The happiness, worry and bewilderment of farmers in the top grain-producing county in the country.

Jilin Yushu is the number one grain producing county (city) in China for many years, which has achieved the reputation of "the first granary in the world". In the black land of the autumn harvest season, the endless blue gauze account has become a "golden gauze account". This year, it will contribute nearly 6.8 billion jin of grain to the country.

How is the harvest of the grain farmers who have worked hard for a year? What is the grain price after the adjustment of corn collection and storage system? What kind of confusion do they face? What do you expect? On the occasion of the autumn harvest, Xinhua News Agency reporters approached the black land and came to the scene of the autumn harvest to face to face with the farmers in the top grain-producing county to listen to their joys, worries, bewilderment, and hopes.

The joy of a bumper harvest

"the first granary in the world" has increased production again.

"the crops are growing well this year, and there must be a good harvest." Tang Zheng, a farmer in Minjia Town, Yushu City, planted 1 hectare of corn and estimated that he could harvest 22000 jin of wet grain.

On the other hand, some farmers who achieve large-scale planting through contracted land are even more confident in increasing production.

"A bumper harvest has been decided!" Ma Zhanyou, director of the Agricultural planting Cooperative of Yushu City, has planted 300 hectares of corn this year through land transfer and alternative tillage. He said: Rain Water reconciled this year, and according to the yield survey, the wet grain yield of corn per hectare can reach 26000 jin, an increase of about 1500 jin over last year.

Elm corn has entered the wax ripening period, some farmers have begun the autumn harvest, and the harvest will be concentrated in the first ten days of October. "this year, the conditions of water, fertilizer, gas and heat are very good, and the grain of corn is full and of high quality." Wang Qiang, party committee secretary of the Yushu directly affiliated warehouse of China Grain Storage, which always pays close attention to grain production, said that the government regularly released Trichogramma, spraying pesticides in the air, and shelling hail clouds also ensured the growth of corn at critical moments.

Chen Zhuo, chairman of Tianfeng Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative in Jilin Province, is full of strength. His corn acreage has grown from 50 hectares in 2008 to 600 hectares this year. "the state has introduced a series of measures to benefit farmers, such as subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery, and the scale operation and the supporting application of agricultural science and technology have also made the output of the land we operate is 10% higher than that of single-family farmers."

Last year, Chen Zhuo bought 23 large-scale agricultural machinery and tools in one breath. "from 2015 to 2017, in order to support new agricultural operators, the government adopted a 'double subsidy' policy for the purchase of agricultural machinery. I used the prescribed purchase quota of 4.5 million yuan at one time. I invested more than 2 million yuan, and the government subsidized more than 1 million yuan."

This year, the total planting area of elm grain crops is 379000 hectares, the same as last year. The agricultural department of Yushu City predicts that this year, the local grain production will continue the momentum of increasing output for many years before, and the total grain output should be slightly higher than last year's total output level of 6.77 billion jin.

Worries about grain prices

Can a bumper harvest bring an increase in income?

This year, the adjustment of the national corn collection and storage system, the cancellation of corn temporary storage and other "prop up" acquisitions, and the loss of policy support for corn collection and storage prices have become worries on the minds of many farmers. Just a few days ago, the purchase price of new dry grain offered by local corn processing enterprises was 72 cents per jin.

"it was originally expected that the price of corn this year would be 90 cents per catty, but if it was a little more than 70 cents, I did not expect that it would drop so much." In addition to planting his own land, Liu Xiaoguang from Jishun Village, Liujia Town, Yushu City, has transferred two hectares of other people's land to grow corn this year. Now that the corn is about to be harvested, the price on the market makes it difficult for him.

Locally, the transfer of land requires a rent of 8000 yuan per hectare, and the cost of planting seeds, chemical fertilizers, sowing and harvesting is about 8000 yuan. as a result, he has invested 16000 yuan per hectare of corn. "if this year's dry grain is really only a little over 70 cents per jin, with an output of 18000 jin of dry grain per hectare, the income will only be about 13000 yuan. Without national policy, we may have to lose money. "

Liu Xiaoguang and other villagers are talking about the new subsidy policy that the country has just announced. "I heard that the state will probably give us farmers a subsidy of 2000 yuan per hectare. In this way, we can basically maintain our capital, and it is impossible to make money."

"if we had known that the price of corn would have dropped so much this year, we would not have contracted other people's land in the first place." Liu Xiaoguang said, "now the land is white. If the price is lower than 70 cents, it will be lost." Although the decline in corn prices is expected to run from spring ploughing to autumn harvest, when the autumn harvest is approaching, when the price "cap" is really set off, it is difficult for many small-scale farmers like Liu Xiaoguang to accept. "We can only sell some of the wet grain first. We'll wait and see after the rest is dried."

Chen Zhuo's cooperative has planted and managed 600 hectares of land this year. Compared with most ordinary farmers, large farmers and professional cooperatives like him have a large scale, low cost and much better ability to resist the decline in food prices. "the agricultural machinery used is our own co-operative's own. Because of the large use of seeds and chemical fertilizers, it will be much cheaper to buy large quantities of seeds and chemical fertilizers directly from manufacturers than to retail in the market. in addition, the use of scientific methods of farming can increase production a lot more than ordinary farmers."

Even a big family like Chen Zhuo is not optimistic about the corn market this year. "I don't have my own hand for a day. After the new grain comes down, all the new grain will be sent to the corn processing enterprises that have a purchase agreement with me." He said, "No bottom of the bear market. Many farmers feel that corn prices are bound to fall, but no one knows what the end will be, so I am also advising members to sell grain as soon as possible."

