Here’s a polished English translation of the title: **”Five Excellences” for Craftsmanship, Prosperity, and Barley Farming: Empowering Farmers with the “Five Excellences” — Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Join Forces to Drive High-Quality Development of Domestic Brewing Barley** Alternatively, a more concise version: **Crafting Excellence with the “Five Excellences”: Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Empower Farmers to Boost High-Quality Domestic Brewing Barley**

Yancheng, JiangsuMay 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Budweiser China, in collaboration with Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group, held its sixth Barley Day event at the Huaihai Farm in Sheyang County, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province. Themed “Craftsmanship with Five Excellences, Enriching Farmers and Revitalizing Agriculture,” the event comprehensively showcased the exploration and achievements of both parties in empowering farmers, optimizing raw material supply, and promoting industrial synergy through the “Five Excellences” system: “Excellent Soil, Excellent Seeds, Excellent Production, Excellent Storage, and Excellent Sales.”

Leaders and guests including He Yong, Secretary-General of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association and Chairman of the Beer Branch; Wang Ning, Secretary of the Sheyang County Committee of the CPC; Jiang Jianyou, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group; Pang Weizhen, Chief Supply Chain Officer of Budweiser APAC; Jan Clysner, Vice President of Procurement and Sustainability at Budweiser APAC; and Zhu Jiangliu, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Budweiser China, attended the event.

“Five Excellences” Synergistic Advancement, Connecting Key Links in Raw Material Development

As the core ingredient in beer brewing, barley not only determines flavor and quality but also carries significant value for the synergistic development of agriculture and industry. However, as the world’s largest beer-consuming country^[1], China still has room for improvement in the supply of high-quality raw materials. Addressing the key issue of raw material security, in February this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and two other departments jointly issued the “Guiding Opinions on the Quality Improvement and Upgrading of the Brewing Industry (2026-2030),” which prioritizes enhancing the capacity to ensure raw material supply, explicitly proposing to enrich specialized brewing raw materials, strengthen the construction of raw material planting bases, and improve mechanisms linking farmers for mutual benefit.

Budweiser China deeply understands the importance of raw materials to quality. As early as the end of the last century, it began to lay out the breeding and planting of domestic brewing barley. Since establishing a strategic partnership with Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group in 2016, both parties have gradually formed a “Five Excellences” system covering planting, production, and distribution, systematically promoting the continuous improvement of the quality and supply capacity of domestic brewing barley.

“Excellent Soil” focuses on soil improvement and resource recycling, laying a solid foundation for high-quality raw materials with low-carbon concepts. In 2024, Budweiser China, together with Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group and other partners, officially established the “100+ Innovation Alliance” to promote the application of low-carbon agricultural technologies. Among these, trials of organic fertilizers developed from brewer’s spent grain utilize biodegradation technology for resource reuse, improving soil structure while helping to enhance barley quality and yield.

“Excellent Seeds” is dedicated to variety innovation and technological breakthroughs, empowering innovation in domestic brewing barley breeding with scientific research strength. In 2018, after Budweiser China introduced international high-quality barley lines, both parties conducted adaptability planting trials in multiple locations. In 2019, they formed a professional cross-breeding team, building a breeding system containing over 400 combinations. In 2024, two high-quality lines, Y131 and Y148, were successfully selected and bred.

“Excellent Production” centers on standardized planting and green practices, promoting the synergistic achievement of stable and high-quality production through scientific management. Budweiser China actively promotes low-carbon barley planting practices, continuously exploring planting solutions that synergistically enhance environmental and economic benefits through measures such as optimizing fertilization structures and improving soil carbon sequestration capacity. Meanwhile, Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group, through its “Full Agricultural Service System,” implements planting standards, pest and disease control, and scientific fertilization plans down to the field level, achieving stable and high-quality production even under extreme drought conditions in 2025, the worst in 60 years.

“Excellent Storage” and “Excellent Sales” revolve around distribution and income security, perfecting the industrial chain loop through collaborative mechanisms. In the storage phase, Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group continuously advances the construction of modern storage facilities, effectively addressing risks and challenges posed by climate change and market supply-demand fluctuations. On the sales side, Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group, through a tripartite cooperation model, integrate farmers as cooperative entities, continuously empowering them in terms of technology and income, further enhancing the stability of farmers’ planting income.

