Lake County Seed Management Station, passed the review of the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and expert evaluation, and was granted national geographical indication agricultural product registration and protection.

　　Region: Ningxia

　　Applicant: Salt Lake County Seed Management Station

　　Year of designation: 2014

　　Geographic Scope

　　The protected geographic indication area for Salt Lake millet includes 98 administrative villages across eight towns in Salt Lake County: Huamachi Town, Dashuikeng Town, Hui’anpu Town, Gaosawo Town, Fengjigou Township, Qingshan Township, Wanglejing Township, and Mahuangshan Township. The protected area lies between 106°33′–107°47′ east longitude and 37°04′–38°10′ north latitude, stretching 110 kilometers from north to south and 66 kilometers from east to west. The total planting area of the region is 2,000 hectares, with an annual yield of 1,000 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory Characteristics: Structurally, millet consists of five parts: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. The root system of millet is fibrous, composed of primary roots, secondary roots, and support roots; the stem is upright and comes in green or purple; the leaves can be divided into leaf blade, leaf sheath, ligule, and auricle. The millet inflorescence is a panicle, with each spike consisting of a central axis and numerous spikelets. Variations in the length of the central axis and branching result in different spike types, such as spindle-shaped, cylindrical, club-shaped, branched, and cat-paw shaped. The millet grain is a false caryopsis, formed from the ovary and fertilized ovule along with the lemma and palea. Once the lemma and palea are removed, it is commonly known as millet grain. 2. Internal Quality Characteristics: Millet is highly nutritious. After hulling, it becomes millet grain. Salt Lake millet contains a well-balanced proportion of essential amino acids required by the human body. It has 4.1–4.4% crude fat and 0.9–1.2% crude fiber. The high dietary fiber content aids digestion. 3. Safety Requirements: The production environment strictly adheres to the standards outlined in the “Technical Specifications for the Production Environment of Pollution-Free Field Crops” (NY5332-2006). ① Phosphides, cyanides, nitrogen compounds, and carbon dioxide comply with the relevant provisions of GB/T5009.36. ② Aflatoxin B1 complies with the relevant provisions of GB/T5009.22. ③ Mercury content complies with GB/T5009.11. ④ Arsenic content complies with GB/T5009.11. ⑤ Sanitary standards follow GB2715-81 and GB2761-81.