The confusion of "turning around"

What should I do if I don't grow food?

In recent years, there has been a surplus of corn production in Northeast China, and the price has been falling all the way, from a peak of 1.12 yuan per jin in 2014 to 1 yuan per jin last year, and the temporary storage price of corn in Northeast China has dropped by 0.12 yuan per jin. The market purchase price just announced by enterprises this year is only 0.7 yuan per jin, and the downward trend is even more obvious.

In the face of falling food prices, many retail farmers began to try to change to other cash crops, but more people do not know what to grow, let alone who to plant and sell to.

Tang Zhengquan has planted corn for half his life, and in recent years he has also tried to grow crops such as sorghum and soybeans, but the income is not satisfactory. "if you grow a little by yourself, the output is not large, and the merchants will not buy it at all."

Seeing the failure examples of other farmers around them, farmers like Tang Zhengquan have become more cautious. "We have three families here that have contracted 15 hectares of land to grow mountain sesame seeds. As a result, they were all hit by hailstones. Not only did they not make any money, but each family had to pay 50,000 yuan." Tang Zhengquan said.

On the black land, many ordinary farmers like Tang Zhengquan have also heard of order agriculture and think that it is the most ideal way to grow it. "if we can get a big order, we can work with the farmers around us to finish it." Tang Zhengquan said helplessly, "but we can't find the company that signed the contract at all."

Many farmers not only have doubts about changing to cash crops, but also lack confidence in going out to work. Ma Deming, 36, from Huangjia Village, Liujia Town, told reporters that he had also worked outside the construction site, but he had no skills and his daily income was only 30 to 40 yuan. "on the one hand, you can't rest assured about the old people at home. At the same time, jobs outside are becoming more and more difficult to find, and you may not be paid for your work."

However, some big growers with flexible minds are very active in docking the market and adjusting the structure. As a major grain grower, Ma Zhanyou began to plan transformation and restructuring with cooperative members as early as a few years ago, using order planting to resolve the risk of falling corn prices.

At the beginning of this year, Ma Zhanyou's cooperative signed orders with two companies in Tianjin and Jilin respectively that all the corn planted in accordance with the requirements of these two companies would be sold to these enterprises at a price of 1700 yuan per ton (0.85 yuan per catty). Calmly lock in the income of cooperative farmers. The cooperative has also signed an order with a carrier pigeon association to grow a high-protein corn variety dedicated to raising carrier pigeons, which is also expected to earn a good income.

In addition to corn, the cooperative has also made a success of growing cash crops. "We have planted more than 250 hectares of cash crops such as potatoes, watermelons and sesame seeds this year, and most of the crops are sold by order." Ma Zhanyou said, "take mountain sesame, for example, the manufacturer gave us the money for the contracted land in advance before planting, and set the purchase price of 6 yuan per jin to ensure our income."

The hope of policy

Looking forward to getting on the "express train" of modern agriculture

The large-scale operation of Chen Zhuo, a big grain grower, has attracted the attention of the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "the Academy of Agricultural Sciences does experiments in our fields, and at the same time provides free technical support to us, providing services such as pesticide spraying reminders and soil composition analysis to help us grow the land better."

Agricultural technology is sometimes the lifeblood of farmers' production and life. In recent years, many farmers in elm do not grow grain and plant watermelons instead. As a result, when watermelons are on the market, they only have seven or eight cents a jin. Many growers have lost all their money, but watermelons planted by Ma Zhanyou have made a lot of money. "our watermelons also caught up with the centralized listing period, but after listening to the advice of the technicians, I decisively decided to pinch off the soon-to-mature watermelons and wait for the seedlings to blossom and grow melons again. As a result, we became the latest ripe watermelons. Merchants in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen rushed to get a good price."

"big growers" like Ma Zhanyou and Chen Zhuo actively adjust the structure, grab orders, find the market, and attach importance to technology, feeling that agriculture has a dry head and can make money. On the other hand, the vast majority of small farmers are caught in the plight of lack of information resources and "inequality". They feel that the land is becoming more and more difficult to grow, and the market is more and more confused.

"Corn is cheaper, some people start to grow something else, and as a result, everyone follows suit, and in the end this thing doesn't sell again." Many farmers express such feelings in the face of price fluctuations in the agricultural product market.

The lack of understanding of market information has made many farmers complain incessantly. Opening up the channel of agricultural informatization has an obvious impact on ensuring grain production and increasing farmers' income. More convenient and accurate access to science and technology, market, policy and other information has become an urgent need for farmers.

The further improvement of the insurance system has also become the demand of farmers. Chen Zhuo talked about the experience of farming and insurance in that year, and he seemed very dissatisfied. In 2012, more than 30 hectares of corn he planted suffered from typhoons and insect pests, but failed to get a penny in compensation because the loss did not meet the requirements of the insurance company. "the insurance stipulates that when there is no harvest, the compensation is 3000 yuan per hectare, and if there is no end of harvest, there will be basically no compensation, but the cost of planting one hectare of land will cost 7500 yuan." Chen Zhuo said.

Countless ordinary farmers are eager to share the "dividend" of the construction of the three major systems of modern agriculture: increasing supporting services such as the integrated application of agricultural science and technology in production, improving financial support such as comprehensive agricultural information services and insurance in industry, and continuously promoting scale operation and developing order planting in operation. Only by getting on the "express train" of modern agriculture can tens of thousands of farmers completely get rid of the powerlessness and helplessness under the impact of science and technology, the market and other multiple waves.