Chapter 1035: Ideas of mechanized farming and breeding farms.

After hearing what Luo Chong said, everyone nodded and waited. After about an hour, all 21 tractors had their equipment adjusted and the boilers were heated up, ready to be put into use at any time.

After hearing the report from Sinong Temple and the technicians of the institute that everything was ready, Luo Chong began to give orders, asking each vehicle to arrive at their respective operating areas and wait for his orders.

The first operating area is one kilometer wide and twelve kilometers long. If one tractor is placed every five hundred meters, twenty-four vehicles are needed. However, now there are only twenty-one vehicles. Their respective operating areas are five hundred meters wide and one kilometer long. The reason why they were not asked to run to the end of ten kilometers in one breath is that one kilometer away from the base is the first main irrigation ditch of this experimental field, and the tractors must detour there.

After the guards came on horseback to report that all the vehicles had arrived at the designated locations, Luo Chong also looked at the mechanical clock. When the time reached 2:00 p.m., Luo Chong officially announced the start of the operation.

The county governors and officials who came to visit also found their own places to watch. You Fu rode a horse and followed the uncultivated wasteland of the vehicles. He would stop at any time and walk into the field to turn over the land after the machine plowing with his hands to check the tillage depth and the size of the soil particles. After watching for a while, he couldn't help but smile with joy.

Yun Zhi and Yang Yan were riding in the same car with Luo Chong, and they also followed the side of the rotary tiller to observe all the time. Dali and Lin Fei each found a tractor and temporarily played the role of stoker on it. These two people were not stupid. It was so cold outside, and the only warm thing was to burn the stove in the tractor.

Jing Yan was a bit stupid, or more serious. In order to observe the working method of the rotary tiller carefully, he turned into a mechanical pendant and stood on the connecting frame behind the tractor, looking down at the working scene of the rotary tiller from a high position. At this moment, he was shocked.

No matter how good this tractor was said before, only after experiencing it in person could you know how powerful it was. Using this thing to plow the land, I don’t know how many oxen can be saved. Moreover, no matter how many oxen there are, the speed of livestock plowing the land cannot be compared with that of tractors. As long as this thing runs in the field once, the land behind it will be turned over. What a magical thing.

Muye County’s Jiandun did not run after the car, but rode a horse horizontally and cruised between more than 20 tractors. The problem he was thinking about at this time was the problem mentioned by Lin Fei just now.

Such a large piece of farmland, but there is no fertilizer, so no matter how efficient the machine plowing is, it will definitely not be able to achieve the output of manual labor and intensive cultivation.

With fewer people, it is impossible to plant so meticulously. This is one aspect that cannot be achieved for the time being, because the population cannot be changed by manpower in a short period of time. Even reproduction takes time.

Then the only way for them to increase the yield of mechanized farms is to apply fertilizers, but the problem is again, this is 20,000 acres of land, where can they get so much fertilizer?

The leader may not have thought of any good solution to this problem, but he has an immature idea, that is, to build a large-scale breeding farm like this mechanized experimental field.

How much straw will be produced from 20,000 acres of corn? You must know that these straws can be used as feed, so how many livestock can be fed with so much straw?

In addition, what kind of livestock will be raised in this large-scale breeding farm?

Since straw is the main feed, pigs are definitely out of the question. It is true that pigs are omnivores, but pigs mostly eat grains, not straw. At least it is impossible for them to eat only straw. The others are only herbivores.

At present, the main herbivorous animals raised in the northern part of the Han tribe are alpacas, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats, antelopes, big-horned deer, and horses.

Forget about working animals such as cattle, horses, and donkeys, especially donkeys and horses, which are picky about food. As for cattle, if there are pure meat cattle, you can consider feeding them with straw, otherwise don't consider it.

And there is another key point, that is, the profit cycle of large livestock such as cattle, horses, and donkeys is slow, and there is no profit for a long time. The feeding cycle is relatively long, which is the most unbearable thing.

In the end, after thinking about it, it is still the most suitable for large-scale centralized breeding of sheep, and the Han tribe has relevant technology and experience.

Whether it is sheep, goats or antelopes, the research of the Sinong Temple shows that when artificially raised and fed with feed, the cycle of reproduction of these creatures once a year can generally be accelerated, so that they can produce two litters a year, which means double the profit.

