The Commissioning of 350,000 Tons of Fulvic Acid Compound Fertilizer: Yishizhuang Presses the Fast-Forward Button for Development

The year 2020 was an extraordinary year for China's agricultural materials industry. At the beginning of the year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fertilizer enterprises in Hubei were once pressed the pause button, and production and transportation were at a standstill. In the middle of the year, many places across the country were hit by natural disasters such as floods, which destroyed countless farmlands and caused heavy losses. For these reasons, some agricultural materials enterprises were affected and their development fell into difficulties. However, at the same time, we also saw a number of agricultural materials enterprises that were not afraid of hardships and challenges in the face of difficulties, fully demonstrating the resilience and tenacity of the enterprises and overcoming the difficulties.

The past year was an important turning point for Yishizhuang located in Hubei. In this year, Yishizhuang not only overcame numerous difficulties and achieved steady growth of the company, but also successfully put the 350,000-ton fulvic acid compound fertilizer production line into operation, emerging as a dark horse in the industry.

What major events took place in Yishizhuang in the past year? How did Yishizhuang develop from an unknown small fertilizer blending factory into a large-scale company today? What are the future development plans? With these questions, the author interviewed Liu Zufeng, the chairman of Yishizhuang, and had an in-depth discussion about the company's past, present and future.

Overcoming Difficulties Step by Step: From a Small Workshop to a Large Company

On the banks of the Yangtze River, the cold wind is blowing. Yichang has now entered the cold winter season. Recently, when the author went deep into Yishizhuang for an interview, it was already a busy scene here. In the production workshop, workers were skillfully operating the machines at various production posts, sorting and loading bags of high-quality fertilizers, gearing up for the upcoming peak season of fertilizer use for spring plowing in the new year, and one could hardly feel the cold of winter.

Recalling the development history of Yishizhuang, Liu Zufeng was filled with emotions. He introduced that the predecessor of Yishizhuang was Yiling Fertilizer Blending Factory, which was founded in 1992. After the restructuring and contracting in 2004 and the establishment of Jiuchou Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in 2009, and then renamed as Hubei Yishizhuang Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in 2010, it officially entered the track of development.

In 2014, Yishizhuang merged and reorganized to establish Yichang HSBC Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and in the same year, Hubei Jufeng Agriculture Co., Ltd. was established. In 2017, Hubei Jiamachi Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd. was established. So far, Yishizhuang has the current scale.

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from January to March this year, compared with the same period in 2019, the output of Yishizhuang decreased by 30% and the sales volume decreased by 25%. Liu Zufeng introduced that in the face of the pandemic, Yishizhuang did not sit back and wait for death. Instead, while doing a good job in epidemic prevention, it seized the opportunity, overcame the unfavorable factors brought about during the epidemic prevention and control period, actively resumed work and production, and achieved a burst of strength after long-term accumulation. The increase in the second half of the year made up for the decline in output and sales volume in the first half of the year, achieving a good result of positive growth for the whole year.

In the past 20-odd years of development, Yishizhuang has experienced many changes and has now developed into a company with a variety of products such as special compound fertilizers for crops, organic fertilizers, microbial fertilizers, high-tower fulvic acid organic-inorganic water-soluble fertilizers, etc. It has seemingly transformed from a workshop-style enterprise into a backbone force in the fertilizer industry.

Focusing on Crops and Strengthening Products: Implementing the Strategy of Reducing Fertilizer Use and Increasing Efficiency

In the initial stage of entering the track of development, Yishizhuang was in a period of rapid development of compound fertilizers in China. At that time, it was a period of a hundred schools of thought contending, and the market competition was very fierce. Facing the complex market environment, Yishizhuang did not follow the trend to produce ordinary compound fertilizers, but adopted a development path of focusing on crops, and occupied the market by researching and producing special fertilizers for crops.

Over the years, Yishizhuang has carried out in-depth technical cooperation with domestic and foreign scientific research institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Zhengzhou University and South China Agricultural University. In the initial stage, it focused on crops such as rapeseed, citrus and tea. Liu Zufeng introduced that Yishizhuang participated in the national key research and development program "Integrated Research and Demonstration of Technologies for Reducing the Application of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides in Rapeseed" many years ago. It carried out the demonstration and promotion of special slow-release fertilizers for rapeseed for three consecutive years in the main rapeseed production areas such as Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Jiangxi, Anhui and Yunnan. Through the integrated demonstration with technologies such as "suitable varieties for sowing", "high-density direct seeding", "full-process mechanization" and "green prevention and control" in the region, the cumulative promotion and radiation area reached 1.4 million mu. Under the condition of ensuring stable yield, the effect of reducing fertilizer use by 20% was achieved, truly implementing the national strategy of reducing fertilizer use and increasing efficiency.

In addition to rapeseed, Yishizhuang has also made great achievements in the fields of citrus, tea and vegetables. Its special fertilizers have also participated in corresponding projects and achieved very good results.

As one of the earlier enterprises focusing on special fertilizers for crops, Yishizhuang has been implementing this concept until now and has become an example for many enterprises to follow. In the future, Yishizhuang will continue to research and improve special fertilizers for crops, apply the new slow and controlled release technology to products such as controlled release fertilizers for vegetables, rapeseed, citrus and rice, realizing one-time application of base fertilizers, scientific ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, full nutrition of nutrients, reducing fertilizer use, improving quality and increasing efficiency.

Expanding Production Capacity and Enriching Product Lines: Persisting in Scientific and Technological Innovation

In recent years, against the background of overcapacity in the fertilizer industry, the profits of enterprises have been seriously affected. Especially for traditional compound fertilizer enterprises, their development has encountered bottlenecks and gradually withdrawn from the center of the historical stage.

Facing the difficulties in the industry, Liu Zufeng is not worried. He believes that what is being phased out in the industry now are mostly backward production capacities and uncompetitive products. As a technology-based innovative enterprise, Yishizhuang has always attached great importance to product research and development and innovation, and its product competitiveness has always been very strong.

In 2020, Yishizhuang pressed the fast-forward button for development against the trend and came to the center of the industry stage. It is understood that this year, the second-phase drum granulation workshop and the third-phase high-tower fulvic acid compound fertilizer workshop of Hubei Jiamachi Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd., the new factory in Zhijiang of Yishizhuang, with an annual output of 350,000 tons, were successfully put into operation.

Not only that, Yishizhuang has also newly developed the "Three Excellences" brand of Jiamachi: Sanyuaneng, Sanyuanbu and Sanyuanjin series fertilizers. The high-tower fulvic acid compound fertilizer not only adds inorganic nutrient elements, but also adds organic nutrient elements and functional TE/FA, achieving the combination of three elements, and has a very broad prospect in increasing crop yield and improving quality.

As the saying goes, one can't see the rainbow without experiencing the storm. It is believed that Yishizhuang, which has gone through hardships, has completed its transformation. In the future, with a new attitude of new mechanisms, new concepts, new starting points and new strategies, Yishizhuang will better serve China's quality agriculture.