Evansville Celebrates the Soybean!

Reported by Jeff Pieterick
Photo Caption: WSMB Exec. Director Bob Karls (left) and WBA President Jeff Pieterick with "Soyer T. Bean," Mascot of the Evansville Soybean Festival.

Evansville hosted its first "Soybean Festival" on Saturday to celebrate its heritage at the center of soybean production in Wisconsin. The event was a culmination of week-long activities that explored the importance of soybean production in Wisconsin, beginning with a ceremony proclaiming Evansville the "Soybean Capital of Wisconsin." This proclamation was sponsored in the State Legislature by Rep. Brett Davis and Senator Jon Erpenbach, both of whom were on hand for the kick-off along with Ag Secretary Rod Nilsestuen and other dignitaries.

The festival on Saturday featured a Taste of Soy buffet and other displays promoting the many impacts of the soybean in our daily life. It also emphasized soy oil as a feedstock for renewable biodiesel and the economic impact this industry will have on the Evansville community. The highlight of the event was most certainly the performance of the Evansville First Graders singing original songs about the history of Evansville and the important role soybeans have played in its past and its future development as a community.

The Wisconsin Biodiesel Association is proud to have joined with the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board and others in sponsoring this well-attended and well-organized event. Over 500 visitors joined this celebration, and the cooperation of the school district in incorporating soybeans into the curricula throughout the week as part of this event made it a very special celebration, indeed! Our congratulations go out to event organizer Marsha Dobbs and all the many volunteers who helped make this a very special celebration. We look forward to many future "Evansville Soybean Festivals" in the years to come.