On the other hand, sheep wool can be used to make woolen textiles, goat wool can contribute to sheepskin and brushes, and antelopes mainly contribute to sheep horns and sheepskin. These are the added value of sheep livestock, and their main value is of course mutton and goat milk.

As for alpacas, that thing is really good. First of all, it is tolerant to roughage. It can eat straw every day, or let it chew bark and thorn vines. It is not very picky. Alpaca wool is also the most valuable among wool spinning raw materials. It is just that this thing grows slowly, has a long growth cycle, and takes a long time to take effect. Even if it is changed from free-range to captive, it can only produce one per year.

However, these are not the main issues. The main problem is fertilization. The key is to have enough fertilizer, that is, feces, but sheep do not produce much,

so Jiandun finally fell into hesitation. He was going to advise the leader and explain this idea. As for what to choose in the end, let the leader decide.

On the other side, when all the rotary tillers were working until 3 pm, Luo Chong also asked them to stop, and then began to measure the land, and calculate whether the area of ​​each vehicle's operation within this hour could reach the expected standard.

Finally, after the guards' measurement, although there was a certain difference in the area of ​​each vehicle's operation, it was almost the same. The main reason was the speed of conveying the order. Those who received the order to stop working later naturally had to cultivate more.

However, the work efficiency of the four tractors closest to Luo Chong's vehicle was still more valuable for reference, and it was basically consistent with Luo Chong's previous prediction. This was also easy to understand, because even if there was no actual operation, they had been tested in the trial stage before, and there was no major change between the mass-produced tractor and the verification model, so it was understandable that the efficiency was the same.

At this point, Luo Chong finally put his mind at ease. These machines had no problems running for an hour, so as long as they were diligently inspected in the subsequent operations, there would be no major problems. Besides, Luo Chong also set up a maintenance station here, which was responsible for the repair and maintenance of these vehicles, which was enough to support subsequent agricultural operations.

After driving for an hour and letting the drivers take a short break, they continued to work. Luo Chong and the county magistrates had returned to the base to drink tea and chat, talking about their field investigation experience.

"Now that you have all seen how a tractor works, what do you think? Tell us about your feelings and thoughts." Luo Chong took a sip of tea and started the conversation.

"Chief, this tractor is good, but I don't think it's necessary to promote it on a large scale now." Jing Yan, the governor of Dongxin County, was the first to express his opinion.

His words caused everyone's surprise. You know, Jing Yan was the one who looked at it most seriously just now. Wasn't he very interested in this thing? Why doesn't he want it now?

"Oh? Why?" Luo Chong asked in surprise.

"Just now I looked at it carefully and talked to the driver. I just found out that this tractor can only be adapted to dry land operations, that is, it can only be used to cultivate dryland crops such as corn, wheat, and millet. However, the main food crop that occupies the largest area of ​​our Han tribe is rice. This is similar in both the south and the north, so I came to this conclusion. Of course, if a tractor that can cultivate rice is developed someday, that's another story." Hearing Luo Chong's question, Jing Yan immediately explained.

Luo Chong nodded, "Well, that's true. First, it's because of the scope of operation, and second, it's because of the tractor production. I really don't have any plans to promote it for the time being. Even if you order tractors from each county, I won't be able to get them for you in the first half of this year. The institute has other tasks to complete in the first half of the year."

After listening, the others also nodded. This thing is really powerful, but if it is placed in their place, it is really not very useful. The efficiency of mechanized farming is high, but you also need to have fields suitable for mechanized farming. Now the counties in the north have basically divided the fields into pieces and distributed them to the people of each household. Such an environment is actually not suitable for mechanized farming in the Han tribe.

You must know that the tractors of the Han tribe now are not as small as the civilian tractors of later generations, but can be called behemoths, because the steam engine used as the power source on it cannot be miniaturized at all in order to maintain huge power. Such giant tractors are very suitable for various farms in Europe and the United States with vast areas and sparse populations, but they are actually not suitable for the environment of the Han tribe.

Only such large-scale official fields directly under the government, or state-owned farms, are suitable for such giant tractor operations.

