Kaitlyn Riley, the 2018 Alice in Dairyland, a program selecting a young woman annually as Wisconsin's ambassador for agriculture, receives an interview with Xinhua in Madison of Wisconsin state, the United States, on Oct. 23, 2018. "We're constantly seeking new domestic and international markets for our high-quality products and we're always looking to expand those relationships that we already have and it would truly be an honor to go to China," said Riley. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)
by Xinhua Writers Xia Lin, Xu Jing, Miao Zhuang
MADISON, the United States, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Wherever she shows up, 24-year-old Kaitlyn Riley can easily warm up the atmosphere with a sunshine smile and a mellow voice, and pick up the threads to tell figures and legends of this agricultural state of Wisconsin.
"We're constantly seeking new domestic and international markets for our high-quality products and we're always looking to expand those relationships that we already have and it would truly be an honor to go to China," said Riley, the 2018 Alice in Dairyland, a program selecting a young woman annually as Wisconsin's ambassador for agriculture.
"It would be good to meet with the people who help our agriculture industry thrive and whom we work so hard to provide those products for," she added.
Wisconsin's exports to China supported 14,100 American jobs in 2016. The growth of the state's goods exports to China from 2008 to 2017 stood at 35 percent, and that of services exports to China from 2007 to 2016 amounted to 417 percent, according to statistics from the U.S.-China Business Council.
"We would have an even greater understanding of those ties that we have (with China) in the importance of fair trade and agriculture," Riley said.
Wisconsin exported 1.9-billion-dollar worth of goods to China in 2017. China is the state's third largest overseas market, after Canada and Mexico. In 2016, Wisconsin exported 491-million-dollar worth of services to China.
Wisconsin's agricultural industry covers a broad range of areas, including ginseng, milk, cheese, cranberries and mink.
"The diversity of Wisconsin's agriculture industry is truly our greatest strength and we have farms of all types, sizes and production methods that make us successful," Riley said.
Located in the north-central part of the United States, Wisconsin is known as "America's Dairyland".
"We're very good at producing award-winning cheeses that are also phenomenal," Riley said. Wisconsin makes more than 600 varieties, types and styles of cheese, which have won some 50 gold medals.
Riley grew up on a dairy farm. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she worked for more than two years as a radio broadcaster and a local television reporter, before returning to Riley Farms.
Her experiences as a farmer and a writer played a pivotal role in her election as the 2018 Alice in Dairyland. With the title of Alice in Dairyland, she works as a communications professional for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, advocating the importance of agriculture to the state's economy.
Farms in Wisconsin have been passed down for generations, becoming an integral part of their way of life.
"When you're raised in the dairy industry, it's in your blood and you just can't get rid of it," Riley said.
