Text/Green China Rong Media Reporter Tie Zheng
Before writing this report, I, like many people, did not know that the milk I drank was directly related to a grass called alfalfa; I did not know that in order to ensure the quality and safety of milk on the people's table, an alfalfa industry had developed and expanded; I didn't know that in order to keep the rice bowl of Chinese dairy cows in their hands, countless grass workers have experienced countless tribulations and twists and turns.
Thanks to Lu Xinshi, President of the Grassland Branch of the China Animal Husbandry Association and Professor of Beijing Forestry University. He told me in detail the little-known story behind the development of alfalfa grass and alfalfa industry.
And, of course, thanks to the protagonists of the story. They use their own efforts to give Chinese dairy cows an "iron rice bowl" and make China's dairy industry safer.
△ Professor Lu Xinshi was interviewed
For milk safety Scientists write to the Prime Minister
The years go back a decade.
The Grassland Branch of the China Animal Husbandry Association submitted a heavy report to the Premier of the State Council entitled "Proposal on Vigorously Promoting the Development of the Alfalfa Industry".
Among those who signed the report were Liu Guofeng, Hong Fuzeng, Zhang Baowen, Ren Jizhou, Zhang Ziyi, Nan Zhibiao, Yin Weilun, Li Wenhua, and Liu Shu. They are either former heads of the Ministry of Agriculture or academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The author of the report is None other than Professor Lu Xinshi.
This report comes against the backdrop of the 2008 Melamine Infant Formula incident. They hope to solve the quality and safety of dairy forage from the source by vigorously promoting the alfalfa industry.
After the "baby milk powder" incident, milk quality and safety have become the focus of attention of the Chinese people. In order to reduce the occurrence of such incidents, the relevant departments have to take measures such as adjusting the quality standards of milk purchases to solve this problem.
Pratacultural scientists recognize that this is only a stopgap measure. To solve this problem in the long run, it is necessary and can only start from the high-quality forage industry to ensure the quality and safety of raw milk from the source.
In addressing this national concern, scientists are unanimously optimistic about alfalfa grass, believing that it will play an important role.
What is Alfalfa Grass? It is the most important leguminous feed crop in the world today and is known as the "King of Forage". The alfalfa industry is known as the "first workshop of milk production".
These scientists believe that feeding cows with alfalfa is the most ideal technical way to convert plant protein into milk protein, not only high protein conversion efficiency, good quality, and absolute safety, coupled with the high-quality crude fiber of alfalfa grass, can become an efficient source of nutrients for dairy cows.
Feeding alfalfa hay according to scientific standards can fully guarantee that the milk protein rate of raw milk reaches more than 3.0%, and the milk fat rate reaches more than 3.5%. This will greatly exceed the current national standards for raw milk and be in line with international standards.
Alfalfa is full of treasure. Practice has proved that feeding high-quality alfalfa can reduce dairy cow metabolic diseases, reduce the cow elimination rate by more than 5%, and increase milk production by more than 20%.
The data provided by the scientists is that each cow that eats alfalfa can reduce the amount of concentrate eaten by 3 kilograms per day, which is equivalent to saving 1 mu of arable land in 1 year.
Alfalfa also has the effect of fixing nitrogen and improving soil, and cultivated land that has been planted with alfalfa can increase the yield of later crops by more than 10%.
Scientists emphasize that the establishment of alfalfa industry base and the vigorous development of the alfalfa industry are not only the fastest, most economical, most direct and most effective way to solve the current safe and efficient production of raw milk, but also play an important role in saving food and protecting the ecological environment.
△ Yulin area alfalfa base harvest busy
Milk safety must start with the forage industry
The mainland is a big country with alfalfa resources and has the basic conditions for industrial development. Unfortunately, the development of the mainland alfalfa industry has been in a very difficult situation for many years, and it has never been the basic guarantee of the dairy farming industry. Before the "baby formula" incident, the mainland produced less than 100,000 tons of alfalfa per year, most of which was sold to zoos, and there was no share of cows to eat.
In this regard, scientists have analyzed five major reasons:
First, the traditional cultivation industry on the mainland is a dual structure, that is, food crops and cash crops. The importance of alfalfa grass and the conservation of feed grains is not fully realized.
Second, in the mainland, alfalfa is mainly self-grown and self-use, there is no industry planning and professional layout, the industrial foundation is weak, the lack of awareness of commercial production of forage, and the formation of circulation commodities that can meet the needs of the aquaculture industry.
