Chapter 343 Trusteeship; Talking about Fallow Land Again

"Maybe it's a new variety." Lu Hanbin pondered, "After making porridge twice and drinking it, I feel more energetic."

Zhuang Zheng muttered, "Can we fight all night long?"

Lu Hanbin joked, "Haha, Lao Zhuang, why don't you try it tonight?"

"That's not necessary." Zhuang Zheng said with a smile, "My wife will come to see me in a couple of days."

"..."

After chatting for a while, a few people joined the busy army.

The coal boss really came to sign the contract.

The management rights of 3 mu of Haloxylon ammodendron forest were subleased for 8 years.

Once Cistanche seeds are sown, they can be harvested continuously for 4 to 5 years, and 8 years can be counted as one cycle.

Of course, if the intermediate returns are good, it is also possible to sow in advance.

The rent is paid annually, with payment made first and use later, and renewal is given priority. Judging from the situation, the coal bosses are planning to start counting from this spring.

There is still enough time to sow Cistanche deserticola now.

The coal boss also brought his subordinates with him. Zhuang was busy confirming the terms with the professional manager, while Guo Yang and Lu Hanbin took the coal boss into the Haloxylon ammodendron forest.

Except for the one million acres contracted two years ago where the trees are less than three years old, the other hundreds of thousands of acres of Haloxylon ammodendron, Tamarisk, etc. meet the standards.

The initial 5 mu of Cistanche deserticola have entered the high-yield period.

But there are also some that have not yet been parasitized.

Under the careful care of Shahai, this Haloxylon ammodendron forest is also neat and uniform, and the newly formed spores are a delight to the eye.

The coal bosses discussed it for a while, and finally Li Yong came out and said, "Mr. Guo, Mr. Lu, this is the only one we can take."

Guo Yang nodded and asked, "Mr. Li, are you going to run this business together?"

“Yes and no.” Li Yongcai said: “Five companies have confirmed that they will invest in the Cistanche deserticola industry.”

"To be honest, the coal mining community in our city has privately set up a coal enterprise transformation group. Everyone is looking for a way out, but we can't just rush into one project."

Guo Yang sighed: "It's not easy to do business in partnership!"

"It's not a partnership, but separate operations." Li Yongcai said, "It's just that we can't find management talent for the time being, so we need more help from Shahai."

Guo Yang thought for a moment, "Do you need hosting services?"

Li Yongcai looked confused.

Several bosses who were interested in the Cistanche industry also came over.

Guo Yang said: "Trusteeship means exactly what it says. Farmers or enterprises pay a certain fee and entrust all or part of the farming, planting, prevention and harvesting operations in agricultural production to cooperatives or agricultural service companies."

"Currently, this type of business model is more common in grain-producing areas in Shandong Province and the Northeast."

"..."

The coal bosses feel a little confused.

After a long discussion, someone suddenly said, "What this means is that Shahai will first sublease the operating rights to us and collect rent, and then we will pay a trusteeship fee to Shahai, and Shahai will help us operate and manage the business, and only then will the final output belong to us?"

"That's roughly the point." Guo Yang said with a smile: "The custody fee can be a fixed amount or a dividend."

"Believe me, entrusting it to Shahai will cost less than managing it yourself."

This form of trusteeship has become very common in later generations.

For example, for rice, some cooperatives specialize in everything from paddy field preparation to rice transplanting, and provide the labor and materials such as seedlings.

Farmers or farms only need to pay about 300 yuan and they don't have to worry about anything else during and before the transplanting is completed.

This cost is generally cheaper or slightly more expensive than farmers raising seedlings, preparing fields, and transplanting rice themselves, and farmers are highly accepting of it.

However, it is still the local governments that use it the most. Some unfinished or official agricultural projects are mostly maintained in the form of trusteeship, and some unfinished projects are even revived as a result.

But now, people have little awareness of this form, and coal bosses may not accept it.

Guo Yang thought about it and said, "We can let Shahai take over the management for a while and try it out."

Li Yongcai hesitated and asked, "What about the cost?"

Guo Yang is very familiar with the looks in the coal bosses' eyes; this is the anxiety that leeks feel when they are worried about being harvested.

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Don't collect it yet. When there is production in three years, how about Sha Hai participating in the planting process and sharing the dividends?"

"Of course, if you change your mind midway and don't want to take care of it, then you have to pay the fee."

Li Yongcai: "Let's discuss it again."

While the coal boss was discussing, Lu Hanbin quietly asked, "Boss, is this really okay?"

