URUMQI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- While drones and tractors hum across China's autumn harvest, fields in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are filled with a very different sound: "Baa."
As a 200-hectare seed zucchini plantation enters its harvest period in Karamay in northern Xinjiang, 10,000 sheep have been sent into the fields in batches to graze on weeds and vines. A clip featuring the white sheep wandering and feeding in the yellow-green fields has become a hit on social media.
Similar scenes are playing out across Xinjiang's main seed zucchini-growing areas. In Shuanghe City, farmer Chen Weiwei has also welcomed the four-legged animals into his fields. "They walk around, eat weeds and make harvesting easier," Chen said.
They are not intruders but helpers.
Seed zucchinis are pumpkin-like plants grown specifically for their white seeds. The skin and flesh are not eaten. The seeds are a popular snack in China and can also be pressed for oil.
The plants grow thick with vines and leaves, hiding the yellow zucchinis beneath. The sheep trample the vines and graze on leaves, exposing the zucchinis to sunlight directly. After several days, the zucchinis grow stronger and the vines wither away.
The field then becomes open after weeds and vines are cleared by the flocks, putting plump zucchinis in plain sight.
Chen said the sheep's "contribution" also includes their manure, a natural fertilizer that helps improve the soil.
More importantly, the sheep do not eat the zucchini. Its skin is hard and thick, so that people have to smash it on the ground to break it.
As pastures in the mountains begin to dry up in early autumn, local herders move their flocks to the zucchini fields. Farmers set up yurts and fences, turning the fields into temporary pastures for a few days.
It is a win-win business, and no money changes hands. The herders save on feed, the farmers save on weeding, and the sheep get a free meal.
Chen has grown seed zucchinis for six years. For him, the old methods were slower and costly. Stopping irrigation to dry out the vines would take more than 20 days, and mechanical harvesting alone would cost over 30,000 yuan (about 4,447 U.S. dollars).
Maidbaye, a herder in Karamay, raises more than 200 sheep. He said the arrangement would save him nearly 10,000 yuan on feed costs.
The "sheep helpers" are part of a broader push toward green, circular farming. Local officials said other methods include turning corn straw into animal feed and returning manure to the soil. The goal is to reduce reliance on chemicals.
China's newly revised Agriculture Law includes a chapter on green agricultural development, calling for a nationwide green transition. It gives priority to ecological circular agriculture, promotes the recovery, harmless treatment and comprehensive utilization of agricultural waste. It also encourages the circular agriculture integrating crop production with livestock breeding.
With policy guidance, this farming wisdom is expected to be taken up more broadly, with animal helpers being seen working alongside machines more often, and other fields across China echoing with the sound "Baa." ■