Third, alfalfa is a perennial pasture grass, and the initial production efficiency is low, which needs support. However, growers not only can not enjoy the preferential planting subsidy policy, but are affected by other planting subsidies, which dampens the enthusiasm for alfalfa production.
Fourth, the production method and processing equipment of alfalfa grass products are special. Alfalfa grass is a loose item that increases the difficulty of production, production costs and logistics costs.
Fifth, the cultivation and support of leading enterprises is not enough, the development of enterprises is difficult, the scale of production is small, the quality of products is unstable, and the market cultivation is not perfect.
The more grim reality is that after the "baby milk powder" incident, American alfalfa products have increased exports to China. In the three years from 2007 to 2010, the import volume of alfalfa grass products from the mainland increased by 48 times. This suggests that there is an increased risk for China's dairy industry to rely on foreign grass products.
The mainland alfalfa industry is in the initial stage of development, very fragile, and the large-scale development of the dairy industry is extremely disproportionate, and it is in urgent need of national policies and technologies to vigorously regulate, guide and support.
Scientists suggest that we vigorously promote artificial planting of alfalfa, establish a high-quality and high-yield alfalfa production base, accelerate the change of grassland production methods, develop independent industries, reduce the risk of dependence on foreign countries, and ensure the high-quality and safe production of animal husbandry in the long run.
After much deliberation, the scientists made four specific recommendations in the report.
The first is to establish the strategic position of the alfalfa industry. Do a good job in the overall development planning and regional layout of the alfalfa industry, and incorporate artificial planting of high-quality pasture grasses such as alfalfa into the crop planting system, and unify planning and management. Change the traditional grassland production concept, change the mode of production, and grow alfalfa like growing grain; Promote the alfalfa industry to truly become a high-quality, efficient and safe new type of industry.
The second is to establish and develop a large-scale specialized industrial base for alfalfa grass products, implement the "Alfalfa-Dairy" safety project of high quality and high yield safety, and promote the "Alfalfa-Dairy" project model of large-scale breeding.
Third, the national and local governments have issued corresponding supporting policies for alfalfa cultivation, and through policy subsidies, support and encourage professional cooperative organizations and dairy cattle breeders to widely carry out the action of "planting alfalfa and feeding dairy cows" to encourage the development of alfalfa cultivation and utilization.
Fourth, we must vigorously cultivate leading enterprises in the alfalfa industry, effectively ensure the quality of alfalfa products, and create a "alfalfa-dairy" safety production system with Chinese characteristics.
Wen Jiabao, then premier of the State Council, issued instructions on this report: Yes. To solve the problem of milk quality and safety, we must start from the forage industry.
History proves that this report has contributed to an important turning point in the history of the development of the mainland alfalfa industry.
Revitalization of the dairy industry The alfalfa industry began to move
In 2012, the development of the mainland alfalfa industry began to enter a new stage.
This year's Central Document No. 1 proposed to "launch the action of revitalizing the development of alfalfa in the dairy industry". To this end, the relevant ministries and commissions have specially arranged a certain amount of central financial funds.
On June 29 of the same year, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Implementation of the 2012 High-yield and High-quality Alfalfa Demonstration Construction Project". The "Guiding Opinions" require that the standardized production and processing of alfalfa be organized, the quality of products be highlighted, the traditional forage production methods be transformed, and a new type of alfalfa forage industry system be established and improved to provide high-quality forage for dairy production.
The Guiding Opinions clearly put forward specific goals and tasks. The yield level of alfalfa in the project area is 400 kg per mu, and the yield per mu under irrigation conditions is 800 kg. The crude protein content of alfalfa grass products reaches more than 18%, and the relative feed value reaches more than 125%.
The "Guiding Opinions" pay special attention to the effect of dairy cows in the application of alfalfa grass, and it is specifically noted in the assessment indicators that after the dairy cows feed the alfalfa products in the demonstration area, the protein content of raw milk milk reaches more than 3.0%, and the milk fat reaches more than 3.5%.
Lu Xinshi believes that the implementation of the project to revitalize the dairy industry alfalfa development has completely changed the traditional production method of alfalfa on the mainland.
