Image source: Hebei News Network, Visualization by Zhan Maoguang
In the first three quarters of this year, Hebei Province has seen a favorable agricultural production situation.
The added value of the primary sector reached 228.33 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 1.9%, which was 0.3 percentage points faster than in the first half of the year.
This year, Hebei Province enjoyed a bountiful summer grain harvest, with an average yield of 432.1 kilograms per mu—up 12.6 kg compared to the previous year, marking yet another all-time high. The total summer grain output reached 14.539 billion kilograms.
Autumn grains account for more than 60% of the province’s annual grain production. Thanks to a solid planting foundation, meticulous field management, and relatively mild pest and disease conditions, the autumn harvest is now nearing completion across the province—and a bumper crop is virtually assured.
Store grain in the land, store grain in technology—focusing on stabilizing grain production to ensure a bountiful harvest.
On October 27, at the experimental base of Juxiang Rice Planting Professional Cooperative in the Fourth Farm of Caofeidian District, Tangshan City, combine harvesters were bustling back and forth across the fields as 600 acres of rice entered harvest season.
"Harvest time—now I feel at peace." Han Jianming, Chairman of the Cooperative "It's been an exceptionally good year for our rice crops—despite several bouts of harsh weather, we still managed to boost rice yields, with average production reaching over 600 kilograms per mu."
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The rice harvest in Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, and other regions has fully kicked off, marking that Hebei Province's autumn grain harvest is nearing completion.
Image source: Hebei News Network, photo by Wang Yumin (image unrelated to text)
How is Hebei Province ensuring a bountiful grain harvest amid the extraordinary challenges of this special year?
Since the beginning of this year, the provincial Party Committee and the provincial government have placed great emphasis on grain production, prioritizing food security as a top priority. Throughout the province, efforts have been simultaneously focused on both epidemic prevention and control and ensuring agricultural stability, while vigorously advancing structural reforms in the agricultural supply chain. Taking full responsibility for safeguarding food security, the region has mobilized all resources during critical farming periods—such as spring plowing preparations, the "Three Summers" production season, and autumn management and harvesting—to ensure a bountiful harvest and secure every grain back to storage.
Wang Dongfeng, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress
While presiding over the provincial leading group meeting on rural revitalization, he emphasized the need to deepen structural reforms on the agricultural supply side, accelerate agricultural innovation, green development, and high-quality growth. He also stressed efforts to stabilize grain production, protect farmland in accordance with the law, ensure overall grain output, significantly boost grain reserves, and effectively safeguard national food security.
Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor Xu Qin
At the provincial-level mobilization and deployment teleconference on the assessment of the grain security responsibility system, it was emphasized that we must stabilize both the area planted with grain and grain yields, comprehensively strengthen farmland protection and usage control, firmly curb the "non-agriculturalization" and "non-grainization" of cultivated land, and ensure robust management of autumn grain production.
From sowing and field management to harvesting and sales, multiple forces in Hebei Province have joined forces, each deploying strategies to combat disasters and safeguard production—making this bumper grain harvest truly hard-earned.
During the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control efforts, Hebei Province adopted the "Internet+" model to promptly deliver agricultural supplies and production technologies directly to farmers' homes. A 24-hour hotline—titled "Fighting the Epidemic, Solving Farmers' Challenges"—was also launched to address the production difficulties faced by agro-input companies and rural communities. Additionally, experts were mobilized to develop region-specific and crop-focused technical guidance recommendations, tailored to the growth stages of different crops as well as changes in soil moisture conditions.
In the golden autumn season, rows of high-standard farmland at Jing County Zhiqing Planting Farmers' Professional Cooperative are bustling with combine harvesters shuttling back and forth. As they glide past, golden corn kernels glisten under the sun. Cooperative Chairman Gao Zhiqing A harvest of joy appeared on their face.
Just what makes the high standards so high?
"There are plenty of benefits."
!" Gao Zhiqing counted on his fingers
Counting on your fingers:
“Irrigating is no longer a worry—saving fertilizer and reducing pesticide use, combined with mechanized farming… Yields now exceed 700 kilograms per mu. Farming like this really feels promising!”
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Image source: Visual China
The continuous increase in corn yields, enabling stable and high production, is thanks to Hebei Province's steady implementation of the "store grain in land, store grain in technology" strategy in recent years—strengthening disaster resilience, reducing losses, and solidifying the foundation for grain productivity.
The foundation of grain production lies in arable land. This year,
Hebei Province has focused on grain production functional areas and key agricultural product protection zones, constructing 2.86 million new acres of high-standard farmland, bringing the total to 49.82 million acres.
