Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 5 Title: Pursuing Spring Light Across Vast Fields—A Scan of Localities Steadily Advancing Spring Plowing and Preparations

Xinhua News Agency reporters Gu Yiping, Liu Tong, and Xiong Jiayi

During the Jingzhe period, spring plowing never ceases. A reporter’s interview revealed that across various regions, farmers are seizing every moment to get busy with farming, chasing the warmth of spring and “weaving colorful silk” into the fields, thus laying a solid foundation for a bountiful harvest.

On the black earth, ice and snow are gradually melting. In Lishu County, Siping City, Jilin Province, various farmer professional cooperatives have started early and made ample preparations to ensure smooth spring plowing and farming work.

Last year, the Zhonghui Planting Farmers’ Professional Cooperative in Lishu County joined forces with seven neighboring cooperatives to form a joint cooperative. During this year’s pre-farming preparation phase, the joint cooperative has placed bulk orders for agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, thereby reducing the cost of these inputs.

With ample reserves of agricultural inputs, we feel confident and well-prepared for spring plowing. The cooperative’s leader told reporters: “We’re very confident about this year’s grain production. We hope that through conservation tillage, we can better protect and make efficient use of our land, boost yields, and improve quality.”

Looking southward, the wheat in the Guanzhong Plain is entering a critical stage of regreening.

During an interview at Shenheyuan, located at the foot of the Qinling Mountains, the reporter saw crystal-clear water droplets slowly seeping out from irrigation pipes laid across the fields, while splashing water droplets “leapt” into the wheat fields...

Starting from early March, the 20,000-mu high-standard farmland at Shenheyuan has entered a busy spring irrigation period. Xue Qiang, head of the Changfeng Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative in Chang'an District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, said that making the most of the time to ensure that all wheat seedlings receive sufficient irrigation and maintaining optimal soil moisture levels when the wheat plants begin to tiller are crucial factors determining wheat yields.

As of March 4, the nationwide cumulative irrigated area has reached over 26 million mu. Water conservancy departments across the country are taking multiple measures to ensure the smooth implementation of spring irrigation.

To the west of Chang’an, at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains, in Sia Village, Tushala Town, Hotan City, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, the fertilization for winter wheat’s green-up has already begun. On the yellow sandy soil, the wheat seedlings are lush and verdant.

Not far away, in the wheat field, Jia Yuan, the Party branch secretary of the Xiya Village, demonstrated the “top-dressing” fertilization technique while patiently explaining its technical details to the farmers. “Right now, the upper layer of soil has just begun to thaw, while the lower layer remains frozen. Taking advantage of this window of opportunity to apply fertilizer not only effectively enhances soil fertility but also promotes the development of wheat roots and the growth of tillers.”

“Right now, the wheat roots are only 3 to 5 centimeters deep, so it’s crucial to ensure precise irrigation in order to fully harness the fertilizer’s effectiveness,” explained Bai Zhong, station chief of the Tushala Town Water Management Station. “Based on the actual water usage in agricultural fields, we’re controlling irrigation water by using a main gate for overall regulation and branch gates for flow restriction. We’re also employing automated software to monitor water usage across all village groups throughout the entire process, ensuring precise irrigation and conserving water.”

Across vast fields, agricultural production is accelerating its shift from “labor-intensive farming” to “smart agriculture.”

Right now, Laibin City in Guangxi is entering the spring planting season for sugarcane. At the Huang’an high-quality “double-high” sugarcane base within the National Modern Agricultural Industrial Park in Fenghuang Town, Xingbin District, seven large tractors and sugarcane planters are working simultaneously. Sugarcane farmers are carefully inserting seedlings in an orderly manner, while the machinery automatically handles tasks such as planting, mulching, and covering soil—completing the planting of two 200-meter-long rows within just 15 minutes. Drones are also taking to the skies to spray pesticides and control pests and diseases.

“Using the Beidou navigation-guided unmanned seeding machine, we can plant more than 3 mu per hour and over 20 mu per day—more than ten times the efficiency of manual labor,” said Yu Caiku, head of the Fuku Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative in Fenghuang Town. He added that mechanically planted sugarcane sprouts easily, exhibits strong resistance to drought, diseases, pests, and lodging, and is convenient for subsequent mechanical harvesting.

At the seedling-raising base in Lingyuan Village, Yongfeng Town, Xingguo County, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, empty seedling trays slowly move along a fully automated seedling-raising production line, with multiple processing steps seamlessly integrated into one continuous operation.

“The automated seedling-raising production line is twice as efficient as traditional manual seedling raising,” said Zhong Xiaoyun, a large-scale grain grower. This year, his cooperative plans to plant rice on 1,600 mu of land, and mechanization has been fully implemented throughout the entire process—from seedling cultivation and plowing to sowing, fertilizing, irrigation, and harvesting.

Spring plowing and preparation aren't limited to black soil, yellow soil, or red soil—they also extend to “blue soil.”

In Shanwei, Guangdong, "spring farming" at sea is in full swing. Aquaculture farmers are busy releasing batches of spring fish fry—such as grouper and cobia—into the aquaculture waters.

A relevant official from the Shanwei Guotai Marine Ranch explained, “Sea bass require fresh small fish as feed. Every day, we go to the dock early in the morning to purchase fresh fish feed, and we also supplement their diet with a newly developed feed mixture to ensure that the fish receive an adequate intake of protein.”

Shanwei City in Guangdong Province, leveraging its 455-kilometer coastline and 23,900 square kilometers of high-quality marine waters, is vigorously developing modern marine ranches with an annual output exceeding 650,000 tons. In 2024, eight new marine ranching projects were launched, with a total investment of 2.065 billion yuan, laying the foundation for a complete industrial chain—from aquaculture to cold-chain distribution.

Plant one grain of millet in spring, and reap ten thousand seeds in autumn. On the land of Shenzhou, a bountiful harvest is in sight.