Special breed of cow boosts economic development in Henan

Lin Fengpeng inspects cattle at a stock farm in Biyang county, Zhumadian city, Henan province. A special breed that was created in 2007, known as Xianan cattle, are raised at the facility. (Xinhua/Xu Yanan)

Lin Fengpeng has been working with cows, managing herds, recording body measurement data, engaging in genetics, breeding the animals, and committing himself to the research and development of higher quality beef cattle for more than 30 years. He became a member of a research group led by Qi Xinglei, a senior animal husbandry engineer who has won many awards for his work and been recognized by the government, along the way and has focused on improving the Xianan breed that the organization created – the first with independent intellectual property rights in China – and developing a hornless variation in recent years. 

The first Xianan calf was born in Biyang county, Zhumadian city, Henan province, in 2007. The product of extensive research, the breed has helped the county’s farmers become more prosperous and has promoted the development of leading enterprises in the area ever since.

The emergence of modern animal husbandry techniques and the proliferation of major livestock farming companies that has occurred in Biyang has led to the creation of an industry chain involving research and development, breeding, large-scale ranching, commerce and logistics. In 2020, the county’s farmers had an inventory of 395,000 head of Xianan cattle, and a total of 15 billion yuan (US$2.31 billion) of output value was realized.