In the golden autumn season, the vast fields of the Qitai Farm in the Sixth Division are rolling with golden waves, painting a picture of abundant harvest. At present, the 120,000 mu of winter wheat planted on the farm has been fully harvested, with per-unit yields setting new high records across Xinjiang for many consecutive years; 135,000 mu of corn is gradually being harvested, with combines and winter wheat seeders alternating operations in the fields, advancing autumn harvest and autumn planting in overlapping succession. As an important grain production base of the Corps, Qitai Farm leverages its resource endowments, adheres to stabilizing production and increasing income to consolidate its foundation, extends and strengthens the industrial chain to bolster its industries, and takes multiple measures to propel specialty industries from the fields to broad markets, forging a path of rural revitalization characterized by higher quality, better efficiency, and distinctive features.

Technology Empowers Fertile Fields, Achieving Stable and High Yields Year After Year

On October 4, in the high-yield corn field of the 22nd Company of Qitai Farm, combines were shuttling back and forth. Looking at the harvested corn, worker Li Dengrong was beaming with joy: "This year is another bumper harvest, with corn averaging 1,500 kilograms per mu!" The continuous stable and high yields of corn are backed by the hardcore support of Qitai Farm's sustained deep cultivation of agricultural technology and innovative planting models. Over the years, the farm has vigorously promoted precision regulation technology for dense corn planting and high yields, summarizing and forming a replicable and promotable high-yield planting system—the "Qitai Farm Model"—continuously driving grain production capacity upward.

To promote this model, Qitai Farm has continuously advanced the upgrading of high-standard farmland, consolidating scattered and fragmented fields into contiguous large plots, installing drip irrigation networks, and achieving high-standard transformation of all basic farmland; widely adopting density-tolerant corn varieties such as Denghai 550, Sitai 112, and Huanong 159 suited to local conditions, with a 100% coverage rate of improved seeds. At the same time, Qitai Farm actively builds a collaborative promotion mechanism of "expert teams + agricultural technicians + company local experts," implements a responsibility system of partitioned contracts, and promotes the application of new technologies; adheres to the three-step approach of "experimentation, demonstration, and promotion," forming a new technology application model of model field creation, observation and yield measurement, and large-scale promotion; guides workers to establish supporting cooperatives, provides agricultural socialized custodial services, promotes the deep integration of improved seeds, methods, machinery, and fields, and continuously enhances agricultural production quality and efficiency.

Today, corn planting density at Qitai Farm has increased from about 4,000 plants per mu to over 8,000 plants, with average yields rising from several hundred kilograms to 1,500 kilograms per mu. It has refreshed the national corn per-unit yield record 7 times, maintained the "ton and a half grain" level for single-season corn for many consecutive years, and provided a replicable and promotable technical paradigm for large-scale corn yield increases nationwide. "Compared with traditional models, the 'Qitai Farm Model' not only increases yields but also saves water, fertilizer, and labor. Previously, managing 100 mu of land required three to four people; now one person can manage hundreds of mu. In water savings alone, per-mu income can increase by over 500 yuan," said Zhao Wenjin, a worker from the 27th Company, with deep feeling.

Deepening "Agriculture at the Head, Processing at the Tail," Enhancing Industrial Chain Quality and Efficiency

On October 3, in the processing workshop of Xinjiang Changxin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., production lines were running at high speed, with golden wheat kernels undergoing multiple processes such as cleaning, grinding, and rolling to be processed into various types of flour including wheat flour, bread flour, and snowflake flour. Although grain output is high, relying solely on selling raw grain results in a short industrial chain and makes it difficult to achieve high returns. To solve this problem, Qitai Farm has fully utilized the "grain head, food tail" and "agriculture head, industry tail" strategies, vigorously cultivating local cooperatives and grain processing entities, and building a benefit-linking mechanism of "base + cooperative + workers," allowing workers to share in the returns from agricultural product processing. "In the past, we farmed alone, with unstable sales channels and limited returns. Now, joining the cooperative led by the company party branch, we have unified field management, standardized planting, and unified market connections. The grain quality is better, prices are higher, and income is more stable year by year," said Zhou Wanbing, a worker from the 25th Company.

Relying on the farm's high-quality wheat resources, the cooperative deeply cultivates grain and oil intensive processing, transforming ordinary raw grain into diversified products such as whole wheat flour, handmade pulled noodles, and specialty steamed buns, enriching product categories, enhancing added value, and effectively driving stable income growth for workers. The processing workshop connects vast farmlands on one end and consumer markets on the other. In recent years, Qitai Farm has leveraged local resource endowments, actively introduced processing enterprises, cultivated professional cooperatives, opened up the industrial chain of "a single wheat grain" from field to workshop, and guided workers to collectively explore markets and avoid price fluctuation risks. Currently, the farm has formed a complete wheat production and sales system, with products sold to many places nationwide. "We will continue to extend the agricultural industrial chain, turning more 'local specialties' into 'golden treasures' for workers' income growth, truly achieving good grain production, good processing, and good prices, so that development dividends better benefit the workers," said Sun Zhiyuan, director of the Agriculture, Forestry and Grassland Center of Qitai Farm.

Integrating Agriculture, Culture, and Tourism to Broaden Income-Boosting Paths

Promoting culture through agriculture, boosting tourism through culture, and enriching people through tourism. Based on its high-quality pastoral ecology and distinctive farming culture resources, Qitai Farm vigorously promotes the deep integration of agriculture, culture, tourism, and commerce, revitalizes rural resources, activates rural vitality, and opens up new paths for diversified income growth. In August this year, the second Qitai Farm Road Cycling Challenge kicked off enthusiastically, with over 400 cycling enthusiasts from across the country gathering at the venue and racing through pastoral tracks. The supporting agricultural specialty product exhibition was bustling with popularity, showcasing local specialty products such as flour, mountain flower honey, and large hazelnuts, which were widely favored by tourists. Ma Guoqun, a worker from the 30th Company, was busy packing orders and promoting products: "It's the good season for new grain to hit the market. With the event's popularity, our specialty flour sales have greatly increased, and we've truly tasted the benefits of cultural-tourism integration."

Relying on high-quality pastoral scenery and local resources, the farm continues to enrich rural cultural-tourism formats, meticulously creating diverse scenarios such as immersive farming experiences, pastoral leisure sightseeing, folk interaction check-ins, and rural wellness vacations, actively guiding workers to develop specialty homestays, farm dining, local cultural creative products, and agricultural picking, enabling workers to achieve employment and income growth "at their doorstep." "I'm from the farm and familiar with the food and scenery here. I just want more people to fall in love with my hometown," said Wang Shaohui, a young man returning to start a business. Seizing the opportunity of agricultural-cultural-tourism integration, he invested over 3.7 million yuan in the farm's Shenxianwan Scenic Area to build a specialty homestay. Leveraging the homestay's scenery and real field views, he shoots short videos, conducts livestream sales, promotes Qitai wheat, miscellaneous grains, and other agricultural products, exploring a new model of "cultural-tourism traffic + specialty product sales." "We need to convert short-term cultural-tourism traffic into long-term economic growth, further driving workers to increase income and prosperity," said Wang Yao, member of the Party Committee and deputy farm director of Qitai Farm. The farm will use tourism as a link to connect upstream and downstream industries such as specialty farming, homestay dining, agricultural product processing, and local cultural creative products, continuously broadening income channels for workers and injecting new momentum into promoting high-quality agricultural development.