How to process a ginseng plant?

I have 30 ginseng planted, but do not know how to use it. What is the benefit in my body?|||Funny enough I have a friend here in Canada that has a farm just outside the town I was born in and he has 35 acres of it, first it has to be kept dry, he uses straw to cover the plants from direct sunlight, then when he harvests the roots they are sold to a processor who strangely sends them to China and there they are dried and aged, some for up to 30 years, then there resold here at the Chinese Herbalist in Toronto ON where I presently live, it can be used fresh, in soups, stews and other dishes it is not as strong as the dried type.