"I'm trying to help them avoid taking detours." Guo Yang said, "Compared to them exploring on their own, the sand sea is obviously safer."

What surprised Lu Hanbin was that after discussion, the coal boss agreed to the plan of outsourcing the production process to Shahai.

The trusteeship fee will be paid after three years, which means that Shahai will participate in the planting of Cistanche deserticola three years later and share the dividends.

In this way, coal bosses only need to pay a small amount of management costs during the three-year growth period.

Although Shahai cannot get the trusteeship fee for the time being, it has 3000 million yuan in rent every year, which is used for production management investment...

For a moment, Lu Hanbin seemed to smell the scent of capital.

What if the sand sea runs away...

Hey, what are you thinking about? The cost of planting trees in the early stage of the sand sea is much higher than the investment of the coal boss.

It's totally not worth it just for these tens of millions.

After determining the scope of the Haloxylon ammodendron forest, the group rushed back to the Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry factory and immediately adjusted the contract terms.

The series of changes left Zhuang Zheng, who was in charge of the contract signing, dumbfounded.

This news quickly spread throughout the ongoing sand industry investment promotion conference.

The coal bosses paid the rent and got something, but it also seemed like they got nothing.

But Shahai’s custody service is also very confident, as it will advance the production and management expenses for the past three years, and the custody fees are tied to dividends.

What does this represent?
This shows that Shahai is very confident in this industry!

I am sure this project has a good prospect.

Some people were pondering the data provided by Shahai two days ago: the domestic market demand for dry goods is 3000 tons, but the supply is only 150 tons, which means there is great potential.

Also, the coal bosses changed too quickly from one day to the next. What happened?
Why do coal bosses like to put a piece of fresh Cistanche in their mouths?
Because the coal bosses and Shahai reached a cooperation, many bystanders began to inquire about the inside story.

Then, more people tried to take Cistanche deserticola orally, which caused the sales of Shahai's products to surge again.

At the same time, industrial investment promotion is becoming more and more successful.

Sand industry projects such as Cistanche, licorice, honeydew melon, and feed are constantly being implemented.

Lu Hanbin said, "Boss, there are not enough Haloxylon ammodendron forests for sub-leasing. Some companies are interested in the one million mu that were planted in the past two years."

Theoretically, as long as the host plants such as Haloxylon ammodendron survive, you can start sowing, but the yield is not good.

Guo Yang pondered and said, "The hole cannot be opened. The main purpose is to let the masses participate in sand control and prevention."

Lu Hanbin: "I think so too. Now many agricultural, forestry and animal husbandry cooperatives specializing in sand control have been established in Minqin and Gulang."

"In just a few days, more than 80 mu of barren sand has been contracted or auctioned to dozens of farmers."

"In addition, the Babusha Forest Farm also came today and wanted to buy a batch of seedlings and Cistanche deserticola seeds."

Gulang is also a county under the jurisdiction of Wuwei. It is located in the south of Minqin and faces the Tengger Desert. One third of the county’s area is also covered by the desert.

The story of the six old men who controlled desertification in Babusha, Gulang, is also well-known.

In 1981, land was contracted to households. Six old men from Babusa stepped forward to contract Babusa to set up a forest farm, and began a long journey of sand control, planting three to five thousand acres of trees every year.

In the 90s, the second generation of Sha took over the shovel.

Today, the total area of ​​forest and desert is nearly 21 acres.

Guo Yang asked: "How much desert do they have yet to manage?"

"About 20,000 to 30,000 mu." Lu Hanbin said, "It's mainly because the profits from the sand sea make them jealous."

“There was a period in the 90s when there were no ecological subsidies for sand control, and Babusha almost collapsed.”

"In recent years, we have barely gotten better thanks to the compensation from the West-East Oil and West-East Gas Pipeline projects, as well as funding for the planting of ecological public welfare forests."

"But their own ability to generate income is very poor, and their income mainly comes from raising chickens in the desert."

Guo Yang asked: "Do they have this technology?"

It is not difficult to grow Cistanche deserticola, but it is not easy to get good benefits.

Planting and collection must have GAP certification, and drug manufacturing must have GMP certification.

Only in this way can the authenticity and high quality of the medicinal materials be guaranteed.

In addition, whether the pesticide residue and heavy metal content meet the standards is also a necessary condition for products to enter the international market.

Even Shahaitou has gone through several years of twists and turns and has explored its own planting technology model.

Lu Hanbin shook his head. "Maybe they just want to try it out, but they want to buy new varieties of seeds."