He was pleased to see that for the first time, the mainland put forward industrialization and large-scale requirements for alfalfa production, and began to get rid of the traditional small-scale peasant economic production mode; Alfalfa production began to directly connect with dairy cows, using milk indicators to evaluate the implementation effect of the alfalfa project; The grass industry began to specialize, commercialize and marketize; A series of central and local policies have led to social investment in the development of the alfalfa industry; A group of grass entrepreneurial entrepreneurs have shifted from advanced dairy enterprises to grass industry, bringing advanced corporate culture and modern management ideas to the grass industry of the traditional small-scale peasant economy, and injecting new vitality into the alfalfa industry.
China's alfalfa industry has undergone tremendous changes in the past decade
Looking back on the ten years of the "Action to Revitalize the Development of Dairy Alfalfa", Lu Xinshi's evaluation is that "the mainland alfalfa industry has made great progress".
In terms of production scale, the alfalfa industry accounts for half of all forage industries.
Lu Xinshi counted the artificial planting area of 32 kinds of forage in the country. Among them, the area of alfalfa forage production accounts for 55% of the total area. Of the 13 commercial grasses planted, alfalfa commercial grasses account for 40% of all total areas. Of the 21 perennial forage seeds produced, alfalfa accounts for 77 percent.
Lu Xinshi said that by 2020, the total output of various types of forage commercial grass in the country will be close to 10 million tons, of which 3.85 million tons of alfalfa commercial grass, accounting for almost 40% of all commercial grasses. Of the hay bales, alfalfa hay bales account for 49% and alfalfa silage accounts for 30%.
Lu Xinshi also provided data: in seed production, alfalfa seed production area accounts for 77% of the total production area of perennial forage seeds, and seed yield accounts for 54% of the total production of perennial forage seeds. Of the pasture harvests of various types of non-seeded fields, alfalfa accounted for about 38.3%, reaching 2202 tons.
Lu Xinshi said that the development capacity of alfalfa enterprises far exceeds that of other grass enterprises. According to the statistics of 2020, 13 perennial pasture enterprises processed 4.47 million tons of various products, of which 2.08 million tons of alfalfa processing products. Alfalfa products accounted for 46.5% of all processing.
From 2010 to 2019, Continental Alfalfa Grass provided the dairy industry with 8.4 million tonnes of qualified alfalfa hay, equivalent to 1.3 million tonnes of premium protein and 4 million tonnes of premium cellulose. The high-quality fiber of alfalfa also guarantees the health of dairy cows, increases milk production, extends the milking period, and reduces the occurrence of disease.
The 2020 China Dairy Conference assessed the current situation of the dairy industry and concluded that the milk indicator exceeded the expectations of the "Action to Revitalize the Development of Dairy Alfalfa".
"China's dairy industry has entered the best historical period." Lu Xinshi said that in this historic major change, China's alfalfa industry has played an important role and played an important role.
△ Alfalfa hay bale processing
The alfalfa industry reaps more than just pasture
As an initiator, participant and witness, Lu Xinshi spoke highly of the "Action to Revitalize the Development of Dairy Alfalfa".
The mainland alfalfa industry has developed and grown. Summarizing the harvest, Lu Xinshi is like a family treasure.
The biggest gain is to build a professional industrial army. In the decade from 2012 to 2021, the number of grassland enterprises increased by 2.7 times. Among the enterprises implementing the company system in the national grassland industry, alfalfa enterprises account for 83.5% of the total number of enterprises, and the enterprise system under the company system has become the main body of the grass industry, and some scattered cooperatives and individual households are gradually transforming and upgrading, changing to specialized, institutionalized and standardized enterprises. An industrial army of market regulation, social supervision, and government guidance is gradually growing and expanding.
The second harvest is to create a number of specialized industrial clusters. So far, the mainland has initially formed a pattern of ten major industrial clusters, with a total planting scale of 3.97 million mu. This group of industrial clusters is the backbone of alfalfa commercial grass.
The third harvest is the forging of a professional technical team oriented to the industry. In order to meet the needs of industrial development, a number of scientific and technological innovation platforms have been established, a national forage technology system has been constructed, and the national forage industry technology innovation strategic alliance, the national grass industry science and technology innovation alliance and a number of local provinces and cities have formed a scientific and technological alliance. A large number of scientific and technological personnel have gone to the front line of the industry to serve farmers, industry and enterprises.
