Feature: High-tech equipment drives modern agriculture in northeast China

HARBIN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the country's largest grain producer, is buzzing with farming activities, with smart agriculture, driven by new technologies and equipment, playing a key role.

In the Longmentong management area of the 290 branch office of Beidahuang Group, one of China's leading agricultural groups, newly-introduced large tractors are parked in orderly rows. Technician Mu Liang is testing the vehicles with his colleagues.

"These are almost the most advanced tractors around here. We have just installed the high-precision autopilot system on these tractors, through which they can run automatically in the field," said Mu.

With more than 270 horsepower, the tractors cost nearly 1 million yuan (about 140,728 U.S. dollars) each, and come with automatic production management systems and operation record systems, giving them extremely high operational efficiency, Mu added.

With 700,000 mu (about 46,667 hectares) of arable land, the 290 branch office mainly grows corn, soybeans and wheat. In recent years, the branch office has also introduced unmanned rice transplanters.

According to Mu, the traditional rice transplanter requires at least two people working together to operate. "Workers need time for rest, but the unmanned rice transplanters can run 24 hours a day, which not only cuts labor costs but also improves the operation efficiency," he said.

Apart from modern farm machinery, a weather tracking service has also been provided as guidance for farming activities.

After receiving a gale warning from the farm's meteorological station, grain grower Zhang Zhenbo is busy reinforcing a greenhouse.

According to Xu Kejiang, a staffer at the meteorological station of Beidahuang's 856 branch office, the station employs the QY-3 geostationary meteorological satellite data receiving system, which can generate data distribution maps, outputting meteorological information accurately.

"The meteorological information can be provided throughout the whole chain of agricultural production to assist planting," said Xu.

The weather forecast is very accurate and is of great help to farm work, Zhang said. "From setting up sheds, raising seedlings, sowing, to field management, the weather tracking service can help almost every step of farming activity."

In recent years, Heilongjiang has continued to introduce advanced agricultural modernization technology in all areas of production, resulting in improved farming efficiency, and laying a solid foundation for the safeguarding of food security.

Heilongjiang has remained China's top grain producer for 14 consecutive years. In 2023, the province produced about 77.88 billion kilograms of grain, accounting for 11.2 percent of the country's total, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.