China's summer grain output crossed the 300 billion jin mark for the first time in 2026. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on July 10, total summer grain production reached 301.49 billion jin, an increase of 2.0 billion jin from the previous year. Sown area remained generally stable, while unit yield rose to 378.8 kilograms per mu, up 3.2 kilograms. Wheat yield alone reached 402.6 kilograms per mu, an increase of 3.4 kilograms.

Pre-harvest sprouting resistant wheat varieties played a direct role in stabilizing output. In Qifang Town, Zaoyang City, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, large-scale farmer Wu Jinjun managed over 1,000 mu of wheat that faced heavy rainfall from late May to early June. His trial planting of "Kenmai 58" three years ago and expanded planting of "Emai 30" this year showed clear advantages: only about 20% of ears sprouted under continuous rain. Wu estimated these varieties saved about 200 yuan per mu in losses. Zhu Zhanwang, deputy director of the Institute of Food Crops at the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, noted that "Kenmai 58" has twice broken high-yield records for rice-stubble wheat in Hubei, reaching a peak of 636.4 kilograms per mu.

Smart agricultural machinery improved efficiency in cross-region harvesting. Dong Song, leader of the Shandong Songdi cross-region harvesting team, led over 50 combine harvesters from Hubei northward for nearly two months, with each machine averaging more than 6,000 mu harvested, and total operation volume exceeding last year's by over 10,000 mu. This year's operating system upgrade allowed real-time automatic speed reduction based on crop conditions, reducing roller blockages. Nationwide, over 17 million sets of agricultural machinery were deployed during the summer harvest season, including over 800,000 combine harvesters and more than 200,000 operating across regions. Currently, domestically produced agricultural machinery includes over 4,000 types, meeting over 90% of market demand, and the overall mechanization rate for planting and harvesting reached 76.7%.

Artificial intelligence tools are also enhancing risk response capabilities. In Tonglu County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the rice-wheat rotation area frequently suffers from fusarium head blight and waterlogging. Xu Xing, head of Fengyang Family Farm, began using the "Maijitong" mini-program from last November's wheat sowing. Developed by a team from the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, it provides 15-day precipitation, temperature change, and disaster warnings, along with field management recommendations. Su Yao, a national wheat industry system expert, explained that the team used multidisciplinary theories and intelligent algorithms to enable millisecond-level warnings, and is continuously optimizing regional models.

Cheng Guoqiang, professor at Renmin University and president of the National Food Security Strategy Research Institute, stated that driving grain production from resource-dependent to innovation-driven through new quality productive forces in agriculture is fundamental to addressing resource constraints and international supply chain fluctuations. He emphasized the need to accurately identify systemic risks and build a full-cycle risk prevention and rapid response mechanism through intelligent disaster warning and smart production.

Policy signals have been intensive. The 15th Five-Year Plan outlines a target of approximately 1.45 trillion jin in comprehensive grain production capacity by the period's end. The recently issued "15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization" specifies achieving major breakthroughs in developing new quality productive forces in agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated it will continue to promote seed innovation and address weak links in agricultural machinery to enhance food security. Summer sowing has been largely completed nationwide, and summer field management is now in full swing.