Heilongjiang goes high-tech in rice planting
You can make a festival about virtually anything — even transplanting rice seedlings. Competition, too.
The Jiansanjiang Co in Heilongjiang province, a subsidiary of the State-owned Beidahuang Agricultural Reclamation Group, kicked off the festival at its Hongwei farm on Sunday, marking the beginning of transplanting operations on the company's 6,666 hectares.
On a vast paddy field, part of the farm's intelligent agriculture demonstration zone, 31 intelligent rice transplanting machines inserted rice seedlings evenly.
The machines, equipped with the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, can accurately execute planned routes and work autonomously in the field.
Currently, the farm has 699 advanced rice transplanters for unmanned operations, which can save more than 2 million yuan ($289,000) in labor costs annually.
He Shan, a contestant from the farm, won first prize.
"I'm excited that I won the prize among so many excellent participants," he said. "Moreover, I have gained more skills using the agricultural machines, which will help me work more efficiently in the future."
