On March 2, the ceremony announcing the 2025“National Craftsmen of the Year”was broadcast during prime time on CCTV’s comprehensive channel. Jointly organized by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and China Media Group, the event unveiled ten outstanding craftsmen selected for the honor.
Liu Songbai, a 2001 alumnus of Yangtze University’s Animal Science program, was among the ten honorees. Liu currently serves as Director of the Feed and Nutrition Section of the Poultry Production Technology Department at Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd. and is a senior animal husbandry specialist. He was the only honoree from Guangdong Province and the only recipient this year whose work focuses on modern agriculture.
For 14 years, Liu has remained committed to the front lines of agricultural production. Calling himself “just someone who raises chickens” , this dedicated agricultural scientist from Tujia ethnic group has worked amid the realities of livestock production for fourteen tireless years, to develop what has been described as a specialized “feed dictionary” for Chinese indigenous chickens.
In 2012, Liu gave up opportunities to work at a research institute and pursue further studies abroad, choosing instead to join Wens Foodstuff Group in Xinxing County, Guangdong Province, as a researcher working directly on the production front line.“True agricultural research must be tested and verified on the front line of production”,Liu often emphasizes. After joining the company,his routine included observing production processes in feed mills, living and working alongside farm workers at poultry farms, and collecting data in chicken houses in the early hours of the morning.
Chinese indigenous chickens, known for their distinctive meat quality and flavor, are an important domestic poultry breed in China. For many years, however, researchers lacked dedicated data on the nutritional parameters of feed ingredients specifically suited to these chickens. Production practices therefore had to rely largely on databases developed for foreign commercial white-broiler breeds, resulting in considerable inefficiencies and waste.
Determined to address this gap, Liu led his team in conducting research on growth performance and nutrient digestion and absorption in Chinese indigenous chickens. After more than a decade of sustained research, the team successfully established a dedicated dynamic database covering 329 feed ingredients. The achievement increased the protein deposition efficiency of poultry feed by approximately 8 percent. Liu is known for his exacting standards regarding data accuracy. He has noted that reducing the feed-to-weight-gain ratio by just 0.01 can generate approximately ¥80 million in annual economic benefits for the company.
This meticulous attention to detail enabled his team to develop technologies for reducing and replacing corn and soybean meal in poultry feed. The technology reduced the proportion of soybean meal from 15% to below 5%, generating annual economic benefits worth hundreds of millions of yuan each year for the company. The technology was also selected as a model case for feed-saving practices in China’s livestock industry by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and has been promoted nationwide.
According to available statistics, Liu has led more than 70 research projects at Wens Foodstuff Group. He has published more than 120 academic papers in Chinese and international journals, received five national invention patents as the first inventor, obtained 15 utility model patents and one software copyright. He has participated in 7 national (ministerial)-level research projects and received 5 provincial and ministerial awards.
In recent years, Liu and his research team have carried out a series of innovative studies in response to the needs of Chinese indigenous chicken production, focusing on the reduced use and substitution of corn and soybean meal, the reduction of mineral element emissions, and precision nutrition for indigenous chickens. The team has established more than 30 key technologies that have helped advance the industry, playing an important role in ensuring food safety and improving efficiency while reducing costs in feed production. Liu has received numerous honors for his contributions. In August 2023, he was named a recipient of the seventh“Nanyue Craftsman”award. In May 2024, he received theGuangdong Provincial May Day Labor Medaland was selected as a recipient of aSpecial Government Allowance of the State Council. In 2025, he received theNanyue Technical Expert Awardand was named aChief Technician of Guangdong Province.
After receiving the “National Craftsmen of the Year” honor, Liu said:
“This honor does not belong to me alone. It belongs to the entire team that has worked alongside me, to every animal husbandry scientist and technician who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and to the countless farmers and livestock producers across the country. This honor would also not have been possible without the education and training I received at my alma mater, Yangtze University. My university taught me the importance of building strength through sustained effort and striving for excellence.”
He also encouraged younger students to“make learning a habit,”emphasizing that only through continuous and lifelong learning can individuals keep pace with the development of the times and embrace the opportunities of the future.
Faculty members and students at the College of Animal Science and Technology were delighted to learn of Liu’s achievement. Representatives of the college noted that Liu’s journey from the front lines of production to becoming a nationally recognized master craftsman vividly embodies the spirit of Yangtze University. His story, they added, will inspire more students to devote themselves to the forefront of agricultural science and technology and contribute their talents to rural revitalization and the development of China into a strong agricultural nation.
Launched in 2018, the“National Craftsman of the Year”recognition program has honored 60 outstanding craftsmen up to now, including Gao Fenglin. The 2025 program was launched in September 2025. Following broad recommendations from trade unions at various levels, an expert review committee ultimately selected the ten annual honorees.
