View from the Cab: Springing ahead

By Kent Casson

Anything with spring in the title is good this time of year.

As our minds our on warmer weather and farming season just around the corner, the Illinois Soybean Association has announced the Springboard Challenge.

The 2026 Springboard Challenge Conference is set for March 4-5 at 1108 Trinity Lane in Bloomington. This is the premier event uniting researchers, farmers and industry leaders to spark innovation in scalable products made from soy.

Illinois soybean farmers, Illinois Soybean Association staff, investors and researchers will all be present and available to visit both days of the conference. ISA CEO John Lumpe will give the welcome while Todd Main and Steve Pitstick present the vision of the Illinois Soybean Innovation Center. Northern Illinois University President Dr. Lisa Freeman presents “Strength Through Collaboration: Universities and the Crucible of Innovation.”

During the previous Springboard 2025 hosted by Distillery Labs in Peoria, researchers, entrepreneurs and ag industry leaders came together for two days of big ideas with bold solutions. The event focused on advancing soy-based and bio-derived products beyond food with sessions aimed at building connections, accelerating innovation and turning concepts into commercial success.

A standout moment was the Seed Funding Challenge where participants pitched creative ag-based solutions for a chance at startup funds. Energy levels were high, the ideas fresh and the collaboration real.

Challenge winners from 2025 included: self-healing polymers from soybean oil, chemo-bio hybrid biomanufacturing of advanced biodegradable polyester amides from soy meal and soy hull, low-carbon specialty lipids for liquified soybean hulls and a novel method of separation, concentration and extraction of rare earth elements utilizing soybean oil.

Find out more by reaching out to Betsy Osman with the Illinois Soybean Association at betsy.osman@ilsoy.org. ISA has offices in Bloomington, Lombard and Springfield and you can follow the association on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.