Goat industry brings prosperity to county in NW China

Before dawn broke over Shuangyang village, Fuping county, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, goat farmer Xiang Bin was already in his goat shed, keeping a close watch on dozens of does about to give birth.

"The weather is cold. As soon as the baby goats are born, they must be moved to a nursery," he said, shoveling feed into the trough as more than 300 dairy goats lowered their heads in unison, the sound of their chewing filling the barn.

Scenes like this are now common across Fuping, which has developed a thriving dairy goat industry.

Goats graze on fodder at a goat farm operated by Xiang Bin, a farmer in Shuangyang village, Fuping county, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Zhiqiang)

More than 120,000 people from around 25,000 households now rely on goat farming for their livelihoods, benefiting from the county's favorable conditions for dairy goat breeding and high-quality milk production.

Thirteen years ago, after studying animal husbandry and veterinary medicine at university, Xiang decided to return to his hometown and develop his family’s small-scale goat farm — an unconventional choice at the time.

His parents had kept a modest herd of goats, but the returns were limited. Xiang saw an opportunity to scale up, combining local resource advantages with his technical expertise.

He expanded the farm, introduced modern equipment, and by 2022 had grown his herd to 500 goats.

"Goat milk prices are strong, and the market is stable," he said. "Each goat earned about 1,000 yuan (about $146) more in 2025 than the previous year."

Xiang Bin, a farmer in Shuangyang village, Fuping county, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, works at his goat farm. (People's Daily Online/Li Zhiqiang)

Earnings from milk, manure and baby goats have allowed him to buy a car and a home in the county seat.

But trained goat farmers like Xiang are still relatively few in Fuping. To enable the many small-scale household farmers who dominate the industry to thrive, the county has developed a solid support system.

At the heart of this is the dairy goat service center in Liuji township, which bridges the gap between scattered farming households and the quality services they need, covering everything from breeding and technical training to disease prevention and feed supplies.

According to Yang Duqiang, general manager of the service center, the current kidding season coincides with a high incidence of diseases, marking one of the center's busiest times of the year.

The center's eight veterinarians make more than 20 farm visits each day.

Through a digital platform developed by the center, farmers can order feed and medicine through mobile devices, while remote consultations connect them to experts from Northwest A&F University in Yangling, Shaanxi Province. Veterinary teams also provide free on-site services.

Photo shows a dairy goat farm at the dairy goat service center in Liuji township, Fuping county, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Zhiqiang)

Raising goats used to be stressful, but the service center has given farmers greater confidence in the industry, according to Zhang Runqing, a farmer from Xicao village, Liuji township.

"With technical support, feed supply, and disease prevention and control services provided by the center, our milk production is increasing, and the quality is improving," Zhang said.

Modern dairy processing companies play an indispensable role in the county's booming goat industry.

In the smart production workshop of Shaanxi Hongxing Meiling Dairy Co., Ltd., rotary milking systems run automatically, data on the goats' health conditions is displayed in real time, and finished goat milk powder is packaged efficiently before being shipped nationwide.

A technician at the dairy goat service center in Liuji township, Fuping county, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, conducts sample testing. (People's Daily Online/Li Zhiqiang)

Fuping is now home to eight such dairy processing companies, with an annual output of 55,000 tonnes of goat milk products.

Local goat dairy products have also been listed among the first batch of local specialty food industries prioritized for development by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"For the industry to grow, every link in the industrial chain must work together," said Jia Hongmin, production director of Shaanxi Hongxing Meiling Dairy Co., Ltd.

Only through concerted efforts, including farmers raising healthy goats and processors making quality products, can goat dairy products from Fuping capture taste buds across the country, Jia noted.

In Fuping, what began as scattered household farms has evolved into a robust, integrated goat industry value chain, turning goat farming into a reliable source of income for thousands of families and injecting strong momentum into the county's development.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Photo show a rotary milking machine in the production workshop of Shaanxi Hongxing Meiling Dairy Co., Ltd., a dairy processing company based in Fuping county, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)