Herders flock to new winter opportunities

LANZHOU－Yang Qiang, 33, a herder from Northwest China's Gansu province, checks on his flock of sheep grazing in a cornfield every two hours to make sure they are adapting well in their new habitat at the foothills of Qilian Mountains. Since 2015, the herdsman in the Sunan Yugu ethnic autonomous county has been unperturbed about livestock feed in winter, as he and his herd migrate from highland pasture to downhill farms to spend the winter. "With the onset of winter, the highland pasture where I live is no longer able to provide enough forage for livestock, resulting in a poor survival rate for lambs," Yang explains. Over the past few years, 506 households of shepherds like Yang in the mountainous county have driven their flocks downhill to the farms instead of grazing in highland throughout the winter months of October to March, when agricultural lands are barren. An Yufeng, director of the county's animal husbandry and veterinary service center, says that before the winter migration, herders contact the farms in advance so that the epidemic prevention department can be informed to carry out relevant testing on their animals.