On the afternoon of July 17th, Maierdan Mugaiti, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, introduced the "report card" of China's agricultural and rural economy in the first half of the year at the press conference of the State Council Information Office, stating that summer grain production has been stable and abundant, summer oil area, yield per unit, and total output have achieved "three increases", and beef cattle breeding has turned losses into profits overall. Maierdan Mugaiti stated that the development momentum of agriculture and rural economy was good in the first half of the year, providing solid support for the stable operation of the national economy. The overall growth of autumn grain crops is normal, with a preference for the first half of the year. Summer grain production has overcome the impact of severe drought in some areas, achieving stable and abundant yields, laying a solid foundation for stable annual grain production. According to statistics, the national summer grain output is 299.48 billion kilograms, which is the second highest production year in history after last year. The area, yield, and total output of summer oil have achieved "three increases". Autumn grain production accounts for three-quarters of the annual grain production. To achieve the target of producing about 1.4 trillion kilograms of grain this year, the key is to rely on autumn grain. Lv Xiutao, the head of the Planting Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that the production foundation for autumn grain this year is still good. In terms of area implementation, it is expected to remain stable and increase compared to the previous year, especially with a significant increase in high-yield crop corn. In terms of seedling growth, most areas in Northeast China have suitable soil moisture during the spring sowing period this year; During the summer sowing period in the Huang Huai Hai region, there were multiple rounds of rainy weather, and the progress of summer sowing was smooth. This year, various regions have promoted large-scale yield improvement, applied high-performance seeders, integrated and promoted reasonable planting, water fertilizer integration and other measures, resulting in high-quality seedlings. In addition, the light and water temperature are relatively matched, and the overall growth of autumn grain crops is normal and preferred. Lv Xiutao said that currently, there are still more than two months left before the large-scale harvest of autumn grain, entering a critical period for yield formation and a period of frequent natural disasters. To achieve a bountiful autumn harvest, we still need to pass multiple checkpoints. Next, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will focus on both increasing yield and disaster prevention and mitigation to achieve a good autumn harvest. Pig farming has maintained profitability for 14 consecutive months in the first half of the year, and the pig market has attracted much attention. Huang Baoxu, Director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that pork production and consumption account for about 60% of meat in China, and it can be said that "a stable pig production leads to a stable animal husbandry industry". In the early stage, agricultural and rural departments at all levels have implemented control measures such as timely releasing overcapacity warning signals and guiding leading enterprises to adjust production and capacity in an orderly manner. Since May last year, pig farming has maintained profitability for 14 consecutive months. In response to the recent downward pressure on pig prices, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has provided advance guidance to leading enterprises to reasonably reduce production capacity and control the pace of slaughter. According to monitoring, in June, the inventory of medium and large-sized pigs over 5 months old in China decreased by 0.8% compared to the previous month, indicating that the number of live pigs slaughtered in July and August will decrease, which is conducive to stable pig prices and breeding profits. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the total number of breeding sows in China at the end of the second quarter was 40.43 million, which is still at the upper limit of the green and reasonable area for capacity regulation. Next, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will focus on two aspects of work to promote stable development of pig production. One is to adjust production capacity, encrypt market warning information, guide orderly slaughter, accelerate the elimination of low yield sows and weak piglets, adaptively adjust production capacity, and promote supply-demand balance; The second is to stabilize policies, implement local responsibilities for stable production and price of live pigs, optimize measures for regulating pig production capacity, ensure the normalization of prevention and control of African swine fever, and firmly guard against regional major animal epidemics. Since last year, in response to the problem of losses in beef and dairy farming, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, together with relevant departments and localities, has issued a series of relief policies and taken multiple measures to help farmers overcome difficulties. Huang Baoxu introduced that with the joint efforts of all parties, the overall beef cattle breeding has achieved a turnaround from losses to profits, and the dairy industry has achieved positive results in relieving difficulties. In terms of beef cattle, the price of live cattle has bottomed out and rebounded after the Spring Festival this year, and the beef cattle market has rapidly rebounded, with the breeding situation continuing to improve. According to monitoring, beef cattle breeding has maintained overall profitability for three consecutive months. In terms of dairy cows, the adaptive reduction of production capacity and cost savings in breeding have achieved phased results. According to monitoring, in June, the inventory of Holstein cows, also known as black and white cows, decreased by 4.2% year-on-year, and the cost per kilogram of milk decreased by 7.7% year-on-year. (New Society)