A local farming project in New Taipei's Gongliao district has brought in a successful pesticide-free rice harvest, good news for both farmers and the migratory birds that depend on the land.

• The "Yufeng" rice crop was harvested this week from the Tianliaoyang fields, grown with zero pesticides and zero weed killer.
• Tianliaoyang is a key rest stop for migratory birds, and traditional farm chemicals had been straining the local ecosystem.
• Farmers pull weeds and golden apple snails by hand, which is slow and hard, but a change in how one farmer plowed this spring cut down the weeds and produced a full, healthy crop.
• After harvest, the fields will be flooded and turned over in September to become mudflat habitat for arriving birds.
• Buying the rice, now open for pre-order, helps fund dozens of hectares of protected bird habitat.

Outlook: The fields will be prepared for autumn's incoming migratory birds while the harvested rice goes on sale to local buyers and businesses.