Farmers rewarded for not burning crop stalks

Cui Min, a 62-year-old farmer in the village of Lianhua, Yonghe, in Bin county, Heilongjiang province, recently finished harvesting his corn in much the same way he has for the past 40 years.

This year, however, after the harvest, he left the cut stalks standing in the fields instead of burning them.

"I signed a deal with a local company," Cui said. "They will pack the crop stalks and carry them away. In return for the crop stalks, they will also plow my fields before sowing in the spring."