In September, the golden autumn season, the replanted corn in Cuijiahe Village, Nianzhang Town, Xia County, has ushered in a bumper harvest. Large corn stalk and ear combine harvesters have become the "stars" of the harvest鈥攚hile harvesting golden corn ears, they simultaneously crush and collect the stalks, achieving "one machine, two harvests" with "ears into the bin, stalks into the box," turning what was once "waste straw" into a "hot commodity" for livestock breeding.

In the five-mu corn field of Li Caifeng, a villager from Cuijiahe Village, Nianzhang Town, Xia County, the stalk and ear combine harvester is running at full power, shuttling back and forth. Where the machine passes, ear picking, husking, and bin loading are completed in one smooth operation, while the lower cutting platform simultaneously cuts and crushes the corn stalks and throws them into the accompanying grass box.

Li Caifeng, a villager from Cuijiahe Village, said: "The yield is about 1,300 to 1,400 jin per mu. The corn has grown very well this year. The harvester came to the field and took away the grass as well, and the corn was directly taken home. It saves trouble, and I am very satisfied with the corn harvest."

The promotion of stalk and ear combine harvesters has not only solved the "long-standing difficulty" of straw disposal but also opened a new path for the combined planting and breeding circular agriculture in Xia County. One machine simultaneously completes the two processes of "harvesting grain" and "harvesting grass," ensuring that autumn grain is fully stored while providing high-quality forage to breeders, achieving a win-win for both grain and feed.

Cui Guopeng, head of the Xia County Jianong Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative, said: "In recent years, our county has vigorously promoted straw removal technology. Since 2021, the Jianong Agricultural Machinery Professional Cooperative has purchased ten corn stalk and ear combine harvesters one after another. On the one hand, this effectively avoids the phenomenon of straw burning; on the other hand, it saves farmers' costs and increases their income."

To ensure that autumn grain is fully stored, Xia County relies on cooperatives to organize agricultural machinery operation teams, promptly tracking and scheduling the supply and demand matching of machinery and operators, and with a sense of responsibility of "always being concerned," safeguarding the people's "grain bags."

Li Junquan, a staff member of the Xia County Modern Agriculture Development Center, said: "Xia County's corn planting area this year reached 350,000 mu. The summer corn harvest has been fully underway since mid-September. The agricultural machinery department has coordinated and dispatched more than 300 corn harvesters across the county. Based on corn yield, planting density, and moisture levels, we guide operators to reasonably adjust operating speeds, minimize the mechanical harvest loss rate, and ensure that autumn grain is fully stored."