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

In 2025, 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 Pope County Corn & Soybean Growers are getting in on the action by donating SoyFoam pails to each the fire departments in Pope County.  

“SoyFoam is an excellent example of the multiple uses of soy, from feed for livestock to fighting our fires,” said Pope County Corn & Soybean Growers Vice President Paul Freeman, who also serves as a director for MSR&PC. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to show off this latest innovation and support our local firefighters in the process.  

The Pope County Corn & Soybean Growers made the donations of SoyFoam to the Cyrus, Glenwood, Lowry, Sedan, Starbuck, Villard and Kensington 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.  

“We’re really excited to try out SoyFoam and thankful to the Pope County Corn & Soybean Growers for this donation,” said Bruce Cerney, Glenwood fire chief. 

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

About the Pope County Corn and Soybean Growers 

The Pope County Corn & Soybean Growers Board is affiliated with the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, a 15-person, farmer-led board that oversees the investment of checkoff dollars on behalf of the state’s nearly 26,000 soybean farmers. The Council is governed by the rules of a federally mandated checkoff program requiring all soybean producers to pay a fee on the soybeans they sell. This money is used to promote, educate and develop market opportunities for soybeans.