How to develop and utilize yak genetic resources?

Characteristics of (1) yak genetic resources

Yak has strong adaptability to the ecological environment of alpine grassland. It can live and reproduce freely under harsh conditions such as thin air, short grass growth period and cold, and transform natural resources that human beings can't directly use into animal products that human beings need. Except Datong yak, all other yak breeds are original local breeds, with low production performance and no systematic production performance record. Yaks do not compete with people for land, grain, natural resources and living space. Yak industry is a typical grain-saving animal husbandry. Yak is the best breed to develop seasonal animal husbandry because of its long-term natural selection and strong growth and fattening ability in warm season. Yaks don't need to be supplemented with any additives and feed, and they are completely grazing and fattening on natural pastures without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Their products are truly green food. Yaks in China are mainly distributed in ethnic minority areas. Developing yak industry is of great significance for strengthening national unity, promoting national economy and improving people's living standards in minority areas. In a word, these characteristics of yak are the basis of its existence and becoming a unique variety in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and also the premise of its vigorous protection, development and utilization.

(2) Development and utilization of yak genetic resources.

Yak is a kind of "multi-functional" variety with deep development value, which not only provides a wide range of livestock products for human beings, such as meat, milk, wool, cashmere and so on. Its skin, bones, blood, internal organs, whip and bone marrow are all important industrial raw materials, and they are also the means of transportation for herders. It can be carried, driven, ridden and cultivated. Yak dung, after drying in the sun, is still the fuel for herdsmen to make a fire, cook and keep warm; Yak is also a landscape animal. Therefore, yak is a multi-functional and high-value treasure. How to develop and utilize yak genetic resources reasonably and efficiently is an important topic.

1) Reasonable product structure The development and utilization of yak genetic resources must have a reasonable product series. Reasonable product structure includes: ① meat products series. Yaks grow in the snowy plateau and eat natural pasture. The clean environment and natural pasture create pure, natural and pollution-free meat, which is an out-and-out green food with the characteristics of "high protein and low fat" and is of great benefit to the prevention of human brain and cardiovascular diseases. Yak product series should include cut meat series, viscera product series and cooked meat product series. ② Dairy products series, yak milk has high fat content and small fat particles, which is a nutritional product with health care function. Dairy products include fresh milk products, frozen dairy products and milk powder products. ③ In the plush product series, yak is the only kind of cattle that can produce plush. Yak cashmere products are called "snow wool" in the international market, which are deeply loved by consumers and are very popular. ④ Biological products series, applying modern science and technology to develop yak blood capsules and other series of yak biological products. ⑤ Series of white yak cultural products, including the reproduction of unearthed bronze yak and other yak-related cultural products. ⑥ Other products, yak is a treasure, and unique products can be developed according to market demand. For example, yak skin is a high-grade leather raw material, and yak whip can be made into high-grade health wine.

2) Reasonable production system is an important technical guarantee for yak industry to embark on the road of sustainable development. Factors such as overgrazing and inbreeding have always been the bottleneck of yak industry development. Reasonable production system includes two aspects: narrow yak production system, including breeding group, breeding group and production and utilization group. Each group has different tasks and objectives, but must coordinate with each other; Yak production system in a broad sense is a large-scale system to establish the coordination between yak production, grassland construction and human development. In the yak production system, we should do well in three aspects: first, continue to implement and improve the grassland paid contract responsibility system; Second, do a good job in the construction of "people, grass and livestock"; Third, promote the construction of family pastures. Among them, the responsibility system of grassland paid contract management and the construction of "three supporting facilities" are the guarantee of yak industrialization, and the construction of family ranch is the basis and important content of industrialization management. Family ranch includes the mode of "five pushes, four modernizations and three matching", that is, popularizing high-yield and high-quality grassland cultivation techniques, improving livestock species and optimizing herd structure, maintaining livestock fertilizer in cold season, rapidly fattening and promoting milk in warm season, and standardizing prevention and control technologies of major livestock diseases and parasitic diseases; Implement large-scale farming, specialized production, intensive management and standardized management; Realize the supporting construction of housing, animal husbandry infrastructure and mowing storage base.

3) Integrating other industries and giving full play to their comprehensive advantages, yak has a history of thousands of years, such as the legend of the origin of yak, the worship and totem of Tibetan people, poems, folk proverbs and paintings about yak. The rich yak culture has greatly improved the cultural connotation of the development and utilization of yak genetic resources. The meat, bones and viscera of yak have the functions of health care and immunity improvement in Tibetan medicine, which can develop a series of health food and promote the development of yak genetic resources. Yak genetic resources are particularly important to tourism. Yak, as a unique landscape cattle breed in plateau, is favored by people at home and abroad, and many people come to visit and watch it. It has become a unique tourism resource, providing a variety of tourism projects and activities, and can also develop many tourism products and scenic spots around yak. Yak genetic resources will bring great vitality to future tourism. In some areas, yak resources have been regarded as a communication platform and brand serving the local regional economic development.