Youyi Farm in NE China's Heilongjiang offers a glimpse into eco-friendly farming

Harvesters harvest corn at Youyi Farm under the Beidahuang Group in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Wu Lihong)

In the Sanjiang Plain, an important area for grain production in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, lies Youyi Farm, a sprawling 1,888-square-kilometer agricultural marvel under the Beidahuang Group, one of the country's major grain producers.

This vast expanse of land has transformed from one of the country's most desolate swamplands into a beacon of eco-friendly farming. The farming model has cut the use of water, fertilizer and pesticides, saved labor costs, reduced agricultural pollution, and ensured a stable grain yield and farmers' income growth.

Recently, a driverless harvester and a self-driving grain truck, both equipped with 5G technology, worked in collaboration at the farm after receiving instructions. In just 120 seconds, over 5,000 kilograms of grain were loaded onto the grain truck.

Meanwhile, technician Geng Lihai set parameters from his laptop for the harvester, and it began to harvest with precision that would put a veteran operator to shame.

"Compared to traditional harvesters, the biggest advantage of driverless harvesters is that they operate precisely and display real-time information like moisture content and yield," Cheng Baoxin, deputy general manager of the agricultural production department of Youyi Farm.

A machine sprays pesticides at Youyi Farm under the Beidahuang Group in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Gu Jinzhou)

Cheng added that automated harvesters can boost efficiency up to four-fold with 24/7 operation capability.

The farm's technological prowess doesn't stop at harvesting. Now almost every aspect of rice cultivation, from transplanting seedlings to fertilizer application and pest control, is automated at the farm. In addition to rice, the rate of mechanization of the planting and harvesting of major crops has exceeded 99 percent.

Cheng said the farm introduced 10 new unmanned rice transplanters this year alone, which expanded the area planted by machines from 3,000 mu (200 hectares) last year to 30,000 mu. Cheng said the farm has also adopted agricultural drones to spray pesticides. A drone can spray pesticides on 13 mu of land within six minutes, Cheng said, adding that the drone is equipped with advanced technologies including image processing techniques and remote sensing technology, as well as an intelligent spraying system to ensure precise operation.

Smart irrigation is another technological innovation paying off at the farm. At a 1,000-mu smart agriculture demonstration zone at the farm, a solar-powered smart irrigation system integrates cloud computing, data visualization, the Internet of Things, and big data, allowing farmers to monitor soil moisture content and water levels while guaranteeing remote-controlled irrigation on their smartphones.

In the farm's information center, Zhu Xiyang demonstrated the smart irrigation system's capabilities with a simple tap on a screen, controlling a solar-powered intelligent sluice gate in a paddy field one kilometer away to ensure precise irrigation. "Last year's exceptional harvest owes much to this system," he said proudly.

A pilot adds pesticides to a drone at Youyi Farm under the Beidahuang Group in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo/Yan Ziqing)

Precise irrigation is inseparable from efforts of researchers from the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. They use multi-spectral satellite and drone remote sensing technology to monitor the growth of rice in real time. "With the monitoring data, we can accurately determine the water demand for rice and control intelligent sluice gates to ensure precise irrigation," said Ren Zhipeng from the academy.

The farm has installed 124 smart sluice gates, covering 3,000 mu of land and saving 300-350 cubic meters of water per mu annually, while cutting labor costs by nearly 30,000 yuan ($4,191.58).

The farm's commitment to precision also extends to fertilization and pest control. A screen at the farm's information center displays various data points, including plant density and growth conditions to pest infestation levels, with different colors indicating recommended fertilizer amounts for each plot.

Pest control at Youyi Farm has evolved into a three-step high-tech process: optimal spraying solutions after data analysis following drone-based pest monitoring, variable control of each sprinkler head, and precision variable-rate application of pesticides in a science-based manner.

With its smart agricultural technologies, Youyi Farm is not only leading the way in modern farming practices but also proving that large-scale production and environmental sustainability can go hand in hand. By embracing cutting-edge innovations, the farm offers a promising glimpse into the future of agriculture, where technology and nature work in harmony to meet the growing demand for food while safeguarding the planet.