Another harvest is the creation of a number of specialized industrial models. For example, the "Grassland Management Committee + Association" model in the Arukorqin Banner Production Area, the "Policy Introduction + Project Push + Technology Promotion + Typical Belt" model in Dingxi, Gansu, the "Resources into Funds - Funds into Shares - Farmers into Shareholders" model in Yuyang, Shaanxi Province, the "Research Institute + Big Data + Ecological Package" model of Inner Mongolia Mengcao Group, and so on. The government set up a stage, enterprises sang, and the development of the alfalfa industry wrote a poetry of entrepreneurship.
Tribute to Entrepreneurship and "First"
In the decade of the "Revitalization of Dairy Alfalfa Development Initiative", many entrepreneurial feats have been accomplished. Lu Xinshi led the team to carefully take stock of the ten years of wind and rain and listed a "list of champions". He said that this "top list" may not be perfect, and it may also be missed, but it contains the infinite admiration and gratitude of people in the grass industry for entrepreneurs.
"Without these people, there would be no Chinese alfalfa industry today." Lu Xinshi said with deep affection.
The first place in the "Champion List" should be the first batch of "pioneering entrepreneurs". These enterprises were founded around 2000, and from the beginning of their establishment, they embarked on the road of specialization, scale and marketization. These enterprises are the first producers of 100,000 tons of alfalfa commercial grass in the mainland, and are the initiators of the establishment of the grass industry branch. These start-ups have adhered to the alfalfa industry for more than 20 years, experiencing troughs, wandering and failures, but to this day, they have finally ushered in a new period of development of the alfalfa industry.
Ranking second in the "Champion List" is the first specialized alfalfa industry cluster. According to Lu Xinshi, this industrial cluster was assembled in 2011 and was successively participated by 6 listed companies, 31 enterprises and 21 cooperatives. In the past ten years, the government has invested 210 million yuan in the construction of roads, hydropower infrastructure, and enterprises and social capital have invested 2.3 billion yuan in the development of physical production. At present, the total area of alfalfa in the production area is 500,000 mu, and the annual output is 200,000 tons to 300,000 tons of hay bales, and its production scale, management experience and socialization services have the characteristics of cluster production areas. Despite the restrictions and control of water resources, it also provides new industrial technology opportunities for water-saving irrigation and rational use of resources in production areas.
Looking back at the ten-year development history of the alfalfa industry, Lu Xinshi spoke fondly of many "firsts" that should be written into the annals of history...
The first product quality highland of the alfalfa industry is distributed in Jiuquan, Wuwei, Yongchang and other places in the Hexi Corridor. It is the main production highland of high-quality alfalfa hay in the mainland and is a strong competition area for the Alfalfa market in the United States. Here was born the first batch of alfalfa production enterprises in the mainland, with a planting area of more than 300,000 mu, and created a number of alfalfa hay brands. This area has a long history of alfalfa cultivation, rich experience, advanced concepts, and a climate suitable for hay processing. The proportion of alfalfa special and excellent grade hay bales produced here accounts for 20%, and the first-class alfalfa can reach 60%.
The first alfalfa industrialized silage bag in mainland China was born in Bengbu in 2012. For the first time, it broke through the key technology of large-scale silage of alfalfa, and the first batch of 20,000 packages and 150,000 tons was shipped. Silage packets, and later large-scale stacking and kiln storage, provided a model for alfalfa production in rainy and wet areas of the mainland.
The first high-yield field of alfalfa seed production on the mainland appeared in Jiuquan, Gansu. The production area is about 2400 mu, the seed yield can reach 60 kg per mu, and the whole process of production has been mechanized. This model not only provides a complete set of seed production technologies, but its successful experience is tailor-made and moderate scale, which provides a model for the development of the alfalfa industry.
The first special train on alfalfa grass products in Tibet was launched on March 30, 2018. It was a train from Dingxi, Gansu province, to Nagqu, Tibet, with 20 carriages and a full load of 1,200 tons of pasture silage products. According to the strategic cooperation agreement between Tibet and Gansu, more than 100 columns of grass products will continue to be sent to Tibet.
Alfalfa blossoms The scenery is the best
Alfalfa, short for Alfalfa, is a legume, perennial herb with pure purple flowers. Alfalfa can be naturally hybridized with alfalfa to form acroba, and the flower colors are purple, dai, blue, green, yellow, white and so on.