"This year I plan to keep 5000 acres of seeds. There will definitely be enough seeds. My idea is to sell them."

"Then sell it." Guo Yang said with a smile: "You are familiar with this aspect. According to your idea, the Ministry of Agriculture is going to investigate the trial of fallow land in Jiuquan. I have to hurry back."

Lu Hanbin nodded, "I guess the Babusha Forest Farm can't buy many seeds."

The price of Cistanche deserticola seeds is not cheap. It is common to find wild seeds collected from the wild costing tens of thousands of yuan per kilogram.

This is also one of the key tasks of the transformation of Shahai agriculture and animal husbandry.

Ensure the source of seeds.

Cistanche seeds are not only expensive, but also a hotbed of fake seeds.

Without high-quality and reliable Cistanche seeds, it is impossible to develop the Cistanche planting industry.

Generally speaking, the older the Haloxylon ammodendron tree is, the more its seed yield will double.

At present, in the three-year-old Haloxylon ammodendron forest in Shahai, the per-acre yield of Cistanche deserticola seeds ranges from a few kilograms to more than ten kilograms.

But even so, the potential future profits are high.

The seed production base in Shahai is almost ready-made, and the seed collection nurseries for hosts such as Haloxylon ammodendron are also ready-made.

As long as the industry heats up, there will be no problem in making a quick buck, and it will also provide stable returns in the future.

...

With coal bosses taking the lead, Minqin's sand industry investment promotion is going smoothly.

Various cooperatives and small businesses have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

All the Haloxylon ammodendron forests in Shahai that meet the sublease conditions have been contracted out, and the annual rent can generate tens of millions of yuan.

The product also sold out.

Especially the new varieties, whether they are freshly picked or processed products, they are in short supply.

In fact, it’s just that the mining speed cannot keep up.

For varieties cultivated through seed shops, the upper limit is 1000 kilograms of seeds.

Usually, the seed amount used to parasitize one acre of Cistanche deserticola is about 20g, which means that the inoculation area of ​​the new Shahai variety has reached 2.5 acres.

In the first year, it was no problem to produce 10 kilograms of dry goods per mu in spring. Excluding the 5000 mu kept for seeds, that was kilograms.

(PS: The ratio of dry to fresh is 6~10:1) Someone has done a rough calculation and found that the average selling price of dry goods is about 300 yuan per catty. In addition to the autumn harvest, the annual yield per mu is more than catties, and the annual income per mu is to yuan?
The price of roughly processed slices is about 600 yuan per catty, which is 1.2 yuan per mu.

If it is a deep-processed product, then that's it. Didn't Mr. Guo say that the initial per-acre income from the sand sea can only be 1000 to 3000 yuan?

I lost it.

This is doubled!
When everyone went to Sha Hai to inquire, they were simply told that this was a new variety and the price should be higher.

Coupled with the coal bosses raising prices, the price has risen sharply...

So far,

Everyone's last concerns were dispelled.

Get the land! Get the land! Get the land!

All of a sudden, the Minqin investment promotion team felt the madness of the market, and high-quality sand became very popular.

Once a property is rented out or auctioned, it will immediately attract competition.

The companies and farmers who obtained the land immediately started the next step of work.

Everyone is eager to invest in the sand industry immediately, hoping to reap the first wave of dividends.

For Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, although the new products only cover 20,000 acres, the income from the planting alone can easily reach hundreds of millions.

There are also the initial tens of thousands of acres, as well as the added value brought by processing.

Cistanche seeds can only be harvested in July and August, but a pile of pre-orders have already accumulated...good results are expected!
The more prosperous the sand industry is, the more profit the pioneers will make.

……

Li Yongcai looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Opening a coal mine in Laos, Mr. Guo, are you sure you're not kidding?"

Guo Yang nodded affirmatively.

"Jiahe is going to open a potash mine in Laos and needs a lot of coal. In addition, there are several other companies that are going to go abroad to mine potash and they will also need coal."

Li Yongcai shook his head, "But no one wants to go to Laos. Even if they want to do their old business, most people prefer to go to Xinjiang Province."

Guo Yang pondered and said, "How about cooperation? Jiahe will provide the money, and Mr. Li's company will provide the people and technology."

Through this period of contact, Guo Yang has roughly figured out the details of these coal bosses.

As far as he knows, most of these twenty-odd coal bosses have a net worth of over 100 million yuan.

But the leader Li Yongcai has the most assets.

Li Yongcai was still hesitating.

