Along the Yellow River in Nantun village, Sishui town, Xingyang, central China's Henan Province, harvesters sweep through more than 1,600 mu (about 106.67 hectares) of high-standard farmland, cutting, threshing and collecting grain.
Liu Zhengguang, a farmer born in the 1980s, leases 2,500 mu of land and grows "Bainong 4199," a wheat variety that stands about 70 centimeters tall, resists disease and lodging, and is well suited to the windy, dry conditions along the Yellow River.
"From planting and field management to harvesting, the pace of change has been incredible," Liu said. His farm machinery includes seeders, irrigation systems, drones and plows. His favorite is a new harvester purchased last year.
"It has a wider header, a larger grain tank and an air-conditioned cab. Harvesting wheat is much easier now," he said.
In the past, spraying pesticides covered no more than 10 mu a day. Now, a drone can treat more than 150 mu in just an hour. High yields are only part of the story. Liu has signed a long-term contract with a nearby flour mill, which conducts annual quality inspections and purchases the entire harvest once it meets the required standards.
"The net profit is 800 yuan (about $118.3) per mu. It's better than working away from home," he said.
Early one morning, a line of three-wheeled trucks loaded with freshly harvested wheat stretched outside a planting cooperative in Xingyang.
"We have 105 'workshop managers,' each overseeing a 'production workshop.' We provide unified seed supply, field management, harvesting and marketing services," said Zhang Gaoxing, head of the cooperative. "This one-stop model links 12,000 farming households across five townships and towns."
At Yihai Kerry (Zhengzhou) Foodstuffs Industries Co., Ltd., trucks loaded with freshly harvested wheat wait for inspection.
Inside the plant, intelligent milling lines run at full capacity. According to workshop manager Li Dawei, the facility processes 2,200 tonnes of wheat a day. After 18 stages of cleaning and 26 stages of grinding and grading, the wheat is milled into flour, while bran and other by-products are efficiently utilized.
The plant purchases 100,000 tonnes of wheat each month for local processing and storage. In addition to various types of flour, it produces premium dried noodles.
"As consumers demand greater variety, companies are being pushed to continually raise their standards," said a person in charge of the procurement department of Braisun Food.
Braisun Food consumes 900,000 to 950,000 tonnes of wheat annually. Through market-based procurement, it directly supports about 400 suppliers and indirectly creates jobs for 500,000 people.
Ren Li, director of the Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said Zhengzhou has emerged as a key hub for wheat processing and value-added development in China. Through a model that links leading enterprises, new agricultural business entities and farming households, the city has standardized crop varieties and cultivation practices, ensured consistent raw material quality, and helped boost farmers' incomes.
