ABOVE: Martin County Corn and Soybean Growers member Andrew Schmidt, left, stands with Welcome Fire Chief Paul Hein as they both hold a 5-gallon bucket of SoyFoam being donated for firefighting purposes. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – As part of a state-wide, 40-county initiative, the Martin County Corn and Soybean Growers (MCCSG) has donated 15 gallons of SoyFoam to Fairmont, five to Truman and five to Welcome.

SoyFoam is made with soy flour and contains zero intentionally added per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals. It is compatible with existing firefighter equipment, has a shelf life of 10 years, and can be frozen, heated and thawed with no effects on the foam’s flame-stopping abilities.

MCCSG’s president, Jacob Sukalski, farms south of Fairmont and is a fifth-generation farmer. While farming has been a part of his family for generations, the use of soybeans for fire-retardant foam is relatively new, dating back only around a year.

“We have something called the soybean check off that takes a portion of all of our sales of soybeans, and it goes towards new uses,” he said. “That is one of the programs that helped create soy foam. This was a big promotion that we did here this year to try to utilize getting some of the different forever chemicals and things like that out of the environment.”

This partnership comes off a growing season Sukalski said was much better than last year.

“We had way too much rain last year,” he said. “Overall, the yields were pretty good in the area. I would say we had more disease pressure than we have in the past due to the extra heat and moisture. For the most part, people were pretty happy with their soybeans.”

This isn’t the first time the board has benefitted the local community either. Two years ago, a set of Goodyear tires utilizing soy oil was gifted to the Martin County Sheriff’s Department for one of their cruisers.

With this history of support and the product lined up, Sukalski said they had positive discussions with the area fire departments.

“They’re very open to it,” he said. “They’re excited to be able to try something new; that they’re helping the local economy by going ahead and using the soy-based product instead of some of the other stuff.”

Some fire officials already knew about the substance, according to Sukalski. By having some donated to them, Sukalski said the departments are excited to get their hands on it and see how it pans out for them without having to put any money towards it.

If it goes well, Sukalski said this opportunity could also set up potential retail channels if Martin County Fire Departments wish to continue utilizing SoyFoam.

“Agriculture is a very big thing for the economy here in Martin County,” he said. “If we can continue to find these new uses for soybeans, help a common goal of public safety with our fire departments and keep the environment more environmentally friendly, the idea is to be able to use products like this. It’s a win-win-win for all parts of society.”

Overall, Sukalski said the response from all areas to this partnership has been positive.

“I think the firefighters were very excited to be able to get a new product and try it out, finding out that it’s compatible with the other stuff they’ve been working with,” he said. “I think a lot of the growers are happy we’re coming up with new products for soybeans. We keep having more yield because genetics and agronomy practices are getting better, and we need to find new uses to maintain prices for our products.”