The Gobi Desert has never been the home of humans, but it should be considered the home of camels.

In Alashan, even when the wind is mixed with coarse gravel and dances, the Bactrian camel always stands in the wind, and that confidence and arrogance convey an unmistakable message: this is my home!

In the difficult development of desertification, the management of the Jiagu desertification control team did not know who mentioned it, but it was soon decided to introduce a group of Bactrian camels to join the desertification control war.

I have to say that this decision was also unanimously welcomed by everyone in the desert camp.

You can go up to the mountains, you can go down the river, you can walk through the grassland, you can cross the desert, you can run over horses, you can fight wolves, you can carry tools to control desertification, you are not afraid of thirst, you are not afraid of hunger, you are not afraid of bad weather, and you are not afraid of dangerous terrain...... Who can not admit that camels are a great species?

Naturally, the employees of the Jiagu headquarters did not know how to raise camels, so they had to recruit a group of local herders to take care of the camel team.

When the camels entered the camp, many employees gathered around to welcome the "new partner".

They stretch out their long necks, majestic bodies, high double peaks, and beautiful camel hair...... Accompanied by the herdsmen's singing of "Praise for the Camel Head", he entered the camp of Jiagu Zhisha: "My friend, you have the characteristics of the twelve genera: rat ears on your head, a back like a cow......

Probably in the minds of the herdsmen of Alashan, the camel is the real head of the zodiac.

But it has to be said that the newly joined camel herd instantly became the "star" in the desertification control team.

Especially for the tree planting team, the green barrier that goes deeper into the hinterland of the desert is mostly completed on the backbone of the camel herd, and the vehicles cannot drive in, and the transportation of people and materials is inseparable from the camel herd.

As a means of transportation, camels have excellent "load performance", camels can weigh up to one ton, carry 175 kilograms of travel, travel up to 35 kilometers a day, and a single rider can travel more than 50 kilometers a day. After about 10 days without eating or drinking, the camel can still carry the weight.

The magical "superpower" of camels does not rely on the abundant aquatic plants in the desert oasis. On the contrary, thorny grass, salty grass, bitter grass, and spicy grass are its delicacies, and the poor herbivore, which is unbearable for other herbivores, becomes a huge energy once it has been chewed and ruminated by camels. They are also not picky about drinking water, and they are all drunk when they encounter salty water and bitter water.

Although there is no shortage of water or pasture in the Jiagu sand control camp, and the camels can be better cared for, who would not like this kind of creature that does not compete with people for food, resists wind and sand, is resistant to high temperature and cold, and can endure hardships and stand hard work?

At least Wei Ming likes it too much!

"They are born in the harshest environment on the planet. Desert, behind the word, always flickering the shadow of death. White thorn, purslane, artemisia...... They swallow the coarsest food, and yet, carry the heaviest burdens and trek through the hardest journeys. ”

I don't remember where I read this passage, but Wei Ming now agrees.

In his opinion, the camel can be said to be a special life customized by the creator for the Gobi Desert, and it is the magical spirit of Alashan.

It is said that there is still the last and only camel cavalry in the country in the depths of the Gobi Desert to this day! It is precisely with the solid backs of the army camels that the soldiers of the frontier guards can freely gallop in the special geographical environment of the border defense line such as ravines, sand nests, and swamps. These military camels have separate files, which are managed by numbers and used by designated people.

The Jiagu camp also cares for and manages the camel herd according to a similar system, and in the eyes of all the sand control people in the camp, these emotional camels are their best companions in rebuilding human civilization in the Gobi Desert, and they are part of this big family.

When they carry desertification control materials and personnel around the field, they are the brothers of the desertification control people, and when they provide camel milk to replenish the energy of the exhausted desertification control people, they bring the feeling of home and home......

That's right, the camels in the camp not only provide labor for the desertification control team, but also "nurse" the desertification control people.

