Photo courtesy of Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council Six Murray County fire departments each received two pails of soy-based firefighting foam, through the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council’s “Planting to Protect” campaign. SoyFoam is made with soy flour.

SLAYTON — Fire departments in Murray County will have a chance to try a new firefighting tool, thanks to a donation from area soybean farmers.

This week, members of the Murray County Corn & Soybean Growers donated pails of soy-based firefighting foam to the Currie, Dovray, Fulda, Iona, Lake Wilson and Slayton Fire Departments. The donation, supported by soy checkoff dollars, was made possible through the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council.

This spring, the MSR&PC launched a campaign offering more than 40 Minnesota counties the opportunity to donate SoyFoam firefighting foam to fire departments.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Chris Letendre, Slayton fire chief and president of the Murray County Mutual Aid Association. Letendre said Murray County fire departments planned to test out the foam, to see how it performs in different situations. “I have spoken with some other (departments) that have done some testing, and they said it holds up well.”

“We at the Murray County Mutual Aid Association are very thankful they were able to reach out to us,” he said.

“We are proud to use checkoff dollars to sponsor and donate fire prevention products like SoyFoam to local fire departments in our community,” Murray County Corn and Soybean Board Chair Kevin Wynia said in a news release. “These donations help support our local firefighters with safer, more effective tools.”

SoyFoam firefighting foam is made with soy flour, and does not contain intentionally added “forever chemicals” like PFAS, MSR&PC said. Cross Plains Solutions, the developer of SoyFoam, has partnered with the soy checkoff to continue testing and promoting the product as an 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 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.”

Letendre said it was good for Murray County fire departments to get a chance to test out the soy-based foam, without carrying a big cost. Depending on the type of foam and the situation, firefighting foam can do different things, he said. For example, in a situation like an auto fire where there are flammable liquids around, foam can keep those liquids from offgassing and providing fuel to the fire. In other situations, foam can help keep water on the fire, he said.

Regular firefighting foam averages around $150 to $200 for a five-gallon pail, Letendre said. Depending on the circumstances, a fire department could go through a few pails of foam responding to a fire, he said.

Letendre said there could be some important benefits to using soy-based firefighting foam. It would be good to use a product that was more environmentally safe, and comes from Minnesota farmers, he said. “It comes right from those closest to home,” he said.