China's autumn harvest passes halfway mark as autumn, winter sowing kicks off

China's 2026 autumn harvest has entered its peak season, with more than half of the autumn grain crops already harvested and autumn and winter sowing underway, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

In Bei'an City, Heilongjiang Province, one of China's major soybean-producing areas in the northeast, harvesting has begun across more than 100,000 mu (about 6,666 hectares) of soybean fields. This year, local farmers expanded the cultivation of the high-yielding Heike 71 variety, and authorities deployed harvesting machinery based on field conditions to minimize crop losses.

In northwest China, the harvest of more than 10 million mu (about 666,000 hectares) of corn on the Guanzhong Plain is now in full swing, including 100,000 mu (about 6,666 hectares) at Huashan Farm in Shaanxi Province. Farmers are working through the night to bring in the harvest, with plows following closely behind the harvesters to prepare the fields for the next round of planting.

Pang Shuying, an official from a state-owned agricultural development group, was managing the harvest on-site and described the round-the-clock effort.

"After the autumn harvest, we go straight into autumn land preparation and sowing. Farmers take shifts to operate machines to ensure 24-hour operation. For our 50,000 mu (about 3,333 hectares) of land, we harvest and sow at the highest-yield period to maximize grain output," Pang said.

Henan Province in central China is also carrying out similar procedures for winter wheat sowing. In Fengqiu County, local authorities rolled out a smart agricultural service platform that delivers seeds and fertilizers directly to farmlands, saving farmers the trouble and cost of transportation. Covering 13,000 households in 19 towns and townships, the service saved local farmers around 2.1 million yuan (about 313,800 U.S. dollars).

Local farmer Hu Minfeng praised the convenience.

"I do not need to go fetch fertilizer myself anymore. It is delivered right to the field, and the goods are genuine and cheap. I save 20 yuan (about 2.99 U.S. dollars) per bag, which adds up to 10,000 yuan (about 1,490 U.S. dollars) saved directly," Hu said.

Beyond regional efforts, the ministry also launched nationwide measures, dispatching six working groups and science and technology teams to 12 key provinces to provide guidance and support for autumn harvesting and sowing operations and ensure their smooth progress.

China's autumn harvest passes halfway mark as autumn, winter sowing kicks off

The Pentagon acknowledged late Friday, local time, that the number of U.S. troops who had died during its operations against Iran was higher than previously reported, raising the official death toll to 21.

The revised figure includes two additional noncombat deaths: an Army National Guard major who died in Kuwait in March and a Navy service member who died in September.

The Pentagon's publicly available database had previously listed a lower death toll. According to the latest data, 865 service members had been wounded in the related operations as of October 9.

Sources familiar with the matter say official statistics fail to fully capture U.S. military casualties from the war with Iran.

Since the start of the war, actual U.S. casualty numbers have exceeded those recorded in the Pentagon's official database, with the records omitting information on hundreds of U.S. service members who were killed or injured, they said.

US troop death toll in Iran war raised to 21