Pig farm brings home the bacon by branching out into tourism
An unlikely destination for a weekend family outing would probably be a pig farm. But the Huateng pig farm in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province, is one of the most popular for local parents.
It has a playground, mini zoo, library, greenhouses, barbecue restaurant and no unpleasant smells, thanks to technologies adopted to make the farm smarter and greener.
“Many of the facilities are for parents and kids,” said a representative of Zhejiang Huateng Animal Husbandry, which has been branching out into tourism.
Visitors to the farm come from across the Yangtze River Delta. The average number of visits per day is around 1,000, according to the company.
“When the weather is nice,” said a local resident, “the parking lot outside is always packed with cars.”
One of the technologies that have contributed to the pleasant environment is a pig waste treatment process.
After treatment, pig excrement becomes biochar organic fertilizer, which “contains nutrients and provides strong water retention,” said the Huateng representative. Treated pig urine becomes liquid fertilizer and secondary wastewater is cleaned to raise fish and wash the pig houses.
The biochar organic fertilizer sells well, the representative said. “Some 20,000 metric tons of organic fertilizer is sold annually.”
The farm uses pure plant extracts, in the form of a fine mist, to disinfect and deodorize its facilities every day.
“This is why there are no foul odors around the farm,” said the representative.
Huateng has built up its technology portfolio by strengthening research and bringing in talent.
In 2016, Huateng established a research institute with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
It also works with top universities such as Zhejiang University and the National University of Singapore, according to the company. Experts from the company’s consultation team include Marc Huon, former president of the Belgian Feed Association, and Shen Jianzhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Besides being smarter and greener, the agricultural industry of Tongxiang is getting younger with the support of government policies that encourage college graduates to enter the field. “The main reason I chose to work here is the favorable policies specifically designed for college graduates,” said Lyu Zhiwei.
The 29- year- old college graduate works with Xiaolu Garden at the Chongfu base for agricultural startups in Tongxiang.
With a planned area of 133 hectares, the base was built in 2016 by the local government to encourage college graduates to work in agriculture by offering them financial and other types of support. “Food and accommodation at the base is cheaper than the average market price,” Lyu said.
“Each meal at the staff canteen costs 10 yuan ($ 2) and the monthly cost of accommodation is 300 yuan.”
Yi Wei, who was a graphic design major at college and now runs a greenhouse, cited similar reasons for his decision to relocate to the base.
“All the facilities are built by the government,” Yi said.
“The rent of the land is 3,000 yuan per mu ( 0.067 hectares) for the first year; 4,000 yuan for the second year; and 5,000 yuan for the third year and the foreseeable future.”
“This is so cheap that my friend’s jaw dropped open upon hearing this,” he said, adding, “The local government also introduced us to potential loan providers and helps us recruit interns”.
Yi said his shop on e- commerce platform Taobao now ranks among the top 300 plant sellers in terms of sales.
Livestreaming has been a main driver behind the growth. “Half of our total sales come from orders placed during our daily two- hour livestream,” Yi noted.
To date, 29 agricultural projects have set up shop at the base. It employs more than 60 college graduates and over 200 residents from surrounding areas, according to the local government.