At one point during the Farm to Fire event at the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) in Eau Claire, a participant joked that if there was a fire in the city, it’d probably burn down. 

While that certainly wasn’t the case, the firefighters in attendance had plenty of SoyFoam TF1122TM  to help them put out a fire efficiently while protecting firefighters and the communities they serve. 

“With anything we fund, we don’t always see the impact it has beyond the farm,” said Justin Bauer, a Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) director from Eau Galle. “Listening to these firefighters talk about the need for safer products and knowing the crops we grow have helped answer that call is an amazing feeling. We can do a lot with our soybeans to help our communities.” 

Bauer represented WSMB at the Aug. 16 event, which brought in firefighters from across the country, including several from the Eau Claire area, along with agency heads from Wisconsin. 

One of those firefighters was Capt. Ray Richards, who serves on the Spotsylvania Country Fire Department in Virginia. Richards was outspoken on the need for SoyFoam. 

“I’m just waiting for the doctor to tell me I have cancer,” an emotional Richards said. “I hope it doesn’t happen, but the reality of it is, someday those words are probably going to be said.” 

Richards has tested SoyFoam, and attested to its ability to work within existing equipment, and to work as well, if not better than the foams currently on the market. 

“If you know PFAS is a problem, and you know that cancer deaths for firefighters are a problem, then you are a fool for not switching to PFAS-free foams,” he said. “You’re just the fire chief of under-the-rock fire station.” 

Nancy Kavazanjian, a United Soybean Board (USB) director and farmer from Beaver Dam, has been an early supporter of SoyFoam, which was first funded by USB. Kavazanjian said having PFAS-free, fluorine-free foam is critical for firefighters. 

“I feel so proud as a soybean farmer that we can provide a solution that keeps our firefighters safe, who are the backbone of our country and protect us,” she said. “But also we have an environmental solution that’s biodegradable, it’s renewable and it’s sustainable.” 

Cross Plains Solutions developed the SoyFoam TF1122TM using soy flour as the main ingredient. WSMB invested in additional research and testing at CVTC to use soymeal as the ingredient.  

“This phase is really about getting the formulation right with soymeal to pass all the required testing that takes place to achieve certification,” Bauer said. “For the Marketing Board, this project just made a lot of sense.” 

The certification process takes about two years. CVTC plans to continue its partnership with Cross Plains Solutions with the ongoing testing of SoyFoam on its campus. As of right now, Cross Plains Solutions has made SoyFoam available to fire departments across the nation through a handful of distributors.