The Bean Scene is a monthly podcast hosted by Maxwell Schaeffer that goes beyond the headlines to find the stories worth telling—the farmers, thinkers and emerging voices shaping the future of Iowa’s soybean industry. Every episode blends personal storytelling with timely industry insights.
Join us to explore where Iowa soy meets life. Expect candid conversations with farmers creating real on-farm solutions, leaders making an impact across the soybean industry and voices you haven't heard yet. Whether you're a farmer, an ag professional or just someone curious about where food, fuel and innovation come from—there's something here for you.
The Bean Scene is proudly brought to you by the Iowa Soybean Association and the soybean checkoff, with new episodes dropping the first Tuesday of every month.
What The Latest On-Farm Research Tells Us About Nitrogen Stabilizers
Farmers invest heavily in nitrogen, but timing, weather and soil conditions can affect how much of it reaches the crop. Can using a nitrogen stabilizer help protect that investment? On this episode, Iowa Soybean Association Research Agronomy Lead Alex Schaffer and Andrew Luzum, nitrogen stabilizer specialist at Corteva Agriscience, share the science and practical decisions behind nitrogen stabilizers. Alex shares findings from ISA’s 2026 on-farm trials comparing spring-applied anhydrous amm...
6 Oct 2026
From Firefighting Foam to Frying Oil: Exploring New Uses with Cross Plains Solutions and the United Soybean Board
From fighting fires to frying food, soybeans can take the heat. Coming to you from the Farm Progress Show, this episode of The Bean Scene explores how soy-based firefighting foam helps crews stretch their water supply and how high oleic soybean oil performs in restaurant fryers. First, Dave Garlie, chemist and chief technology officer at Cross Plain Solutions, explains how a foam made from soybean meal is fighting fires nationwide. Discover why foam matters to rural fire departments working w...
22 Sept 2026
The Future of Agriculture at Iowa State University with President David Cook
What does a university president have in common with an Iowa farmer? Both are constantly thinking about what comes next. As harvest gets underway and a new semester begins, the conversation around education, agriculture and the future takes on new meaning. As the 2026 fall semester begins, Dr. David Cook returns to Iowa State University, this time as the university's 17th president. An Ames native and Iowa State alumnus, Cook joins The Bean Scene to talk about what it means to return ho...
8 Sept 2026
Food Questions to Classroom Lessons - Influencing Iowa's Ag Literacy
How can we help consumers better understand agriculture? Sometimes it starts with a question about food, other times, it starts with a lesson in a classroom. At the Iowa State Fair, Lydia Zerby of the Iowa Food & Family Project shares how the organization creates opportunities for consumers to connect with farmers, ask questions and learn more about how food is grown and raised. We then meet Kelly Foss of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation, who takes us into Iowa schools, where teac...
4 Aug 2026
Rewriting Iowa's Water Quality Story with Des Moines and Central Iowa Water Works, Rebekah Jones and Patrick White
August is National Water Quality Month, and we are celebrating by exploring an often-overlooked part of Iowa's water story: urban and rural collaboration. This episode follows Iowa's water upstream — from the treatment plant in Des Moines to the farm and back again — through conversations with the people working to rewrite Iowa's water quality story. We start with Tami Madsen of Central Iowa Water Works and Amy Kahler of Des Moines Water Works to unpack the challenges of providing safe drinki...
7 Jul 2026
Paws, Planes and Precision Farming with Paws & Pints, Lee Brooke and Joe McClure
What do a dog park in Des Moines, a conference room in Colombia and a strip trial in Greene County all have in common? Soy innovation. Katie Dunlap of Paws & Pints opens the episode with a tour of Des Moines' beloved canine social retreat, where SYNLawn synthetic turf with a soy-based backing has survived hundreds of dogs a day and is still going strong after four years. Then, Aaron Putze checks in from downtown Bogotá, where Iowa Soybean Association President-Elect Lee Brooke joined an A...
2 Jun 2026
Soy at Play with Dr. Dirk Maier, the Iowa Cubs and Agronomist Troy Deutmeyer
It's the start of summer in Iowa—the fields are growing, the ballparks are full and soybeans are doing more work than most people realize. Dr. Dirk Maier of the ISU Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex kicks of this episode by walking us through a first-of-its-kind university facility that trains the next generation of feed professionals—and is now piloting a high oleic soybean project tied to a major dairy expansion coming to central Iowa. We then head to Principal Park where...
5 May 2026
Bean to Breakfast with Erik Lightner, Craig Rowles and the Waveland Cafe
It’s National Egg Month — and on The Bean Scene, we’re following the journey of an Iowa soybean from the field to an egg on your breakfast plate. Erik Lightner, former CEO of Platinum Crush, opens the episode from one of Iowa’s newest soybean processing facilities in Alta, where over 40 million bushels of soybeans are crushed each year into the meal, oil and fiber products that feed Iowa’s livestock — including laying hens. Dr. Craig Rowles, VP of Strategic Projects at Versova Management Coop...
28 Apr 2026
BONUS: The Soybean Checkoff Story
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the soybean checkoff, we’re bringing you a bonus episode of The Bean Scene! In this episode, Jerry Slocum shares the story behind how the soybean checkoff began. Jerry is a fifth-generation farmer from Coldwater, Mississippi, a grain elevator operator and founding director of the United Soybean Board. As the soybean checkoff celebrates its 35th anniversary, Jerry reflects on what it took to build it — from the drought of 1988 that galvanized the move...
7 Apr 2026
Combine Karaoke and Farm-to-Pizza with April Hemmes, Chloe Zittergruen and Tom Halverson
In this inaugural episode of The Bean Scene, hear from three leaders who are shaping the future of the soybean industry. Tom Halverson, CEO of CoBank, kicks off the episode with a breakdown of the structural economic shifts farmers are facing. Then meet April Hemmes, a Hampton-area farmer and former Iowa Soybean Association and United Soybean Board director, who shares how she built a platform to represent soybean farmers around the world. She talks about life on her family’s century farm and...
31 Mar 2026
Introducing The Bean Scene
Welcome to The Bean Scene podcast! Brought to you by the Iowa Soybean Association and the soybean checkoff, this podcast shares the stories of the farmers, leaders and innovators shaping the soybean industry. Join host Maxwell Schaeffer to hear the unique voices shaping agriculture, stay up to date on industry news and discover how Iowa soybeans impact daily life. Check out new episodes of The Bean Scene on the first Tuesday of every month to discover where Iowa soy meets life.&nbs...
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