Welcome, everybody, to Midday Magazine for this November 4th, 2024.
Have your host, James J. Mailov here.
And right now, we're welcoming on the phone lines, our new friend, Haley Heinsel.
She is the 77th Alice in Dairyland.
Haley, thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you so much for having me.
Haley, I appreciate the time and I always love the topics and getting the chance to hang
out with our Alice in Dairyland.
I've been really fortunate, been able to work with the last, I think, five or six Alice
in Dairylands and something that us and our audience really look forward to, especially
when you guys are able to stop by the studios here and everything.
It's always a good energy and a good vibe with what you guys do.
And well, I think the audience may know what else in Dairyland the specific program is.
We haven't gotten to meet you yet, Haley, we haven't gotten to get to know you a little
bit.
Do you mind giving us a little bit of your origin story, a little bit about you?
Absolutely.
I'm originally from O'Connor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and like many people across the state,
I actually was not raised on a farm.
I was always really curious about where my food came from and of course I loved farm animals.
So I joined the FFA organization in high school and in 2018 I milked a cow for the very first
time, which is what set my life on a path towards learning everything I could about Wisconsin
agriculture.
Six years later, I remained incredibly involved in Wisconsin's dairy industry and I decided
that I loved agriculture so much that I should go to college for it.
So I'm now a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Madison's Farm and Neustry Short
Course Program with certificates in dairy business management.
And I recently graduated from UW Madison with my degree in life sciences communications
just this May.
During college, I stayed involved in agriculture with organizations like the Babcock House
Student Cooperative and serving on the board of the Wisconsin agriculture and life sciences
alumni association.
Now as Alice, I love traveling across the state of Wisconsin and sometimes beyond learning
and sharing more about Wisconsin's diverse agriculture industry.
And with how diverse Wisconsin agriculture can be, there is just so much to love.
It has been absolutely a wonderful time.
It seems like one of the things that our Alice and Darryl and enjoy as much as promoting
our ag industry is learning about the ag industry.
It's a very cool aspect of it.
Haley, one thing that I've noted to the audience many times, as I'm a transplant, I've lived
the second half of my life here in Wisconsin.
And while we support local and certainly love our locals and everything, one of the advantages
if you will that I have coming into this is I have a very appreciative and third perspective
of the state.
I am able to really take a lot of these things in.
So many things are new to me and still new to me and something I still appreciate.
Our last at least a couple of houses we've talked to are similar to you where they don't
come from necessarily an agricultural background, but learn more and more about it and get an appreciation
for it.
And I think just as valuable as it is to have somebody who is born and raised on a farm,
it's just as valuable as somebody who comes into this with that perspective, that idea
of a real appreciation and a real under wanting to learn more and more about the industry
and a hunger to learn about the industry.
Absolutely.
I think something new every single time I step on to a farm.
I think whether somebody was raised as an eighth generation farm kid or raised as a city
kid like me, anyone can grow to love Wisconsin agriculture or just the agriculture industry
in general.
Mm hmm.
Well said.
And Haley, your opening topic for us here is a great one.
And I learned quite a bit about things to not only our friends over at Family Natural Foods,
but our Alice and Darrylands of the past that have joined us and talked about ginseng.
So we're going to dive in ginseng today a little bit.
And kicking things off is well known as Wisconsin is internationally for its ginseng production.
Why is fall the best time to celebrate this unique Wisconsin commodity?
Wisconsin is well known for being the number one producer of many agricultural commodities,
including our cheese, of course.
But many people might not know that ginseng is actually one of Wisconsin's number one crop.
We produce 98% of all cultivated ginseng grown in the United States with most of it being
produced in Marathon County.
This is due to our great natural resource base, our climate and our geography that makes
Wisconsin an ideal state for producing ginseng.
And fall is the perfect time to celebrate Wisconsin ginseng because we're just wrapping
a harvest season.
Cultivated ginseng is harvested three to four years after three to four years of growing.
So we are celebrating the culmination of years of hard work from our ginseng growers.
See, now that is interesting.
That is a part of this.
I don't think it's common knowledge.
That's a fascinating part of what we're already learning.
That's fantastically.
Thank you for that.
And now, curious, what makes this so special?
Certainly, the people of Wisconsin are certainly noteworthy when it comes to this, but it gets
a little more detailed than that.
Absolutely.
Wisconsin ginseng is known for its very high quality and produces a unique case that's
recognized all over the world.
It's boldly bittersweet flavor is especially treasured in many Asian countries.
We actually export about 85% of Wisconsin ginseng to these Asian countries.
It's also still widely used in Western cultures as a dietary supplement and botanical element.
But, over in those Asian countries, the same way we look for a proudly Wisconsin dairy
or proudly Wisconsin cheese field here, they look for a real Wisconsin ginseng field because
they seek out that really bittersweet flavor that is unique to Wisconsin ginseng.
And when it comes to making this unique about how much of this is exported again?
85%.
That's a big number.
That is a lot.
And there's a lot in that number to take pride in to Wisconsinites to keep that in mind
as well.
And supporting these products and always looking for that Wisconsin label, we'll have more
on that in a moment.
What are some of the ways we can enjoy ginseng this fall, Haley?
After Wisconsin or after harvest, Wisconsin ginseng is typically grown into a powder for
convenience.
Some different ways I enjoy it is in soup, tea or baked goods.
But this month for a tangy twist on a comfy classic, I am using ginseng in hot chocolate,
which is great for the fall, but as we head to the holiday season, it's still great to
keep enjoying all year round.
I start with heating up real Wisconsin dairy on the stove, of course, whole milk and
a little heavy whipping cream.
I'll then stir in some sweet milk chocolate and just a teaspoon of ginseng powder.
It's great to have the whipped cream or perfect to enjoy as is.
