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Workers harvest ginseng crop at Hsu’s Ginseng fields in Wausau, Wisconsin- October 2018Maayan Silver
Trade talks between China and the United States fell apart a few weeks ago. Now, the two countries are promising to levy new tariffs on each other’s goods. One commodity caught in the crosshairs: American-grown ginseng root.
People who use ginseng often take it by steaming whole root or slices for teas and soups, steeping tea bags or ingesting pills or other products. It’s a known component of traditional Chinese medicine. And Wisconsin growers produce more than 90 percent of the U.S. crop.
Will Hsu, president of Hsu’s Ginseng in Wausau, says the trade war with China has had a dramatic impact on ginseng farmers in central Wisconsin. He says that’s because about 90% of the ginseng grown in Wisconsin is exported to greater China — mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
He says the price that local ginseng farms have been getting for their crop over the last six months has been 20-30% lower than what it was in 2017 and 2018.
As a result, farmers, Hsu says, will start to plant less this year, with some farmers taking on debt or tapping into equity that they’ve built up over the past years.
The Wisconsin ginseng industry hasn’t seen a market like this since the late 1990s when Canada increased its supply and flooded the market, says Hsu. But he says this current situation isn’t one caused by oversupply.
“Demand has been pretty steady the last 5-10 years. This is an external shock from the standpoint of adding what was initially a 20% tariff, and as of June 1 will go to an additional 10%, so an additional 30% tariff that was on ginseng into China.”
It takes three to five years for ginseng crops to reach maturity. “So we will have to wait out it out, regardless, because we’ve already made decisions to plant and maintan acreage that that we expected to sell,” Hsu explains.
“What it will impact is the number of farmers that are still around three to five years from now,” he says.
Hsu says the last time there was this type of price shock and decline in the market, the state felt the effects. “Wisconsin went from over 1,000 farmers growing ginseng to today, there’s probably about 150-180 of us. I’m not sure how many farmers and farms you can lose in this industry before we don’t have either a viable or a sizable enough crop to make a difference.”
He says his company is working with farmers to help them find ways to move the crop into different markets or to find different customers.
「立夏」象徵著夏季的開始，初夏來臨，氣溫漸漸升高，萬物進入生長旺盛的季節，「立夏嘗新」正是品嘗農作成熟，果蔬鮮美的豐盛時節。蘇州有「立夏見三新」的說法，
立夏這一天起，天氣逐漸炎熱，容易產生四肢無力的疲勞感，食慾不振營養不足，特別是小孩身上格外明顯，雞蛋除了具有豐富的蛋白質，可以補充體力和營養外，外型圓整，象徵著圓滿，因此「立夏吃蛋」的習俗流傳至今，期盼著經歷炎夏的考驗，身體健康，一季平安。
穀雨為暮春，進入春天的尾聲，肝臟和脾臟運行旺盛，最有利於營養吸收，民間有道養肝的「穀雨湯」，以枸杞葉和枸杞、生薑、豬肝來煲湯，有助於清肝明目。同時春天容易腎水不足，使人感到疲倦困乏，可以按摩十指指尖，刺激穴道幫助提神醒腦，還有多食用富含維生素B的食物，緩解情緒和壓力，例如: 黑芝麻、瘦肉、豆類、麥類等。清晨時到戶外運動，吸收新鮮的空氣，幫助新陳代謝，可使活力充沛克服春困。
陽氣升發，伴隨大量的雨水，洗滌著初春的大地，使萬物色彩鮮明，空氣清新，《歲時百問》中提到：「萬物生長此時，皆清潔而明淨。故謂之清明。」同時，清明節也是華人掃墓祭祖，慎終追遠的傳統節日。更是傳統上認為不能生火煮食的「寒食節」。
24節氣是根據太陽直射地球的角度變化而形成規律的氣候轉變，漢代《春秋繁露》中記載著：「春分者，陰陽相半也，故晝夜均而寒暑平。」春分這一天陽光直射赤道，晝夜長短相等，而後北半球開始漸漸進入晝長夜短，中醫也認為春分是要注重體內陰陽調和的重要節氣。古時相傳春分是天地狀態最平衡的時候，所以最容易立蛋，民間流傳著：「春分到，蛋兒俏」的說法，各地也會在這天玩起豎雞蛋的比賽。
今年的雨水與元宵節同日，古時有俗諺「雨打元宵燈，日曝清明前」，在元宵節這天若降雨，清明節前便會缺少雨水，這真實性與南北地域的季風有關，不過元宵節不論是否下雨，不免俗地總要賞花燈和吃元宵，自漢朝開始，人們在元宵這天總會掛滿輝煌的燈火，到了唐宋，元宵燈會更是宮廷與民間的盛事，結伴觀賞華美璀璨的花燈盛會，也為未婚男女提供了一個燈光美，氣氛佳的交誼機會。在台灣東部的宜蘭，更有未婚女性在元宵節夜晚，跑進蔥農的田間偷摘葱，表示將會嫁到好老公的習俗，俗稱「偷挽葱，嫁好尪」。
雖然雨水帶來空氣中的濕氣，但是早春多風物躁，還是會令人皮膚乾燥、口唇乾裂，可多吃當季蔬果以補充維生素，例如春天發嫩芽的香椿、豆芽、蒜苗、豆苗、韭菜、春筍。春天也是照護脾胃的季節，食熱粥以護胃，用甘味食物養脾臟之氣，可以桂圓、紅棗、蜂蜜、西洋參來調養脾胃，幫助陽氣生發。
