Heilongjiang is known as 'Great northern granary', and that record 50-billion-kilogram harvest in 2010, has analysts predicting another boom.

This year it is looking for a bumper crop, estimated at 57.5 billion kg, or 7.5 billion kg more than in 2010, and eight consecutive years of record harvests.

In the autumn, the great fields of grain can present an amazing sight, when viewed against the black land. And Zhang Jinghui, a prominent Heilongjiang Agricultural Reclamation Zone (HARZ) agronomist, standing out there on the edge of a large rice field, smiles at the very thought of the harvest.

"It's another good year. The yield-per-mu could reach 700 kg. I'm confident that this year's output will surpass last year's."

Over the past three years, Heilongjiang's grain production has increased 5 billion kg each year. In 2011, the province increased the amount of land under cultivation to almost 137,600 sq km, or almost 2,100 sq km more than in 2010.

The amount of land planted in high-quality rice amounted to 34,475 sq km, or 4,724 sq km more than in 2010. The area planted in high-yield crops has reached its highest level ever.

Farmers are fond of saying, "With grain in the hand, we're not frustrated" and a good harvest means stable grain prices. And the price of grain is related to commodity prices, so stable grain prices can give the government a good way to control inflation.

This year's harvest can give confidence to the people of Heilongjiang in their ability to stabilize grain output.

Half a century ago, this land was known as Beidahuang, or the Great northern wilderness.

Today it is one of China's largest grain producers and a far cry from the wilderness of before. The black soil is helping large-scale agriculture and is playing a key role in the nation's grain security efforts.

(China Daily 10/12/2011 page7)