Haley, is there a personal one you enjoy?
Definitely the hot chocolate is my favorite way to have the ginseng right now.
But I've also heard that there are some ginseng hard candies that I've been looking for that
sound very good as well.
Oh, that hard candy.
You're going to have to send me a link about that, Haley.
I definitely need to learn more about that one right there.
We are speaking with our 77th house in Darryl and Haley Heinsel right now, and where can
we go to learn more information about this ginseng this fall?
If you'd like to learn more about Wisconsin ginseng, you can visit the ginseng board of
Wisconsin's website at www.realwisconsinginseng.com.
They've got great recipes on there.
They have more information about harvest and our Wisconsin ginseng growers, and they
have a great list of companies on there to make sure we're supporting our Wisconsin ginseng
growers.
Because remember, when we're supporting Wisconsin ginseng, we are supporting Wisconsin
agriculture.
And of course, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
You can also keep up on the unique things I'm doing as Alice, whether ginseng or otherwise,
by following Alice in Darryl and on Facebook and Instagram.
Fantastic.
Thank you so much for that, Haley, I appreciate it.
If you don't mind, I'd like to take a little time kind of going over some random facts,
some other interesting information about a ginseng harvesting.
Yes, it's really interesting because ginseng is actually a root crop.
It's our state herb of Wisconsin.
Not many people may know that, but it is a root vegetable similar to a carrot, so the part
that we eat is actually below the ground.
And I think it's really interesting because I think the ginseng is kind of a high maintenance
crop, if you will.
It's very particular about the soil it lives in.
Majority of ginseng is actually grown in Marathon County, and not only is it particularly
about the soil, wild ginseng is native to the United States' distiguous forest.
It really enjoys a lot of shade cover from the trees.
So when you drive through Marathon County, you might see shade structure as overfields and
you'd actually be driving past the ginseng garden.
Oh, that's pretty interesting.
I don't think I knew that.
So in most of the work is done that way as well.
It's kind of done closing and opening the gardens and that, requiring growing ginseng
is done by hand.
A lot of growing ginseng is done by hand, whether it's weeding or harvest, opening or closing
the seeds.
This fall, I actually had the opportunity to witness ginseng harvest, which was really,
really interesting.
I would, if you've ever seen potato harvest, that is what I would closely compare it to
the machine looks very similar the way it digs the ginseng roots out of the ground.
The way it would take potatoes out, but instead of collecting it within the harvester, it
actually dumps the ginseng roots back out behind it and all of them are gently collected
by hand.
That is amazing to me.
There is such a different process involved in making, growing ginseng than almost anything
else you can think of.
Most stuff you think, okay, sunlight is pretty important.
We don't want too much of it though with ginseng.
Yeah, they actually need about 80% shade cover, which is provided by those cloth or wood
and racks.
It's very particular.
That ginseng and my mom, they're both the same.
They're both, they do not want, they went a little sunlight, but not too much, and before
harvesting, there's certain things that need to be done as well.
Yes, in addition to that, opening and closing of the shade throughout the different seasons,
it does take about three to four years to grow.
This is because of the cold climate we have, ginseng needs to go into dormancy over the
winter in order to sprout leaves in the spring.
Our ginseng growers also do a lot of work collecting these seeds.
If you ever see ginseng during the spring time or into the summer, it has these bright,
red, beautiful berries.
We don't eat them.
They are just harvested for their seeds so that our ginseng growers can grow their next
crop of plants.
And there's certainly a cooling that has to take place for a couple of weeks that involve
for it in a washing process.
Yep, absolutely.
After we harvest, send the ginseng refrigerator for a few weeks about a lot to clean.
Hayley, before we let you go, there was one thing I did want to ask, what do you have
coming up?
What are you going to be?
I know you're on the road a lot.
Where you head next.
Yes, I have a very exciting fall coming up.
I've been spending so much time in classrooms across the state of Wisconsin.
I especially love hanging out with our state's horse freighters, but I've been anywhere
from kindergarten through high school.
I'm also starting our new holiday campaign right around the corner.
We'll be talking about something special from Wisconsin companies, meaning that
50% of their ingredients products are processing is done right here in Wisconsin to great
way to support local Wisconsin farmers and local Wisconsin businesses.
I'm also looking forward to traveling throughout the state, always learning something new and
doing new tours and events.
If anyone out there can think of an event or a classroom they would like me to come visit,
you can head to the Alice in Dairyland website.
We've got some great forms on there for you to fill out.
Yeah, we'll be looking forward to those events.
We'll be telling people about them as we see them come up and looking forward to you
joining us, of course, and talking more and more about these things.
And as always, we like to remind everybody as Haley just was that red label, that main
in Wisconsin label, be sure to be looking for that on these products.
It's a great way to support our ag industry, support our farmers out there and support
our Alice in Dairyland program as well.
And cannot encourage you enough if you, especially if you've never done this for your school
or maybe your classroom or something and haven't had Alice in Dairyland drop by before,
reach out, find out of make plans to have Haley join your classroom or your community
or your business.
Have her done.
You can find out more at Alice in Dairyland.com and certainly want to remind everybody
about the blog as well in social media.
It's a great way to keep up the data on things and oftentimes recipes and different things
like that that our Alice in Dairyland will have for us.
Appreciate the time as always, Haley, and looking forward to hanging out again real soon.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, a great day.
Safe travels out there.
And again, encourage you to find out.
Bookmark that website, Alice in Dairyland.com, Alice in Dairyland.com.
And be sure to follow Alice in Dairyland on social media.
Just go to Alice and type that in your search bar, Alice in Dairyland.
It'll pop right up.
We'll have more Midday magazine coming up for you throughout the week, everybody.
Right here on 97.5 FM 13.20 AM, WFHR, locally grown radio.
