During the golden autumn season, the fresh corn in Huangjiadu Village, Babao Town, Qiyang City has entered its harvest period. Unlike previous years, locals are now not only selling corn but also turning the corn stalks into sought-after cattle feed, achieving a "dual harvest from one field" and creating a circular economy.

In the 150-mu corn base of large-scale grower Deng Yanrong, farmers are busy picking, sorting, and bagging the produce. Deng has adopted a two-crop annual planting model with staggered sowing schedules, keeping the harvesting window to around 10 days, which effectively solves the problem of selling difficulties caused by concentrated market supply. Currently, the base yields 2,000 jin of corn per mu.

The harvested corn stalks are not wasted either. They are directly sold to cattle farms as feed, earning an additional 100 yuan per mu. Deng Yanrong, a large-scale corn grower, said, "Our corn is never hard to sell now, all thanks to the staggered market timing. We plant and harvest in batches, and customers call every day asking for supplies. With a yield of about 2,000 jin per mu, the returns are quite substantial."

Growers like Deng who benefit from both corn and stalk income are becoming increasingly common across Qiyang. This year, Qiyang City's corn planting area has reached over 60,000 mu, including more than 3,000 mu of fresh corn. Local authorities are actively promoting a model that combines planting and breeding within a circular agricultural framework, guiding growers to utilize stalks as feed. This approach not only resolves the challenge of stalk disposal but also lowers breeding costs and broadens income channels for farmers.

Fu Yijun, head of the Planting Industry Division of Qiyang Agricultural and Rural Bureau, noted, "To ensure the healthy development of the corn industry, our agricultural department is promoting unified improved varieties, green pest control, and water-fertilizer integration technology, while guiding farmers to adopt rational crop rotation and batch planting. Next, we will actively connect with markets and deep-processing enterprises to expand sales channels and increase product added value, ensuring farmers can grow, sell, and profit from their crops."