The golden fields of the Hetao irrigation area, the rolling waves of grass on the Xilingol steppe, and the amber rice paddies at the foot of the Greater Khingan Mountains all signal a season of abundance across Inner Mongolia. A vibrant tableau of farming and herding is unfolding on this vast landscape, where the region's commitment to securing the nation's "grain bag" and strengthening its "meat and dairy storehouse" is yielding tangible results.
As a critical national base for agricultural and livestock products, Inner Mongolia is converting its resource advantages into real harvest gains, ensuring mutual prosperity for both cultivated land and grassland. The dual focus on crop production and animal husbandry is creating a resilient and productive agricultural system that promises a year of solid returns this autumn.
Strong Grain Harvest Solidifies Food Security
In the comprehensive corn demonstration zone at Dongguanjing Village, Jinshan Town, Guyang County, the benefits of dense planting and precision management technology are clearly visible. By optimizing crop varieties and adjusting planting models, the corn seedling density per mu has been boosted from the traditional 5,000 to 5,500, with core areas reaching up to 5,800. This, combined with high-ridge film mulching and integrated water-fertilizer management, has proven that increased density can lead to higher yields.
Guyang, a typical dry-farming region, is aggressively promoting technology adoption to enhance grain and oilseed yields while advancing green agriculture. This year, the county's corn yield improvement project covers a total area of 50,000 mu, with an 839-mu core demonstration area serving as a model for technology dissemination. In two experimental plots in Ershe Village, Jinshan Town, several key dry-farming technologies are being tested, including rainwater harvesting and precise irrigation systems. Previously, this land struggled to retain moisture, leading to low rainwater utilization. Now, with new techniques, it is projected to increase yield by 50 kilograms per mu and raise rainwater utilization efficiency to 30%.
This targeted approach to solving dryland yield challenges exemplifies Inner Mongolia's broader strategy of leveraging technology to boost agricultural capacity. In 2025, the region's grain output reached 84.07 billion jin, an increase of 2.06 billion jin from the previous year, ranking second nationally in terms of growth. For the first time, Inner Mongolia's grain production moved from sixth to fifth place nationwide, achieving a "twenty-second consecutive year of bumper harvests."
The 2026 Central Document No. 1 emphasizes the need to simultaneously focus on output, production capacity, ecology, and income growth. It calls for intensified efforts to implement a new round of the 100-billion-jin grain capacity enhancement initiative, promoting integrated efficiency through better farmland, seeds, machinery, and methods. Inner Mongolia is responding by designating this year as the "Year of Large-Scale Yield Improvement for Major Grain and Oil Crops," making yield enhancement the top priority in grain production.
The region has established a "Double Thousand, Double Hundred" technical deployment plan: the east, led by Tongliao City, and the west, led by Bayannur City, will promote precision dense planting technology for ten million mu of corn. Hulunbuir City will focus on one million mu of water-fertilizer integration, while Chifeng City and Ulanqab City will develop one million mu of dryland grain production. These efforts are supported by long-term strategic cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Huazhong Agricultural University, creating a robust framework for technological innovation and application.
The "hidden grain in the land and technology" strategy is taking deep root across the region. In Jiamatu Town, Horqin Left Wing Middle Banner, Tongliao City, party-building initiatives have led to the transfer of 3,500 mu of farmland, introducing an innovative wheat-corn-soybean triple-cropping rotation model that has improved soil health and increased income by over 1,000 yuan per mu. Meanwhile, the thousand-mu ton-grain field demonstration zone in Qipan Village, Ganzhaomiao Town, Linhe District, Bayannur City, integrates Beidou navigation operations, rational dense planting, and precise water-fertilizer control to boost corn density to 7,200 plants per mu, potentially increasing yields by 150 to 200 kilograms per mu.
In the thousand-mu potato demonstration zone in Chayouhou Banner, Ulanqab City, newly bred varieties and green, efficient cultivation techniques are being applied. With intelligent water-fertilizer integration and shallow drip irrigation, combined with bio-fertilizer and organic fertilizer use, the zone aims to increase new variety adoption by over 5% and average yields by more than 5% compared to surrounding areas. These initiatives highlight how advanced seeds and methods are driving efficiency and profitability in the potato industry.
This abundant harvest is both a testament to the hard work of farmers and herders and a demonstration of Inner Mongolia's commitment to national food security. Year after year, the region's granaries remain full, and its foundational strength grows ever more robust.
Thriving Pastures Strengthen Supply Chains
At the improved breeding and fattening base in Debatu Township, Huade County, the rhythmic bleating of sheep adds vitality to the autumn landscape. Herdsmen drive feed trucks between pens, distributing uniformly mixed forage. Here, "standardization" is the key to modern sheep farming—precisely adjusting feed formulations according to the different growth stages of meat sheep, feeding at set times, and consistently conducting pen disinfection and disease prevention. The base, equipped with standardized sheep sheds, breeding laboratories, feed storage facilities, and manure treatment systems, ensures a fully standardized chain of management from breeding to fattening, guaranteeing stable growth and high-quality meat.
Since 2021, Debatu Township has pooled village collective funds, rural revitalization funds, and Beijing-Inner Mongolia collaboration funds to build a 10,000-sheep fattening park, enabling centralized fattening. Technical personnel regularly provide hands-on training to integrate smallholder farmers into the standardized system. This year, the park has undergone upgrades, and once complete, it will be capable of fattening and selling 30,000 sheep annually, while also driving the development of three village-level thousand-sheep farms.
The livestock practices in Debatu Township reflect Inner Mongolia's broader path toward quality enhancement and efficiency in animal husbandry. In 2025, Inner Mongolia's beef output surpassed one million tons for the first time, reaching 1.017 million tons and ranking first in the country for the sixth consecutive year. Mutton output reached 1.029 million tons, maintaining the top national position for nine straight years, consistently exceeding one million tons. These achievements are backed by concrete measures and tangible results.
During the critical spring lambing and calf-rearing season, the region prioritizes forage supply, technical guidance, and disaster weather warnings to protect newborn livestock. By the end of May, the region reported 47.45 million newborn large and small livestock, a 1.3% year-on-year increase, with a survival rate steadily maintained at over 98%. This solid performance is underpinned by ongoing efforts to enhance cattle and sheep fattening through cooperative models like trusteeship and household breeding with enterprise fattening, which involve small farmers and herders in scaling up operations.
The region is also implementing a facility animal husbandry enhancement initiative, optimizing regional layouts by shifting breeding growth to agricultural and semi-agricultural areas, and raising the level of scaled and industrialized livestock farming. Support for upgrading smart ranches is further modernizing facilities and improving the overall standardization of livestock production.
As autumn arrives, the grasslands resonate with the sounds of a thriving livestock industry. From upgraded pens and sheds to innovative breeding models, standardization and scale are reshaping traditional animal husbandry. The plump cattle and sheep not only represent stable income for farmers and herders but also serve as the solid foundation for building a national base for high-quality agricultural and livestock products.
The vision of abundant grains and thriving livestock always takes root in fertile soil and relentless hard work. Every grain sown and every calf and lamb nurtured contribute to the surging momentum of Inner Mongolia's agricultural and livestock industry, promising a bright and prosperous future.