In China, they’re “rock stars”, Olympic medalists and World Champion athletes, but for now they are students at U.W. Madison. The Chinese Champions Program at the University of Wisconsin is a partnership
Heil (in red Wisconsin sweatshirt) with his guests
with the Beijing Sport University and the china Scholarship Council. The high-profile athletes are enrolled as graduate students with a goal of building the sports infrastructure in China. Since arriving last April, the fifteen athletes have not only studied the U.W. athletic department but have visited the Milwaukee Brewers, the U.S. Table Tennis Association and a variety of other national-level sports organizations.
Last Tuesday, a dozen of them climbed aboard a tour bus and headed to the central part of the state to learn about some of Wisconsin’s more unique agriculture. Their first stop was at the Elm Lake Cranberry Company in Wisconsin Rapids where they “got their feet wet” in the cranberry harvest. There was also a little “harvest competition”.
Then it was on to central Marathon County and Joe Heil’s ginseng operation. First the athletes saw how the crop is dug and then they toured Heil’s processing facility where the roots are cooled, washed and dried. China is a major customer for Wisconsin ginseng.
Heil is president of the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin and has made several trade missions to China. He says the first time was an “eye-opening experience”. For starters, he saw the Wisconsin Ginseng trademark everywhere and in many instances it was not Wisconsin ginseng. He was also surprised at how the Chinese people were glad to meet the growers from Wisconsin and establish that link. Heil says over the last ten years, they have worked with the Chinese government to stop the fraudulent use of the trademark. “The Chinese are very familiar with ginseng, it is part of their culture, it is their medicine so when the government realized what was going on they took it very serious.” To the point Heil says there is probably more counterfeit Wisconsin ginseng in the U.S. then there is in China.
AUDIO: Heil talks about his operation and the Ginseng Board 12:28 mp3
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