Guo Yang thought for a moment and said, "Jiahe will also try its best to help with other agricultural projects."

Li Yongcai said, "Mr. Guo, I would like to ask, how many acres does Jiahe plan to develop in the Xanthoceras sorbifolia project?"

"The long-term plan is to plant 500 million mu of land." Guo Yang said with a smile, "Mr. Li, are you interested in participating?"

Li Yongcai was surprised at first, then he said, "Well, I want to do something in Jin Province."

Guo Yang said generously: "Okay, as long as Mr. Li needs it, the Xanthoceras sorbifolia trees in Jiahe Nursery will be supplied to you first."

Li Yongcai also returned the favor: "I don't plan to open a coal mine anymore. I'd like to ask Mr. Guo to take in my brothers."

"Thank you very much for your kindness, Mr. Li." Guo Yang said with a smile, "I am in a hurry to return to Jiuquan. If Mr. Li is interested, he can go and have a look."

"Okay, that's exactly what I meant."

"..."

Guo Yang said: "I just happened to go to the Xanthoceras sorbifolia nursery."

The Xanthoceras sorbifolia nursery was only established in Zhangye last spring. The earliest seedlings sown were only one year old and still a little young.

Moreover, 1000 kilograms of seeds, each kilogram contains about 500 seeds, which is only enough to sow 20 acres.

Even if all the seedlings emerge, there will only be 50 plants, which is enough to transplant about 5000 to 10000 acres.

Jiahe’s solution is to establish a rapid propagation technology for Xanthoceras sorbifolia by taking leaves and tender stems for tissue culture, which will allow a large number of seedlings to be cultivated in a short period of time.

Jiahe's original plan was to cultivate the seeds in the nursery for 3 to 4 years before transplanting them, but in fact, strong seedlings that are 1 to 2 years old can also be transplanted.

After looking at the nursery, Li Yongcai and several other coal bosses who followed him also had a clear idea of ​​what was going on.

In recent days, the international crude oil price has exceeded $120 per barrel, and the general environment has made bioenergy investment increasingly popular.

Energy forest projects are being hurriedly launched in all parts of the north and south.

But Mr. Guo was very realistic and pointed out the risks involved. If the tide recedes, how will the energy forest survive?

While others are at the first level, Jiahe has at least considered the second and even third levels in advance.

That is why Jiahe is building the garden at a leisurely pace.

After careful consideration, Li Yongcai said, "Mr. Guo, we plan to build a Xanthoceras sorbifolia energy forest of tens of thousands of acres in Shanxi Province."

Guo Yang said: "It's better to wait another year for the seedlings. The survival rate will be higher. By then, the price of crude oil should have fallen. Maybe you won't be interested anymore."

"Haha..." Li Yongcai laughed twice, "Mr. Guo is really a very honest person."

"That's fine. We can go back and transfer the coal mine to the government. It will take time to negotiate compensation. Waiting for a year is just right."

Waiting a year is best for both parties.

The supply of seedlings in nurseries is more sufficient, and the rock-bottom crude oil prices can also test whether the coal bosses are determined enough.

……

The coal bosses returned to Shanxi, and Guo Yang finally rushed back to Jiuquan.

The Ministry of Agriculture is coming to investigate Jiuquan’s pilot project of fallow land. Guo Yang estimates that it is related to the speech made by the top leader in Minqin.

At the same time, this visit to Laos was also led by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Guo Yang inquired and found out that the level of this visit was lower than that of the middle peasants.

Huaxia Agricultural Materials initially brought in multiple departments including agriculture, chemical industry, foreign affairs, and the Supply Corporation X.

But in the end, the contract was still not signed.

Jiahe has less contact with other departments, but with the Ministry of Agriculture as the finale, it is completely sufficient.

In fact, it doesn’t matter if there is no official intervention, but it is definitely better than nothing.

At the same time, Yang Guocheng also came to Jiuquan from Beijing and recruited a new person to join the team, Qing Shihua, who is also a senior engineer and originally worked in a design institute.

Guo Yang took advantage of the night to find out the situation from the two men.

With Ning Xiaojing as the coordinator, the legal, financial and other teams needed for going abroad have been set up.

Guo Yang then felt relieved and went home to sleep.

The next day, as soon as it was light, we headed to Yumen and met the people from the Ministry of Agriculture who came to conduct research at Yinma Farm.

The leaders were the Forestry Department, as well as Director Tang and Xiao Le from the Crop Production Management Bureau.

