North China's Shanxi province saw stable growth in agricultural production in the first half of the year. The total added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries reached 47.43 billion yuan ($6.66 billion), marking a 4.8-percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The province's summer grain output totaled 2.48 million metric tons, up by 0.5 percent, with a record-high yield of 313.5 kilograms per mu (about 0.07 hectares), a 2-percent increase. This achievement is attributed to multiple provincial meetings focused on grain production and the provincial government's establishment of a special task force to promote the planting, management, and harvest work.

Regarding livestock, 7.39 million pigs were sold, an 8.4-percent increase; 370,000 cattle were sold, up by 5.2 percent; and 133.26 million poultry were sold, a 6.8-percent rise. The combined meat output from pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry reached 932,000 tons, an 8.6-percent increase. Additionally, milk production increased by 1.3 percent to 733,000 tons, and egg production grew by 5 percent to 630,000 tons.

Shanxi also implemented a program to expand the number of breeding cows and improve breeding quality in eight major beef cattle counties, including Fangshan and Tianzhen. This initiative has led to a 10-percent rise in breeding cows.