Ar Horqin plants over 700 sq km of grass

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2017-05-11

In recent weeks, Chifeng’s Ar Horqin Banner has worked on cultivating high-quality forage grass measuring over 713 square kilometers, thanks to its increasingly improved production chain and well-equipped facilities.

Since 2011, the banner has introduced around 25 businesses specializing in grazing grass processing, including Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group, Simplot Company in the United States, Mongolian Grass Group, and Gansu Yasheng Industrial Company.

In 2017, the grass industrial park in Ar Horqin was recognized as a national-level pilot park for alfalfa production.

The grass planting areas are equipped with over 1,500 pointer-type self-propelled irrigation devices. A 147-kilometer-long asphalt road has been paved for easier transport.

A dedicated 10-kilovolt cable line stretches nearly 160 kilometers to serve the grass processing area. A total of six meteorological stations are utilized to closely monitor the grass growing conditions and predict the weather.

The forage grass yielded around 620,000 tons in 2016, with 1,800 yuan ($261) per ton, and was exported to many provinces across China, earning about 1.09 billion yuan in total.

Workers package forage grass with agricultural machines in Ar Horqin Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on May 8. [Photo/nmgnews.com.cn]

Workers package forage grass with agricultural machines in Ar Horqin Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on May 8. [Photo/nmgnews.com.cn]

Packaged grass at the industrial park in Ar Horqin Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, waits to be shipped on May 8. [Photo/nmgnews.com.cn]