Jiang Jianyou, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group, stated: “The cooperation with Budweiser China is a crucial measure for Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group to advance agricultural industrialization, high-end development, and green transformation. Over the years, both parties have worked together with shared goals and complementary advantages, deeply collaborating in areas such as brewing barley breeding, planting standardization, and building the entire industrial chain, effectively driving domestic brewing barley from increasing production to improving quality. Looking ahead, Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group will continue to deepen synergistic cooperation with Budweiser China in supply chain resilience, green and low-carbon development, and income growth for farmers, cultivating high-end brewing barley varieties better adapted to Jiangsu’s soil and climate. Through modernized planting, refined management, and industrialized operations, we aim to drive shared prosperity for more farmers and contribute to comprehensive rural revitalization.”

Empowering Farmers, Consolidating the Long-term Driving Force of Industrial Development

Achieving a leap in the value of domestic brewing barley is inseparable from the long-term contributions of farmers. Upholding the central role of farmers and fully mobilizing their initiative and creativity are crucial supports for the stable development of the industry. Against the backdrop of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and agricultural modernization, how to enhance farmers’ technical skills, participation, and income levels has become a key issue for industry development.

Budweiser China has always regarded empowering farmers as one of its key directions. While improving raw material quality, it continuously helps farmers increase production efficiency and planting income through technical support and resource linkage. Relying on Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group’s “Full Agricultural Service System,” farmers can receive technical guidance and full-process support for field management, including seed selection, pest and disease control, and scientific fertilization, thereby enhancing their production capabilities.

On this basis, Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group continuously improve the benefit linkage mechanism. Since 2020, both parties have explored a tripartite cooperation model, providing farmers with more stable and predictable income security through contract farming cooperation models. Currently, high-quality domestic brewing barley has been used in the brewing of Budweiser China’s local brand Dafuhao beer, extending the value of meticulously cultivated results from the field to the market.

“The China Alcoholic Drinks Association highly values the construction of the beer raw material system and actively advocates for an innovation mechanism with enterprises as the main body and the market as the guide. It encourages improving agricultural production efficiency through model innovation and technological empowerment, promoting farmers’ income growth, and driving the synergistic development of the upstream and downstream industrial chain,” noted He Yong, Secretary-General of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association and Chairman of the Beer Branch. “The cooperation practice between Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group precisely responds to this proposition while promoting industrial upgrading, achieving an organic unity of economic and social value.”

At the event, Budweiser China specially held a “Cheers for Farmers” awards ceremony, presenting four awards: “Craftsmanship Farming Farmer,” “Tech-Savvy Farming Farmer,” “Wise Cultivation Farmer,” and “Low-Carbon New Farmer.” These awards recognized outstanding farmer representatives who excelled in quality management, technological innovation, scientific breeding, and low-carbon planting, paying tribute to every farmer rooted in the land and working diligently.

Jan Clysner, Vice President of Procurement and Sustainability at Budweiser APAC, specifically cheered for the farmers in his speech and stated: “Farmers are the foundation of agricultural development and the key to building a high-quality raw material system. It is their hard work that makes every harvest possible. Budweiser China is always committed to empowering farmers, continuously improving the quality of beer raw materials at the source, and supporting farmers in enhancing production efficiency and income, ensuring that every effort yields more tangible returns. We believe that only by achieving shared prosperity across the entire value chain can we drive the industry towards more long-term development.”

Wang Ning, Secretary of the Sheyang County Committee of the CPC, stated: “We will take today’s Barley Day as a new starting point to deepen the integration of the three parties, strengthen resource sharing, industrial linkage, and service coordination, and continuously expand the scale of the agricultural industry. We sincerely look forward to Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group further leveraging their industrial advantages and industry influence, joining hands with Sheyang in new tracks such as seed source research, low-carbon brewing, and digital agriculture, to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces in agriculture.”

From a single barley seed to a glass of fine brew, raw materials connect agriculture and industry, carrying both quality and the future. The long-term practice of Budweiser China and Jiangsu Agricultural Reclamation Group has proven that only by connecting all links with systematic thinking and uniting multiple forces through collaborative mechanisms can industrial development proceed steadily and far. Looking ahead, Budweiser China will continue to join hands with all partners to deepen exploration in breeding innovation, green planting, and empowering farmers for shared prosperity, driving domestic brewing barley towards higher quality and greater sustainability. Through industrial synergy and win-win cooperation, it aims to support high-quality agricultural development and cheer for a bright future in agriculture.