Across local fire departments and state agencies, SoyFoam’s feel-good story is spreading throughout Minnesota.

This spring, the farmer-led Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) launched the soy checkoff-supported SoyFoam campaign, “Planting to Protect: From Farm to Flame.” The Council is offering more than 40 organized soybean counties in Minnesota the opportunity to donate SoyFoam to area fire departments, and the Clay-Wilkin County Corn & Soybean Growers are getting in on the action by donating SoyFoam pails to each the fire departments in the Clay and Wilkin counties.

“Our firefighters are very important to us because we rely on them in times of crisis, whether that’s putting out a combine fire or a grain bin rescue,” said Clay-Wilkin County Corn & Soybean Growers Association President Jeremy Tischer. “So, we felt it was only right to give back to them through this donation of SoyFoam.”

Receiving the SoyFoam donation were the Barnesville, Breckenridge, Campbell, Dilworth, Felton, Foxhome, Hawley, Hitterdal, Moorhead, Rothsay and Hitterdal fire departments.

Made with soy flour, SoyFoam is the first and only Greenscreen Certified Gold Fire Foam with zero intentionally added PFAS, aka forever chemicals. Firefighters have a nearly 10% higher chance of a cancer diagnosis, and cancer is the No. 1 cause of death among firefighters. Cross Plains Solutions, the developer of SoyFoam, has partnered with the soy checkoff to continue testing and promoting the product as a safer alternative to traditional firefighting foam.

“For our soybean farmers, your checkoff investment is helping out the environment and the firefighters who use it,” said Council Director and past Chair Tom Frisch, who has served on the Dumont Fire Department since 2000. “It’s a checkoff investment that is coming to fruition and helping build demand. For our firefighters, rural, city or anywhere in Minnesota, providing a PFAS-free alternative is our goal. For the public in general, homegrown, renewable products benefit all of us.”

SoyFoam is compatible with existing foam inductors and aerating nozzles and is comparable in cost to traditional firefighting foam. With a shelf life of 10 years, SoyFoam can be frozen, heated and thawed and will still be fully functional.

“When we first heard about this new environmentally friendly firefighting foam, we were really excited to get our hands on some and try it out,” said Barnesville Fire Chief Andy Boyum. “We appreciate the Clay-Wilkin Soybean Farmers for the donation.”

The Clay-Wilkin County Corn & Soybean Growers also showed off SoyFoam and other unique value-added innovations, such as Goodyear’s soy-based tires, at the annual Breakfast on the Farm in Hawley earlier this summer. One lucky individual was even drawn to receive a free set of Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive tires, one of eight lines of Goodyear tires produces with a tread compound containing soy oil. The Akron, Ohio-based company has increased its use of soybeans by 73% since 2018 and pledged to fully replace all its petroleum-driven oils with soybean oil by 2040. Since the Council began its 2021 “Driving Soy” promotion, county boards throughout Minnesota have donated soy-based tires to law enforcement departments and nonprofit organizations.

For more information on the “Planting to Protect: From Farm to Flame” campaign, visit mnsoybean.org/soyfoam.