URUMQI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- It is a morning routine for Aygul Jumanale to feed cattle in an animal husbandry company in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Having worked for the Chuangjin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. for three years, Aygul Jumanale lives a well-off life in her hometown -- Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, a traditional farming and animal husbandry county, which has a long history of cattle raising.
In 2013, the county government introduced German Simmental cattle to improve the local cattle population. The new cattle population continues to expand, attracting the state-owned enterprise of Chuangjin to settle in. The company has led the local cattle industry to develop and help the local farmers and herdsmen to get rid of poverty.
Aygul Jumanale and her husband used to work out of her hometown as migrant workers, which failed to help her family make money.
After working as a feeder for Chuangjin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., she can earn 3,200 yuan (463 U.S. dollars) per month.
"I had never imagined that I could earn so much money near home," Aygul Jumanale said.
Aygul Jumanale's husband also works in the farm owned by Chuangjin. The couple's annual income totals 100,000 yuan. Not only the couple, but many families in the county are also now working for the animal husbandry company.
More than 20,000 heads of cattle are raised on the farm, which demands a lot of labor. Currently, 475 herdsmen are working on the farm, all of whom are local farmers and herdsmen, and 60 percent are ethnic minorities, said Zhang Ping, deputy general manager of Chuangjin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd.
To help those in need, the farm provides light manual jobs such as security guards for the poor households in the surrounding villages. "With a monthly salary of about 4,000 yuan, it is not a problem to make ends meet," Zhang said.
The farm purchases 150,000 tonnes of silage each year, bringing business opportunities to more than 440 households in surrounding villages. By growing silage corns and other fodders, each household can increase the income by 5,000 yuan per year.
Currently, the company has built 232 hectares of breeding bases and has production lines with an annual slaughter scale of 100,000 heads of cattle. Its products are sold in major provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai, with an output value of over 200 million yuan in 2018.