After the alfalfa blossoms, it leaves a faint fragrance.
From 2011 to 2015, the Ministry of Land and Resources implemented the National Land Development and Consolidation Plan, which supplemented 24 million mu of arable land for the country. Yuyang District, Yulin District, Shaanxi Province, has sorted out 200,000 mu of Mu Wusu sandy land, of which 100,000 mu is used to plant alfalfa.
The local introduction of the Dadi Seed Industry Group Company as a leading enterprise, leading a number of enterprises and cooperatives to develop the alfalfa industry. Today's Yuyang has become a new alfalfa cluster area. Lu Xinshi said that the Yuyang model has well solved the relationship between cultivated land and grassland, and the relationship between planting grass and growing grain.
The alfalfa industry has become a new force in implementing the Development Strategy of the Yellow River.
Since 2018, Lankao County, Henan Province, has introduced a number of enterprises to settle in and signed a number of cooperation agreements on the cultivation of alfalfa in the Yellow River beach. The first batch of 27,000 acres of alfalfa has been harvested. Today, the Yellow River Beach has become one of the cluster producing areas with the highest alfalfa production and the most potential for alfalfa silage.
Scientific and technological personnel escort the healthy and rapid development of the alfalfa industry. In 2019, after the state proposed the establishment of a group standard system, the China Animal Husbandry Association organized experts and technicians from the National Grass Industry Science and Technology Innovation Alliance to draft and promulgate the group standards for alfalfa hay and the group standards for alfalfa silage.
This is the first batch of group standards related to grass products in the mainland, which has played a guiding role in industrial development and product quality control.
△ Alfalfa base of Arukorqin Banner
China's alfalfa industry still needs to work
Ten years of ups and downs, ten years of journey.
Ten years have passed in a flash, and the development of the mainland's alfalfa industry has made remarkable achievements. There are both gains and innovations, and at the same time, they have brought more thinking to grass workers such as Lu Xinshi.
At the time of the ten-year inventory, more and more people have reached more consensus on accelerating the development of the alfalfa industry.
The rations of cattle and sheep are as important as the rations of people. Therefore, while attaching great importance to food security, it is also necessary to establish a forage safety system for cattle, sheep and livestock. The supply of forage to herbivorous livestock is also an important part of food security. It is necessary to earnestly grasp the production of forage and ensure the safety of the rations of livestock.
Lu Xinshi said that in order to solve the source of livestock protein, mainland soybean imports have reached 100 million tons, accounting for 1/2 of global soybean imports. If the rations are 100% self-sufficient, 300 million mu of arable land is needed to grow soybeans, so some people say that this is the "soybean life gate" of China's grain problem. In the past 10 years, domestic alfalfa has provided the dairy industry with 1.3 million tons of high-quality protein, equivalent to the protein provided by 27 million mu of soybeans. Therefore, we must increase the publicity of the high-quality protein and high-quality fiber function of alfalfa to reduce the pressure of the "soybean life gate". The Grassland Branch will organize technical experts to propose a conversion system of "Alfalfa-Soybean Equivalent" as soon as possible to provide a scientific basis for national land adjustment.
In all current agricultural production, alfalfa is the crop that is forced to use the most inferior land. Expensive rent has accounted for more than 1/2 of the cost of alfalfa production, accounting for 1/3-1/4 of the total income. Alfalfa commodity grass base of 6.59 million mu, the cost of leasing land requires enterprises to pay 3.3 billion yuan per year, and some enterprises have to change production and change businesses. To this end, the grass industry people issued an appeal not to let the land become the "life gate" of the development of the alfalfa industry.
For the shortcomings in the development of the alfalfa industry, Lu Xinshi has no secrets. He said that there are still many defects in the current development of the alfalfa industry. In terms of science and technology, it is necessary to increase the number and grade of first-class and superior hay bales in order to be more suitable for excellent varieties and seed sources in cluster-producing areas, to solve the problem of supporting technologies for abundant production and key technologies for wintering. In terms of management, it is necessary to improve the professional management level of enterprises, and further support and attention from policies and society.
In the view of Lu Xinshi and his peers, the development of the alfalfa industry is not only to ensure the "rations" of Chinese dairy cows, but also directly related to the food security of more than 1.4 billion people on the mainland. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to be paid attention to and continue to be developed.
Hope for the next 10 years!
Hope for the future! (Green China, 2022.6B)