Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

The future development focus of Juli Agriculture is in Xiachu County, so the Shencheng experimental field is destined to only serve as a supplement.

The company already has enough of the [Salted Bean 001] seeds, so the Shenzhen experimental field will temporarily focus on cultivating [Sea Rice 012] seeds until a new task comes along.

All the newly added land this season will be planted with [Sea Rice 012], since sea rice is currently the most successful salt-tolerant crop, not only because of its high yield but also because of its significant effect on soil improvement.

Seawater rice can absorb salt from the soil, which helps maintain acid-base balance.

Currently, no other salt-tolerant crops can achieve this effect, so the first round of planting must be this one.

Now that we have [Salted Soybean 001], we can implement crop rotation, planting salt-tolerant soybeans in the second season. Legumes have nitrogen-fixing properties and high economic value, so they have replaced alfalfa.

According to Fang Wei, large-scale planting will only begin after a new type of salt-tolerant alfalfa has been developed, and planting will be temporarily suspended.

After the meeting, everyone went their separate ways to prepare.

The heating in the house is still on, and the temperature is quite low, so Fang Wei and her family rarely go on long trips.

For the next period of time, he spent most of his time at the research and development center, trying to develop salt-tolerant alfalfa first, and then devote all his energy to researching salt-tolerant cotton.

"Boss, I think we should continue researching new salt-tolerant soybean varieties?"

Yang Feng would also visit the R&D center from time to time. He was not satisfied with the current yield of salt-tolerant soybeans, so he kept suggesting that we first research a new generation of salt-tolerant soybeans and put salt-tolerant cotton aside for the time being.

"I'd like to too, but soybeans are very susceptible to salinity and alkali, and it's difficult for them to survive on saline-alkali land. Don't underestimate the low yield of [Salted Soybean 001], it solves the problem of insufficient arable land, so let's take it slow."

Fang Wei could understand Yang Feng's feelings, but he knew very well that unless [Salted Bean 001] mutated, it would be difficult to develop a new variety in the short term.

Yang Feng then fell silent, reported a few things to Fang Wei, and then hurriedly left.

Time flies.

Fang Wei received the meeting notice and immediately went to Beijing.

The Northwest is too far away. Now he basically travels by plane wherever he goes, because taking the train would take too much time.

The meeting itself was fairly standard and unremarkable. However, before the meeting ended, Fang Wei submitted his resignation to the relevant authorities.

He himself was a veteran among the delegates, having lost count of how many meetings he had attended. Now that he has resigned as chairman of Yaoling Group, it's time for him to relinquish his delegate position.

He had already heard the rumors beforehand and knew that his historical mission was complete.

Rather than waiting for the day when you lose, it's better to resign voluntarily.

We are no longer living in an era where people can't get enough to eat. Agricultural problems are being solved one by one, and its role has become insignificant.

After the meeting, he returned to Xiachu County.

Time flies, and the local area welcomes the spring planting season. Professor Ma and Professor Lin made a special trip to visit, and Yang Feng explained the spring planting plan to them and even took them for a walk in the fields.

Among them, 2 mu of saline-alkali land is planted with [Yan Dou 001], and the newly added 3 mu of saline-alkali land is planted with seawater rice.

The company's revenue last year was over 100 million yuan, and this year's revenue is expected to be at least 200 million yuan or even more. In addition, before summer, they may add about 50,000 mu of saline-alkali land specifically for alfalfa cultivation.

By then, the new alfalfa variety should have been successfully bred, and the product will see a significant improvement.

"Secretary Fang, the company has reached its current scale in such a short time, which has truly exceeded our expectations. However, with the company developing so rapidly, can the funds keep up?"

Professor Ma is very experienced in transforming scientific research results into productivity. After a whole day of visiting the company, it's clear that the company has made a significant investment.

The company started with a few million yuan, plus a 1 million yuan loan from the Agricultural Development Bank and more than 1 million yuan in revenue, totaling just over 2 million yuan.

The company's investments include production costs, employee salaries, infrastructure investment, research and development investment, various expenses, and expenditures on purchasing various agricultural machinery, etc.

That's not a small amount when you add it all up.

If development proceeds gradually, there will certainly be no problem. However, if the scale of planting is doubled at every turn like it is now, these funds may not last long.

"Funding is not a problem. The company will not blindly expand the planting area of ​​seawater rice and saline-alkali soybeans. This year, we may open up tens of thousands of acres of alfalfa fields, which is a one-time investment with benefits for many years."

Fang Wei shook his head; he had no plans to bring in investors for the time being.

Juli Agriculture is different from ordinary companies. Its main driving force for development is technological progress, rather than unlimited expansion of land area.

"I'm just saying, everything is up to your opinion."

Professor Ma doesn't dwell on these matters; he and Professor Lin won't interfere with the company's operations and management.

The three of them ate and chatted. The cafeteria had specially prepared several local delicacies today, and Professor Ma and Professor Lin both enjoyed their meal very much.

the next day.