The 60,000-mu mechanized experimental farm in Liuyang County is no different from a state-owned farm in terms of its management structure and social attributes. Although such a place is large, it is actually easy to manage because there are not so many people, so naturally there are not so many trivial matters and disputes.

"What about the rest of you? If you have any ideas, please speak up." Seeing that no one spoke, Luo Chong asked again.

Seeing that no one spoke, Jiandun, the governor of Muye County, immediately talked about what he had just thought.

"Chief, when I was listening to the introduction just now, I found that our mechanized experimental farm does not seem to have enough fertilizer to use. I have an idea about this.

"Chief, you see, we will plant 20,000 mu of corn every quarter in the future, which will produce a lot of straw, and we lack fertilizer. Why not use these straws as feed, feed livestock in a centralized manner, and build a large breeding farm.

"In this way, we can use the straw effectively, and use the manure from the livestock as fertilizer. In addition, these livestock can also bring economic benefits and replenish the various materials and food needed in the market. Isn't this better?

" "But I just thought about it. These straws cannot be used to raise pigs. They can only be used to raise herbivorous livestock. Among them, sheep reproduce the fastest and have the highest efficiency. But if we raise sheep, it seems that there is not much manure. I am also struggling with what to choose. It would be great if our tribe had special beef cattle, so that it would not conflict with the breeding of oxen. "Jiandun immediately frowned and expressed his opinion.

After hearing Jiandun's suggestion, everyone present began to think about it. This is indeed a problem, and it is very feasible. The main reason is that the Han tribe has done concentrated sheep breeding. Not to mention those official institutions, even ordinary people's homes cannot raise only one or two sheep. Every family raises a group of sheep. The minimum is seven or eight, or as many as a dozen.

This is inevitable, because even if you only raise two or three, one male and two females, you can give birth to four or five lambs in a year, which becomes seven or eight again. You must know that sheep reproduce very quickly.

Of course, pigs reproduce faster. Although there is only one litter a year, they give birth to many pigs in one litter. Now the black and white pigs raised by the Han tribe have an average of no less than five per litter, and the maximum can even reach about fifteen per litter. Eight to ten per litter is the normal range.

"Well, your idea is very good. The breeding farm is a good idea. In addition, there is the problem of manure and fertilizer you mentioned. There is indeed not much manure from sheep. In fact, pig manure is the most suitable as fertilizer. But as you said, this place is not suitable for raising pigs. Raising pigs also requires a lot of food, not straw.

"But we can have the beef cattle you mentioned. Now with the emergence of our tractors, cattle are no longer the only farming livestock. Without oxen, we can still use tractors to cultivate grain, and we can indeed develop beef cattle."

Luo Chong thought for a while and said again, "That's it. It happens that the people from Sinong Temple are here. I will give you a new task to build a large-scale comprehensive breeding farm next to this base.

"The reason why it is called a comprehensive breeding farm is that it is definitely not just raising one kind. It must be divided into different areas. In the early stage, sheep should be the main type, accounting for at least half of the proportion, as the main force for consuming straw and producing fertilizer.

"Then we have to raise cattle. It happens that your Sinong Temple can set up a project to breed beef cattle. Let me first mention a few standards. Since it is a cattle used to provide meat, first of all, it must be tall and have a high meat yield. For this, we can use our local forest cattle as the main bloodline. The body size of forest cattle is much larger than that of grassland cattle.

"Secondly, this kind of cattle must grow fast and have a short growth cycle. It's not as fast as sheep, but the faster the better. Thirdly, it must be resistant to roughage. Since it is a meat-type cattle, it certainly cannot be fed every day like draft cattle. It must mainly eat roughage. It also needs to grow fast and have more meat. As for how to feed it and how to adjust the feed ratio, these are all topics for your research.

"The last and most important thing is to prevent diseases. The chances of disease outbreaks in concentrated breeding are definitely much higher than in free-range breeding. How to maintain hygiene and improve the disease resistance of cattle must also be studied. I can give you some suggestions, such as cleaning the cattle pen frequently to maintain hygiene. The second is to collect some non-toxic herbs that can resist diseases and improve immunity, and mix them in the feed for the cattle to eat. It should have some effect."

(End of this chapter)