Camel milk is now not well-known in China, but in foreign countries, the food and medicinal value of camel milk has gradually been known by more people, known as "desert platinum", "gold in nutrition", and is also being vigorously promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Another purpose of Jiagu's introduction of camel herds is to explore the feasibility and benefits of desert animal husbandry projects.

On this day, when Wei Ming returned from the front line of sand control, he heard that the camel herd had officially produced milk, so he ran over to visit despite his exhaustion.

Around the camp, herds of Bactrian camels leisurely feed on the pastures, while the mothers and calves are led to the milking parlors.

While comforting the female camel, the experienced herdsman whispered to Wei Ming and others: "The camel is not an animal that has been domesticated for milk production for a long time, and it will not store a large amount of milk like a cow, and the milk production is very small, and the average daily output of each female camel is only about 2 catties." Moreover, it is not possible to use a vacuum breast pump directly to extract milk like a cow, and the female camel will only begin to secrete ** when she is sure that the baby camel is hungry and sucks around, and a milk production time will only last for 20 minutes to half an hour......"

Wei Ming and the others watched the herdsmen's every move with novelty.

After the herdsmen comforted the well-fed and well-fed female camels, they led the lambs one by one to the female camel and sucked a few bites, and then immediately seized the opportunity to start the mechanical milking, and the faint frankincense wafted in the air.

According to the herdsmen's introduction, it is not easy to get the female camel to cooperate with milking, and it cannot be done without 3 months of domestication. He also had close contact with camels every day, and knew their habits well, so he "trained them well".

Freshly squeezed camel milk cannot be drunk directly. Because fresh camel milk will contain certain bacteria, these bacteria are harmful to the human body if they enter the human body directly, and they need to be boiled or processed before drinking.

After the herdsmen skillfully boiled it, Wei Ming and the others tasted it first.

Unlike regular dairy products, camel milk has a salty taste. Although the taste is very novel, Wei Ming is really not used to this flavor.

This is the so-called miracle of camel milk?

Among the many benefits of camel milk, one of the most well-known is its blood sugar benefits. This claim is not unfounded. Some studies believe that camel milk contains insulin and also has small insulin-like molecules that can interact with insulin receptors. Overall, however, there is a lack of strong evidence that camel milk has a better effect on blood lipid levels than cow's milk.

As for the "good for fighting cancer" advertised by merchants, it is purely exaggerated propaganda.

Of course, in addition to the above two points, it is not for nothing that camel milk is known as the "gold in nutrition".

Compared to cow's milk, camel milk has ten times more iron, three times more vitamin C, and the lowest lactose content, making it the closest milk product to breast milk......

In other words, those with dairy allergies may not have digestive problems when drinking camel milk, and the antimicrobial proteins in camel milk can improve the body's immunity and help fight off bacteria and viruses.

Because it is an exploratory stage, there is no deep processing plan for camel milk, and more fresh camel milk is directly supplied to the majority of people in sand control.

After seeing the production process and output of camel milk, and tasting fresh camel milk, the management of the desertification control team had a good idea of the prospects for the development of the camel milk industry.

Wei Ming expressed his opinion: "Judging from the current research results, camel milk is indeed a rare milk with certain health care value. It's just that, due to the scarcity of resources and the high price, it may not be suitable for all families. It's also a bit smug in flavor and not everyone is happy with it. "Like himself.

The representative of Jiagu Dairy continued: "It makes sense. But camel milk is a specialty milk. After the consumer market has entered the stage of segmentation and high-end, consumers have also begun to pay attention to specialty milk. In the case of rigid demand on the consumer side, we must also have some special dairy industry layout to match the consumer side. ”

“......”

After several discussions, the team management reached a preliminary consensus on the value of desert camel farming: even if the value of camel transportation is gradually lost with the deepening of desert development, camel milk, camel hair and the services provided to tourists who come to the desert tourism and adventure have become treasures.

Although we still need to explore, for example, how to increase milk production, how to develop more value of camel milk...... But in any case, the desertification control team is confident that these tall and docile creatures will become a beautiful scenery for desertification control and development.