In Zhenning County’s Shanhe Town, workers harvest mushrooms at the edible fungi industrial base in Dongzhuang Village. Meanwhile, at the apple demonstration orchard of the mutual aid cooperative in Xia’nan Village, Yonghe Town, laborers sort freshly picked apples.
As autumn paints Zhenning County in golden hues, the land brims with abundant harvests—fruit-laden orchards, fragrant mushroom farms, and bustling industrial workshops. In recent years, the county has anchored its development strategy in "agricultural priority," leveraging a "tri-element bidirectional" circular agriculture model to drive the cluster-based growth of specialty industries, propelling the local economy steadily along a high-quality development path.
At the edible fungi base in Caiyu Village, Shanhe Town, automated mushroom cultivation lines operate at full capacity, while farmers busily harvest oyster mushrooms in greenhouses. According to the site manager, the facility utilizes agricultural waste like corn cobs and apple branches to produce mushroom substrates. After harvesting, spent substrates are fermented into organic fertilizer for vegetable cultivation, forming a sustainable "planting-fungi-fertilizer" cycle. This approach not only reduces fertilizer costs but also enhances crop quality.
This "tri-element bidirectional" model—integrating crop farming, livestock breeding, and fungi cultivation—lies at the heart of Zhenning’s agricultural transformation. The county has established six edible fungi production bases, including Zhoujia Xizhuang and Yongzheng Wanggouquan, equipped with automated substrate lines and climate-controlled systems for year-round production. With an annual output of 500 tons of fresh mushrooms, the sector employs over 150 workers, boosting per capita income by more than 15,000 yuan annually. "Circular fungi farming" has emerged as a new pillar of prosperity for Zhenning.
In Qiutou Town, farmer Niu Zhaomin’s apple orchard is heavy with crimson fruit, while livestream hosts promote the harvest online. "We used to rely on traditional methods, but now, with dwarfing and high-density planting techniques, labor costs have dropped by 40%, and premium fruit rates rose by 30%. My 10-acre orchard is expected to yield an extra 30,000 yuan this year," Niu shared.
Building on circular agriculture, Zhenning has upgraded its specialty industries across the entire value chain. Apple production has embraced orchard modernization and technological innovation, introducing new varieties like Ruixue and Qincui. The county’s 11,740 acres of orchards produce 168,000 tons of apples annually, generating over 710 million yuan in output value. Three intelligent sorting lines and 11 storage facilities support the sector, while an innovative "orchard adoption + e-commerce livestreaming" model drove online sales beyond 80 million yuan in 2024.
Parallel growth in cattle and hog farming—with 24,200 head of cattle and 211,800 pigs—has spurred complementary industries, creating a closed-loop "production-processing-sales" ecosystem for apples, medicinal herbs, and other crops.
From the efficiency gains of "tri-element bidirectional" circular farming to the integrated "planting-breeding-processing" industrial upgrades, Zhenning County has harnessed specialty industries to unlock rural revitalization, yielding a bountiful harvest of prosperity on the Loess Plateau.