As of October 5, Hebei Province has harvested nearly 37.7 million mu of autumn grain, representing close to 60% of the total planted area, with the large-scale autumn harvest currently underway across the province.
Among this, corn harvest has reached nearly 31 million mu, also accounting for approximately 60% of its planted area.
In the cornfields of the Fengkede Agricultural Machinery Planting Professional Cooperative in Gaocheng District, Shijiazhuang City, operators are maneuvering large corn harvesters back and forth, racing against time to bring in the mature crop. "I planted over 800 mu of corn this year, and the weather has been favorable, resulting in good quality and high yields, with per-mu production reaching 1,200 to 1,500 jin," said Liu Hebin, the cooperative's chairman.
Agricultural machinery serves as the undisputed main force in the rush to harvest and plant. During this year's "three autumns" period, Hebei Province has deployed 810,000 agricultural machines, including 77,000 corn harvesters, 150,000 wheat seeders, and 440,000 tractors. More than 500 tracked corn harvesters and over 1,600 grain dryers with a daily drying capacity of more than 200,000 tons have been reserved for emergency use. Local authorities are strengthening technical guidance for machinery operations, promoting the integrated model of "corn kernel mechanical harvesting plus drying plus storage," improving emergency disaster relief measures for agricultural machinery, keeping service hotlines open, and comprehensively managing machinery scheduling, maintenance, operator mobilization, cross-regional operations, and fuel supply to ensure orderly progress in autumn harvest and planting.
In the cornfields of Beisanhu Village, Cheng'an County, combine harvesters that simultaneously collect stalks and ears are operating efficiently, completing ear picking, husking, and straw crushing in one pass, achieving simultaneous grain harvesting and straw resource utilization. "Using these combined harvesters for corn this year saves time and effort. While harvesting the corn, the straw is directly crushed into cattle feed, adding 40 to 50 yuan of extra income per mu," said Li Zhigang, a farmer in Beisanhu Village, Cheng'an County.
Autumn grain constitutes the bulk of Hebei's grain production, and a bountiful autumn harvest is crucial to the stability of the province's annual grain output. Localities across Hebei are enhancing agricultural technical services, improving socialized agricultural service systems, and implementing various farming support measures to provide strong backing for a bumper autumn harvest. "This year, our cooperative planted 3,500 mu of corn. Relying on standardized high-yield cultivation techniques and refined field management, the corn has grown evenly and stably, with average per-mu yields expected to rise steadily," said Huang Xiaosong, head of the Gaoyou Agricultural Technical Service Professional Cooperative in Wangdu County. They depend on full-chain socialized services to provide "plowing, planting, management, and harvesting" contracted services for thousands of surrounding farmers, promoting green prevention and control along with comprehensive straw utilization models to fully enhance regional grain production efficiency and standards.
Turning "promising harvests" into "harvests in hand." "We will adhere to combining meteorological conditions with crop maturity, promptly track the growth progress and harvest pace of grain crops, and ensure timely autumn grain harvesting," said a responsible official from the Hebei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Localities will fully leverage the role of agricultural machinery, expand mechanized harvesting areas, and maintain emergency reserves of pumps, tracked harvesters, and mobile dryers that can be urgently deployed in case of disasters, ensuring every kernel of autumn grain is safely stored.