Tangshan, Hebei: Building Smart Agriculture

At the command room of the Digital Circular Agriculture Smart Park in Guhe Township, Leting County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, staff member Wei Mingchao lightly clicked the mouse, and the water pump in the pond began to pump water to replenish the rice fields.

At the age of 24, Wei Mingchao was a staff member of a smart park in Tangshan City. Seeing that the agricultural industry in his hometown was becoming increasingly intelligent, he resigned and returned to his hometown in April this year to become a “new farmer”. He can observe the growth of 1500 acres of rice through the large screen in the command room every day, and can also clearly grasp data such as water temperature, insect infestation, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content.

In recent years, with the vigorous development of digital technology, Tangshan City has continuously integrated modern information technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence with the agricultural industry. Vigorously promoting the construction of agricultural big data platforms, 10000 acres of fertile land have been controlled on a square screen, and the traditional farming method of “facing the loess and facing the sky” has gradually been replaced by smart agriculture.

At the Smart Agriculture Demonstration Base in Yutian County, silage harvesters equipped with unmanned driving systems are harvesting corn. Feng Litian, the chairman of Jiqiang Farmers’ Professional Cooperative in Chenjiapu Town, sat in front of the computer to watch the harvest situation.

The field operation machinery is connected to digital information systems such as the Internet of Things, meteorological monitoring, and satellite navigation, which can control the position, status, and workload of agricultural machinery in real-time. Agricultural productivity can be increased by 20% Feng Litian said. Within the cooperative, mechanical equipment such as grain harvesters and intelligent agricultural machines are being assembled to showcase their skills during the autumn harvest.

It is reported that Tangshan City has comprehensively promoted the intelligent upgrading of agricultural machinery, achieving intelligent management such as satellite positioning of agricultural machinery, wireless communication, operation trajectory recording, and operation quality monitoring. Among them, plant protection drones have developed rapidly, with a total population of over 600 in the city. They can automatically plan flight routes, avoid obstacles, and improve work efficiency by 40 to 60 times compared to manual operations.

At Jialihe Tangshan Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. in Huanxizhuang Township, Xinjuntun Town, Fengrun District, the reporter saw two workers using a rotary automatic milking machine to milk 80 cows at the same time. Automation equipment such as induction sprinklers and comprehensive treatment of feces are readily available. The ranch utilizes intelligent biological ear tags, IoT and other technologies to achieve precise feeding, scientific management, and intelligent environmental control.