77th Alice in Dairyland Halei Heinzel joins Mid-West Farm Report in-studio as she passes the six-month mark of her role as Wisconsin’s agricultural ambassador. Travel is a big part of the job, and she’s put over 20,000 miles on her vehicle so far traveling to local events and classrooms across the state.
Heinzel’s work has also taken her overseas. She has just returned from a trade mission to Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia with the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin.
The Ginseng Board of Wisconsin’s timing for its trade mission to Vietnam was notable. The mission took place in the weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year, which fell on Jan. 29 this year. Heinzel says ginseng is an important part of the gift-giving element of the holiday.
“When we did head to some of those traditional Chinese medicine shops, you saw beautiful ginseng roots on display for gifting to… friends or family, so that was really interesting,” she says. “It was also really cool to see all the decorations and festivities going on.”
Heinzel says she was pleasantly surprised to witness that Wisconsin agriculture reaches well beyond our borders.
“They really knew where Wisconsin was,” she says. “Aside from the ginseng, in one of the Vietnamese grocery stores, we did find BelGioioso Wisconsin cheese! The fact that Wisconsin agriculture… is important to people worldwide was really impressive to see.”
The Ginseng Board of Wisconsin does not sell ginseng, but it facilitates meetings to build market relationships for growers. In Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia, this trip fostered mostly first-time partnerships, Heinzel said.
Learn more about Wisconsin ginseng: https://realwisconsinginseng.com/