Professor Ma and Professor Lin went to the breeding center. The breeding center's plan for this season is to cultivate 4000 mu of [Hai Dao 012] seeds and 1000 mu of [Yan Dou 001] seeds.

Agricultural research has a long cycle, as does the breeding of improved varieties; it takes several years to truly achieve large-scale production.

After leaving the breeding center, the two went to the research and development center accompanied by Yang Feng, where they happened to run into Fang Wei.

"Secretary Fang, what are our main research and development projects right now?"

"Our main research project now is salt-tolerant alfalfa, and we also have a preliminary research project on salt-tolerant cotton."

Professor Ma and Professor Lin are, after all, agricultural researchers. Once they arrived at the research center, they couldn't tear themselves away and discussed many technical issues with Fang Wei.

Fang Wei introduced them to the progress of the salt-tolerant alfalfa and salt-tolerant cotton projects, and also talked about the medium and long-term plans.

Professor Lin is very interested in both projects and plans to stay in Xiachu County for a while to conduct research with everyone.

Fang Wei had no objection; the other party was staying without pay, purely out of interest. Of course, the other party was also one of the company's shareholders, and the company's success would benefit him as well.

Professor Ma stayed in Xiachu County for five days before returning to the capital. He was a very busy man, never idle from the beginning to the end of the year.

"Secretary Fang, let's go take a look over in Datian."

Time flies.

Before we knew it, it was time to plant rice seedlings.

Professor Lin took Fang Wei to the edge of the field, where they watched the rice transplanter working diligently, with many farm workers assisting on the side.

He felt that it was better to be rich, because nowadays, with money, you can buy any kind of large machinery, and you can even order agricultural machinery from manufacturers.

Growing seawater rice is relatively worry-free, requiring almost no pesticides or fertilizers. However, the investment in other facilities is greater than that for growing regular rice, but overall, the cost is still very low.

Previously, he and Professor Ma were researching seawater rice when they encountered two insurmountable obstacles.

One problem is the low yield of seawater rice, and the other is that the taste and texture of seawater rice are simply indescribable.

The [Sea Rice 012] developed by Fang Wei has completely overcome these two defects, and its rich nutritional content allows the sea red rice produced to be sold as a health food.

The sales cycle of the company's second-quarter production of sea red rice was much shorter than that of the first quarter, indicating that more and more consumers in the market are beginning to recognize this product.

The future of seawater rice is promising.

In fact, he and Professor Ma initially developed seawater rice as a substitute for staple food, but others took it and made a mess of it.

"Professor Lin, compared to the current economic benefits of planting, I value the soil-improving effect of seawater rice more."

The initial 10,000 mu (approximately 667 hectares) of saline-alkali land has now reduced its salinity to around 0.3%, achieving a basic acid-base balance. The next step is to potentially reduce the salinity to below 0.1%.

If saline-alkali land can be effectively improved, then more crops can be grown.

For example, crops like wheat, corn, sunflowers, and cotton—how much economic and social benefit can be brought about by utilizing so much waste from saline-alkali land in the area?

Therefore, Fang Wei's goals have never been limited to seawater rice.

“Mi is right. Improving saline-alkali land is a great merit, equivalent to adding countless fertile fields. On this point, Lao Ma and I admire you very much. Only you can turn ideals into reality.”

Professor Lin is usually not a talkative person, but today he and Fang Wei had a very congenial conversation.

Everyone admires capable people, and Fang Wei's abilities surpass those of both him and Professor Ma; one has no choice but to acknowledge it.

"My plan is to plant 10 mu of seawater rice, 10 mu of salt-tolerant alfalfa, and 10 mu of other salt-tolerant crops in Xiachu County."

Fang Wei felt that contracting 30 mu of saline-alkali land in Xiachu County would be enough, 10 mu of alfalfa could be harvested for several years, and seawater rice could be rotated with other crops.

The remaining saline-alkali land in the county will definitely be contracted out, perhaps by local farmers or by outside investors.

Then he will expand to surrounding counties and cities, continue to establish demonstration planting bases, and lead a large number of farmers to jointly manage saline-alkali land.

Once this area reaches a certain scale, the experience can be shared with other provinces and cities; this is the most scientific development model. Otherwise, relying solely on the strength of agriculture will not be enough to improve the saline-alkali land and tidal flats across the country.

in the afternoon.

Fang Wei and Professor Lin continued their research projects at the R&D center.

As time went on, the breeding of salt-tolerant alfalfa was successful. The next step was to increase the seed yield of salt-tolerant alfalfa and conduct large-scale verification planting.

Juli Agriculture and Xiachu County signed another 5-mu saline-alkali land contract agreement, and the first round of planting 1 mu of new salt-tolerant alfalfa.

This new alfalfa variety is named "Purple Flower Salt 002," with a theoretical annual yield of 1.8 tons (hay) per mu (approximately 0.16 acres), generating a value of 3600 to 4000 yuan per mu. (End of Chapter)