The Optimized Production And Operation Mode Of Family Ranch Resources In The Middle Pastoral Area On The North-side Of Tianshan Mountains In Xinjiang

Xinjiang is one of the five major pastoral areas in China. Grassland animal husbandry is always an important part and the basic industry of the economic development in Xinjiang. Since ancient times, the herdsmen rely on the weather to raise livestock. Four-seasonal and nomadic life is the traditional and primary mode of the production and living of pastoralists. Since the1980s, the project for herdsman settlement has radically changed the way of production and life-style of pastoralists. Consequentely, various forms of the family ranches emerge. However, as a new type of production units in grassland animal husbandry, the family ranches are still in their start-up or initial stages. Most family ranches utilize little technology and the allocation and utilization of resources are unscientific, which needs to be improved and optimized. This project conducts research and comparative analysis based on a typical steppe region--Ashili Kazakh town of Changji City in the middle range of northern Tianshan as the study area and with the typical pastoral herders as example who raise Xinjiang sheep in different mode of operation in family ranches. It provides the theoretical evidences and supporting data for the development grassland animal husbandry in Xinjiang. The main research contents of this project include:1. The plant community characteristics of grasslands, which are affected by the different operation modes. It shows that a combination of warm-season grazing+full-feeding in cold-season is better than that of warm-season grazing+cold-season grazing with supplementary feeding, the latter is better than traditional grazing in four seasons. The research results show that the coverage, height, density and aboveground biomass of plants in the fence were31.94%,27.08%,16.76%and40.03%respectively higher than those of plants outside the fence. It indicates that the fence putting on natural grasslands plays an important and irreplaceable role in the aspects of grassland protection and improvement, improving grassland productivity, strengthening grazing management and achieving ecological balance of grasslands.2. The Soil health of grassland, which is affected by different operation modes. The impacts on the physical properties of soil:the soil moisture of grassland increases relatively with the increasing of soil depth, but the change in moisture is not significant (P>0.05). The soil bulk density of grassland tends to increase with the increasing of grazing intensity. However, the results of comparing the grasslands in and outside of fence indicate that the soil bulk density was not threatened by different grazing modes. The influence on chemical properties of soil:grazing has a direct impact on the contents of chemical elements in the ecology of natural grasslands. In general, a combination of warm-season grazing+full-feeding in cold-season is better than that of warm-season grazing+cold-season grazing with supplementary feeding, while the traditional grazing in four seasons has the significant impact on the grassland. It make various physical and chemical indexes get worse with the increasing of grazing intensity, which speeds up the deteriorating of grassland soil.3. Analyzing the seasonal dynamics of forage nutrient in study area, which shows that the protein and crude fat in the fall pasture is higher (P<0.01) than that in the spring pasture. Both the digested energy and metabolic energy vary in the same way:those in the fall pasture are significantly higher (P<0.01) than those in the spring pasture; both Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) in the spring pasture are higher than those in the fall pasture, but the difference is not significant (P>0.05). The digestibility of dry matter (DM) and daily average intake of metabolism of fine-wool sheep grazed in the fall pasture are significantly higher (P<0.01) than those in the spring pasture. Overall, the nutrition level of grassland in the fall area is higher than that in the spring area. We could make more reasonable use of the seasonal-grazing pasture by extending the period of fall grazing with suitable supplementary feeding.4. Analyzing the impact on livestock productivity with different operation modes. The research results show that there are significantly differences in weight loss during winter with different operation modes in cold seasons:the weight loss of the ewes in full-feeding group<that of the ewes in supplementary feeding group<that of the ewes in full-grazing group (P<0.01). The survival rate in breeding, wool yield, wool length and net wool rate are extremely different with various operation modes in cold season:i.e., those of the ewes in full-feeding group> those of the ewes in supplementary feeding group> those of the ewes in full-grazing group (P<0.01); for the weight of birth and growth of lamb:those of the ewes in full-feeding group> those of the ewes in supplementary feeding group>those of the ewes in full-grazing group (P<0.05). As for the net income in immediate economic benefits for herdsmen, the research result shows that the ewes in supplementary feeding group>the ewes in full-feeding group> the ewes in full-grazing group. The mainly reason that the net income with the ewes in full-feeding group is lower than that with the ewes in supplementary feeding group is that the feeding cost of the ewes in full-feeding group is higher.5. Analyzing the effects of different operation modes on the economic benefits. The comparative analyses show that stock-raising in the study area is not combined with agriculture. In addition, the level of farming is low and the forage yield is far from satisfactory. The grasses harvested from the natural grassland cannot meet the feeding demand for cold-season feeding or supplementary feeding in winter. It is necessary to speed up the development of grasslands with high-level grass production in the study area. The overall result of research indicates that both expenditure and income on livestock production in the cold-season feeding group as well as cold-season grazing+supplementary feeding group is higher. The cost on feeding in cold-season feeding operation mode is48.36%higher than that in cold-season grazing+supplementary feeding operation mode, while the income of the former is8.56%lower than that of the latter. The results show that the average income per person in the operation mode of cold-season grazing+supplementary feeding is higher than those in the operation mode of cold-season feeding as well as that of traditional four-season grazing.From the research and analytical results mentioned above, we establish a model of optimized production and operational management of the family ranches in the middle pastoral area on the north slope of Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang:based on the operation modes of the "warn-season grazing+cold season feeding" or the "warn-season grazing+cold-season grazing with supplementary feeding"; enhancing the management of grasslands, scientifically adjusting the utilization of seasonal pasture, The current grass production mode will change to summer pasturing of alpine and middle mountain region. It will enlarge the utilization area of the summer pasture. The middle and low mountain region are utilized in spring and autumn. At the same time, the utilization time of autumn pasture is extended. It is extended from52days to75days. The grazing time of the spring and summer pasture is reduced, from67days to56days in spring and from122days to82days in summer. Winter barn feeding or supplementary feeding is utilized in winter pasture. Its utilization time is from124days to152days. It can make natural grassland resource is utilized enough throughout the year in study area. maintaining a fodder-livestock balance by limiting the volume of livestock based on grassland; carrying out the policies of grazing-banning, delayed grazing and rotational grazing; implementing supplemental seeding to improve the production in the fenced area; using the funds in an integrated way, reinforcing the construction of infrastructure for the family ranches in the pastoral area; adjusting and optimizing the species of livestock and the structure of herds, The proportion of ewes in the livestock on hand at the end of the year is from65%to85%. under the condition of drylot feeding, the species with the prolificacy will be selected. The time of supplementary feeding is changed from January April to December-March. The time of female mating is ahead of schedule. The ewes are made to produce winter lamb in February; learning from the advanced science and technology, strengthening technical training, improving the skills and qualities of farmers and herdsmen; fully making use of various resources, optimizing their allocation and integration with technology, therefore forming a well-established technology system; employing the technology system in the family ranches, forming management methods, exploring the impacts of different management methods on grasslands, animals and livestock, finding the best management method for family ranches, promoting the changes of grassland animal husbandry production and operation mode in the area; using demonstration to promote the large-scale application, organically combining demonstration and promotion, realizing sustainable development of grassland animal husbandry in pastoral areas where family ranch is the basic unit of production and operation, promoting the constructing of new pastoral areas and consolidating the stability of border in Xinjiang.