In addition, there are scholars and experts from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The research focuses on why to carry out crop rotation and fallow, how to implement crop rotation and fallow, and how to ensure farmers' income.

Why leave the land fallow?
Life needs a rhythm, just like children have winter and summer vacations and ordinary people also have holidays. The loaded farmland also needs a break and the overdrawn soil also needs a breather.

Another reason is to save water and prepare for ecological discharge to the downstream.

How to rotate crops and leave fallow land?
Fully consider factors such as balanced supply of major agricultural products, inventory status, and structural adjustment.

Reduce the excess, make up for the deficiency, and increase the quality.

In actual implementation, it means reducing corn and wheat and increasing legumes such as soybeans and alfalfa.

How to ensure farmers’ income?

For water-saving drip irrigation and crop rotation and fallow, the Jiuquan government has allocated 2 million yuan in one go, with a subsidy of 500 yuan per mu of fallow land and 150 yuan per mu of crop rotation.

In addition, if the corn production in the next year increases by 100 kilograms, the profit from leaving the land fallow for one year is 500 to 600 yuan.

In addition, Jiahe has also provided great support in terms of seeds, water-saving drip irrigation, product procurement, and loan interest subsidies.

After hearing this, an expert from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences who came with him to conduct the research couldn't help but mutter: "It will be difficult to implement this nationwide."

When he saw the change in the forest department's expression, he added, "Well... we need to further study the ecological compensation mechanism for crop rotation and fallow."

Jiuquan’s water-saving and fallow policy is closely linked to the Jiahe Dunhuang Wetland Project.

The investment amount for this project is 300 billion.

This process will generate a large number of projects such as land consolidation, river channel construction, water-saving drip irrigation, vegetation greening, etc.

This will bring a large number of jobs to local villages and a lot of tax revenue to local governments.

This is equivalent to revitalizing the county economy in the Yumen-Guazhou-Dunhuang area in disguise.

Therefore, the city dares to provide huge subsidies.

But in the whole country, this subsidy can only be provided by the national treasury...which is very difficult.

But the effect of Jiuquan's implementation is not bad, just from a glimpse of it.

During the investigation, river management was being carried out in the middle and upper reaches of the Shule River.

Vegetation restoration is also being carried out in the adjacent ecologically fragile fallow areas to prevent sandstorms and soil erosion.

Among the workers working on the construction site, many were strong middle-aged and young men. When Director Lin approached them and asked them, they all smiled.

"I went home early for the Chinese New Year this year, and it was hard to find a job along the coast. My hometown happened to be hiring, so I stayed and can work steadily for one or two years."

"More than 100 yuan a day, and it's not necessarily that high in coastal areas."

"It's definitely better to stay in my hometown so I can look after my children."

Such answers are heard frequently.

Due to the fermentation of the US subprime mortgage crisis, the world economic situation is not looking good.

But the entire Shule River Basin is as vibrant as the rising sun, and any construction site is bustling with activity.

Walking into the courtyards of various village offices, you will see notices of fallow land posted on the bulletin boards, clearly showing the fallow area and subsidies for each household.

The Forestry Department praised Jiuquan's fallow land pilot project and looked at the people from the Crop Production Department.

"Jiuquan's experience is of great significance to the exploration of crop rotation and fallow across the country!"

Director Tang nodded and said, "The groundwater funnel area in Hebei, the heavy metal pollution area in Hunan, the seriously degraded ecological areas in the southwest and northwest...these places all need to implement fallow."

"In the cold and cool areas of the northeast, the agricultural and pastoral areas in the north, and the over-utilized areas in the southeast, crop rotation trials can be carried out."

Qin Lijun, who accompanied the group, said: "In order to make farmers willing to carry out crop rotation and fallow, their income must not be reduced."

Minister Lin reiterated: "Yes, that's right. Jiuquan is ahead of the curve. It's time for the land in China to rest and recuperate. Let the media spread the word first."

European and American countries have always implemented compulsory fallow.

The total fallow area in the United States is 15-25%, and the average fallow area in Europe is 10%.

It is only because of the artificially created global food supply shortage in the past two years that the proportion of fallow land in Europe and the United States has decreased.

However, domestic arable land has been in high tension.

Overexploitation of groundwater, heavy metal pollution, ecological degradation, over-utilization... every penny is used with calculation.

However, with the improvement of coastal saline-alkali land in the past two years and the significant increase in grain production brought about by the increase in yield, it is time to put the domestic land recuperation on the agenda.

Undoubtedly, Jiuquan ignited the first fire.

(End of this chapter)