Advanced agricultural technologies such as synchronized deep tillage and deep loosening, soil-testing-based fertilization, automated irrigation, and soil moisture monitoring have laid the foundation for a bountiful grain harvest.
In maize production, high-density-tolerant varieties have achieved nearly 100% coverage. Seed coating and seed treatment with pesticides are widely used, along with chemical weed control applied after summer maize planting and full-film mulching for spring maize cultivation. Additionally, green pest and disease management techniques are extensively implemented. As a result, timely pest prediction, forecasting, and control measures have been effectively put in place. Overall, outbreaks of pests, diseases, and weeds in fields growing maize, millet, soybeans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other grain and oil crops remain relatively mild, ensuring a bountiful harvest by preventing "insect-driven crop losses."
Optimizing planting structures, greening production methods
Recently, the highly efficient "rapeseed + millet" cropping model achieved initial success in Yangtun Village, Anping County, Hengshui City, within the Rural Revitalization Demonstration Zone. Farmers harvested 150 kg of rapeseed per mu, which, at the current market price of 4.6 yuan/kg, translates to an additional income of around 700 yuan per mu. Meanwhile, millet yields ranged from 300 to 400 kg per mu, generating a market value of 1,700 to 2,300 yuan per mu based on the current price of 5.8 yuan/kg.
Anping County's Rural Revitalization Demonstration Zone is located in a seasonal fallow area, and after adjusting its crop structure, it now cultivates over 30,000 mu of rapeseed annually. This spring, the county introduced new varieties of rapeseed and millet for rotational cropping in the demonstration zone, allowing farmers to experience the benefits of these optimized crops.
Image source: Visual China
In Zhangjiakou and the Bashang region of Chengde, a pilot program is underway to rotate irrigated potato crops with crops like flax, oats, and buckwheat. Meanwhile, in the central-south and eastern regions of Hebei, corn is being rotated with crops such as peanuts and soybeans—this year, the initiative is being rolled out first across 276,000 mu in the cities of Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, and Langfang.
Building on the steady enhancement of its comprehensive grain production capacity, Hebei Province adheres to the principle of "ensuring grain supply, optimizing structure, and boosting farmers' incomes," actively guiding regions across the province to accelerate agricultural restructuring. The focus is on rapidly developing high-value crops such as facility-grown vegetables, premium fruits, authentic medicinal herbs, oilseed sunflowers, and diverse grains and legumes, thereby enabling specialty industries to grow steadily and thrive. Leveraging provincial-level projects focused on specialty grains and oils, the province is prioritizing the development of four key high-oleic acid peanut-producing areas—Eastern Hebei, Central Hebei, Southern Hebei, and Heilonggang—as well as a dual-high soybean zone in the suburbs of Shijiazhuang. Additionally, efforts are being concentrated on implementing the "Four Hundred" Project for agricultural structural adjustment.
Focus on developing 100 demonstration zones for eco-friendly and leisure agriculture, 100 demonstration zones for agricultural water conservation and large-scale farming, 100 demonstration zones for large-scale livestock breeding, and 100 industrial clusters specializing in agricultural product processing.
While optimizing the structure, production methods are also shifting toward greener practices.
Recently, in Beiyang Village, Cheng'an County, rotary tillers and seeders were busily at work in the fields after the harvest.
This autumn's wheat planting saw all 328,000 acres in Cheng'an County planted with water-efficient, high-quality wheat varieties.
To guide farmers in adopting scientific seeding practices, the local authorities have implemented a system of unified company management combined with ongoing agricultural technical support. This approach actively promotes advanced techniques such as deep plowing and subsoiling, precise seed-sowing control, uniform row spacing, robust soil compaction, and water-saving technologies. By integrating superior seeds and optimal farming methods into every stage—before, during, and after sowing—these efforts lay a solid foundation for a bountiful harvest next year.
Wheat is the second-largest grain crop in Hebei Province. In recent years, Hebei Province has actively promoted water-efficient wheat varieties along with complementary technologies to ensure stable yields. By seamlessly integrating these water-saving varieties with advanced irrigation techniques, the province has successfully achieved both water conservation and consistent winter wheat production.
As of October 19, 91.15% of the province's 34 million mu of winter wheat had already been sown.
This year, the province saw a more than 10% increase in the sown area of high-quality, specialized wheat and water-efficient wheat compared to previous years, with coverage of superior varieties reaching 98%.
Source: Hebei News Network
Editor: Hebei Brand Agriculture
