Yellow-meat cattle in Baiquan County

Yellow-meat cattle in Baiquan County

　　Baiquan County is situated in the central part of Heilongjiang Province and the eastern part of Qiqihar City. It has 16 townships and 186 villages, with a total population of 563,000, of which 456,000 are engaged in agriculture. The county spans an area of 3,599.15 square kilometers (or 5.3996 million mu), of which 3.613 million mu are arable land, 126,000 mu are grassland, and 1.19 million mu are forested. In 2006, the total output value of animal husbandry in the county reached 610 million yuan, accounting for 27.8% of the overall output value.

Baiquan County is also recognized as a national advanced county in ecological agriculture construction. It has won the first prize in the National Ecological Engineering Awards and was designated as a Green Industry Demonstration Zone by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. In 2001, it was honored as the “Hometown of China’s Yellow (Meat) Cattle” by the China Specialties Hometown Promotion Committee. The county has a long history in developing agriculture and animal husbandry, and is a major agricultural region in the province for grain and bean production. It boasts abundant straw and forage resources, along with naturally superior grasslands. To date, a production line capable of slaughtering 500,000 cattle annually has been established. By the end of the year, it is expected that the county will raise 350,000 yellow-meat cattle, generating an output value of 180 million yuan. Up to now, there are 56 villages where the average household raises 1–2 yellow-meat cattle, and 18 villages with an average of over 2 per household. There are also 45 large-scale breeding farms with annual sales of over 100 cattle, and 596 specialized large-scale breeders. Through the exemplary influence of these major breeders, the enthusiasm of local farmers for cattle raising has been greatly stimulated.

While focusing on the production of yellow-meat cattle, the county government has also strengthened the development of cattle trading markets and marketing teams. So far, the county has established 17 yellow-meat cattle trading markets, employed 2,300 cattle marketing brokers, and handled a cattle trade volume exceeding 100,000 head, with a transaction value surpassing 200 million yuan. This has formed an integrated cattle production and sales chain, effectively boosting the economic development of the yellow-meat cattle industry.

To accelerate the healthy and rapid development of yellow-meat cattle production across the county, and to fully leverage the driving force of leading enterprises, the county has expanded reproduction based on enterprises as leaders and bases as foundations, thereby motivating the enthusiasm of cattle breeders. Through investment attraction, the Hetquan Food Co., Ltd. was established. Its products are exported to Shanghai, Hunan, Shenyang, and other locations. This year, an additional investment of 5 million yuan has been made to expand the facility and install new production and processing lines. Once operating at full capacity, the company will be able to slaughter 160,000 beef cattle annually and generate annual profits and taxes of up to 11 million yuan.