As the first of China's five best breeds of cattle, Qinchuan cattle are known as "the treasures of the country".
The scientific research team led by Professor Zan Linsen (left) of Northwest A & F University has worked hard for the breeding and genetic improvement of Qinchuan cattle and other native cattle.
Yangling Qinchuan Beef Cattle Breeding Center, breeder Ren Guifang is feeding grass to the cattle.
On January 10, Northwest A&F University developed the first High-density chip for Chinese cattle, which shortened the time for beef cattle selection and identification from the original 3 to 5 years to 3 months, breaking through the technical problems such as difficult and slow growth of domestic beef cattle breeds. At this point, the selection and breeding of cattle breeds represented by Qinchuan cattle in China has entered a new stage, and the protection, development and utilization of local breed resources of cattle have also risen to a new level.
As a national core industry, the seed industry is the "chip" of the entire agricultural industry, and it is also the "cow nose" that is directly related to the sustainable development of the industry. It is important to improve the coverage of local cattle breeds and ensure high-quality germplasm resources. In recent years, our province has continuously increased scientific and technological research, promoted the selection and breeding of Qinchuan beef, firmly held the "cow nose" of the improvement of the beef cattle breeding industry, and grasped qinchuan cattle as a dominant animal husbandry industry and regional specialty products, and launched a brand breakthrough war to revitalize the local cattle industry.
Based on resources, protecting development is the key
For thousands of years, Qinchuan cattle have played an irreplaceable role as a production tool of traditional farming. However, with the increasing degree of agricultural mechanization, "cattle" have shifted from military use to meat use, and the number of Qinchuan cattle has been shrinking. Coupled with the slow growth and long cycle of Qinchuan cattle, the excessive breeding cost has also led to a decline in the scale of breeding. At the same time, foreign varieties with short growth cycles and high meat production performance and their hybrid varieties have swept the domestic beef cattle market due to considerable economic benefits, and the living space of Qinchuan cattle has been squeezed, and the development of the beef cattle industry is in crisis.
According to relevant data, around the 1980s, the number of Qinchuan cattle in our province reached about 1.8 million. After entering the 21st century, the number has been declining, and the decline has become more pronounced in recent years. How to increase the number of cattle breeding in Qinchuan and promote the long-term development of local high-quality seed industry resources has become the difficulty and focus of the current upgrading of animal husbandry in our province.
"Qinchuan cattle, as a local breed with a long history of breeding, has stable genetics and delicious meat, and is our high-quality livestock breeding resource, which must be optimized and genetically improved on the basis of seed preservation." For many years, Zan Linsen, a professor at Northwest A&F University who has been engaged in the genetic improvement of Qinchuan cattle, believes that increasing the protection, development and utilization of local cattle breeds is the key to solving the dilemma of Qinchuan cattle breeding. Only by accelerating the transformation of science and technology into the field, ensuring the excellent genetic inheritance of local cattle breeds such as Qinchuan cattle, and making resource advantages into product advantages, can Chinese cattle truly "cattle up".
Science and technology empowers breeding and breeding to promote development
From the establishment of the Qinchuan cattle breeding group to the establishment of the only "cattle research room" in the country; from the establishment of the national beef cattle improvement center to the demonstration garden of the 10,000 beef cattle industry; from phenotypic breeding to genotype breeding... After more than 50 years, the preservation, breeding and promotion of Qinchuan cattle in our province have never stopped, although there are many difficulties, but with the help of scientific and technological forces, the momentum of steady development has become more and more obvious.
On January 19, the reporter walked into the National Beef Cattle Improvement Center in the Northwest A&F University in the Yangling Demonstration Zone, and the rich "cow" cultural atmosphere came to the face. In the central laboratory, several experts and teachers are exchanging and discussing, and the work is rigorous and orderly.
"Foreign cattle grow an average of 1 to 1.5 kilograms a day, and our cattle grow about 0.6 kilograms a day. The slow and long cycle of long meat is the biggest reason why Qinchuan cattle are gradually defeating in front of 'foreign breeds'. Wang Hongbao, associate professor of Northwest A&F University, told reporters, "The initial selection and breeding work was only to select excellent individuals from Qinchuan cattle, select seeds, breed and expand, and this process is not short." Now, we can use the newly developed chip to carry out genotyping, scientifically predict the growth and development potential and seed value of newborn cattle, and achieve efficient and accurate breeding. ”
Local cattle breeding is related to industrial safety. In recent years, Northwest A&F University and its beef cattle technology innovation team have based on the previous scientific research foundation, combined traditional breeding methods with modern biotechnology around the goal of improving the selection of Qinchuan beef, and achieved remarkable results. In 2010, the team bred a new strain of Qinchuan cattle through breeding and improvement, which increased the growth rate and meat production performance by more than 30% compared with the original Qinchuan cattle. The research and development of scalper high-density chips will greatly shorten the breeding cycle of beef cattle and further promote the industrialization of Qinchuan cattle.
With the continuous deepening of scientific research, new achievements and new strains, from the technical end to the production end, QinChuan cattle gradually walked out of Guanzhong and opened a breakthrough road in the northwest region. A high-tech beef cattle improvement industry chain is accelerating convergence and continuously releasing development vitality.
Demonstration drives rebranding to improve efficiency
On January 20, in the Yangjiahe Community Qinxing Beef Cattle Breeding Professional Cooperative in Yangjiahe Town, Zhenba County, a cow was physically strong and energetic. "In 2018, under the guidance of experts from Xinong University, we used advanced breeding technology to carry out breeding and improvement, and developed the breeding of fine breeding cows in Qinchuan." Wu Qiong, head of the cooperative, introduced that in recent years, the cooperative has stored more than 300 beef cattle per year, driving 536 poor households to participate in breeding and increase income.
At the Qinchuan Beef Cattle Breeding Center of Shaanxi Qinchuan Cattle Industry Co., Ltd. in the Yangling Demonstration Zone, hundreds of Qinchuan cattle with smooth coats are grabbing forage on both sides of the fence, and the scene is lively.
As the country's largest Qinchuan cattle breeding enterprises, Qinchuan Cattle Industry Co., Ltd. has been undertaking the heavy responsibility of Qinchuan beef breeding and breeding of fine seeds, and has now developed into a provincial-level industrialized leading enterprise and a national poverty alleviation leading enterprise integrating Qinchuan beef cattle breeding, large-scale breeding, foreign trade export, beef processing, etc., and plays a pivotal demonstration role in the fields of Qinchuan beef cattle breeding, industrial development and brand building.
"Since the company was re-established in 2005, the development momentum has been good, and the peak of the inventory has reached 3500 to 5000 heads." Wang Yinghai, deputy manager of the company, said that in recent years, due to various reasons, the number of cattle in Qinchuan has declined, but the industrial chain is constantly extending and expanding, and the added value of the industry has been further improved.
Science and technology prosper, industry prospers. With the improvement of Qinchuan cattle breeding, the demonstration and promotion of fine breeds and the industrialization of beef cattle, a large number of Qinchuan cattle breeding enterprises and farms have emerged in various parts of our province. Fufeng, Qishan, Meixian, Linyou, Qianxian, Yongshou and other places have built more than 10 Qinchuan cattle breeding demonstration bases, which has enriched resources and laid a solid foundation for the development of Qinchuan cattle industry.
Source: Shaanxi Rural Daily