troubls. He therefore gives millions of Yuan to equip others for their research in agriculture.Just dreaming for things, however, costs nothing. Long ago Dr Yuan had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum. Each ear of rice was as big as an ear of corn and each grain of rice was as huge as a peanut. Dr Yuan awoke from his dream with the hope of producing a kind of rice that could feed more people. Now, many years later, Dr Yuan has another dream: to export his rice so that it can be grown around the glboe. One dream is not always enough, especially for a person who loves and cares for his people.Chemical or organic farming?Over the past half century, using chemical fertilizers has vecome very common in farming. Many farmers welcomed them as great way to stop crop disease and increase production. Recently, however, scientists have been finding that long-term use of these fertilizers can cause damage to the land and, even more dangerous, to peoples health.What are some of the problems caused by chemical fertilizers? First, they damage the land by killing the helpful bacteria and pests as well as the harmful ones. Chemicals also stay in the ground and underground water for a lonog time. This affects crops and, therefore, animals and humans, since chemicals get inside the crops and cannot just be washed off. These chemicals in the food supply build up in peoples bodies over time. Many of these chemicals can lead to cancer or other illnesses. In addition, fruit, vegetables and other food grown with chemical fertilizers usually grow too fast to be full of much nutrition. They may look beautiful, but inside there is usually more water than vitamins and minerals.With these discoveries, some farmers and many customers are beginning to turn to organic farming. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. They focus on keeping their soil rich and free of disease. A healthy soil reduces disease and helps crops grow strong and healthy. Organic farmers, therefore, often prefer using natural waste from animals as fertilizer. They feel that this makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals and so more fertile. This also keeps the air, soil, water and crops free from chemicals.Organic farmers also use many other methods to keep the soil fertile. They often change the knd of crop in each field every few years, for example, growing corn or wheat and then the next year peas or soybeans. Crops such as peas or soybeans put important minerals back into the soil, making it ready for crops such as wheat or corn that need rich and fertile soil. Organic farmers also plant crops to use different levels of soil, for example, planting peanuts that use the grounds surface followed by vegetables that put down deep roots. Some organic farmers prefer planting grass between crops to prevent wind or water from carrying away the soil, and then leaving it in the ground to become a natural fertilizer for the next years crop. These many different organic farming methods have the same goal: to grow good food and avoid damaging the environment or peoples health.An early farmer pioneerSome people thought Jia Sixie was a lucky man. He had worked for the emperor and when he got old, he was able to go his hometown to relax. Jia Sixie, however, had other plans. He had always been interested in agriculture and intended to do something to make Chinese farming even better.Jia Sixie lived in the six century AD. He was born in Yidu in Shandong province and worked in Gaoyang, which is also in Shangdong. As he rode through the countryside on his journeys for his work he looked out at the fields. Some of them were greener and had more crops than others. Some cows and sheep looked healthier than others too. He was lost in though. What could a farmer do to get good crops from his fields? Surely there must be rules that would help them. He thought he could use his knowledge to find out the best ways for farmers to grow crops and then write a book to help them. In doing so he collected information from farmers who did well, studied it and did experiments to find the best way.For example, he studied ways of keeping seeds and advised farmers to choose seed-heads which had the best color. Then he told them to hang them to dry all winter. The next spring the seeds should be knocked out of their seed-heads and planted. He studied how to improve the soil. He advised farmers to clear weeds from the ground before planting crops. They could either let the animals eat the weeds or turn the soil over so that the weeds were covered and would rot. Then he gave advice on Turing over the soil. The first time each year, farmers should dig deeply, but the second time should be less deep. Therefore the autumn ploughing of the soil should be deeper thant the spring ploughing. He suggested changing crops in the field every year: rive one year and wheat the next so that they would always get good harvests. They should also grow different pl