TerraMax joins Iowa Soybean Research Center as industry partner

TerraMax on June 11 joined the Iowa Soybean Research Center as its newest industry partner, giving the microbial products company a formal role in shaping applied soybean research at Iowa State University and a direct hand in how new funding is steered. TerraMax will place a representative on the center’s Industry Advisory Council and provide financial support that will be matched with Iowa Soybean Association checkoff funds.

The move matters because the center is built to turn industry priorities into projects that can move beyond the lab. Its advisory council, which includes three farmer representatives and 20 industry partner representatives, meets annually to identify research needs, and the ISRC management team then finalizes funding decisions. In 2023, that process helped guide $414,000 in new funding for three soybean research projects, a scale that shows how partner dollars can be channeled quickly into work with commercial value.

For TerraMax, the partnership puts its microbial platform closer to soybean production decisions. The company said it has spent more than 25 years developing defined microbial products with a proprietary stabilization process designed to keep microbes alive and functioning through delivery to market. Its products include soybean inoculants and seed treatments, along with in-furrow applications aimed at improving nodulation, nitrogen fixation and yields. That puts the company’s work squarely in the applied research lane, where field performance, delivery systems and crop response can determine whether a product is adoptable at scale.

Steve Whitham, co-director of the Iowa Soybean Research Center, said the center welcomed TerraMax and looks forward to research that benefits Iowa soybean producers. Joe McClure, chief officer of Research Center for Farming Innovation for the Iowa Soybean Association and chair of the advisory council, said TerraMax’s perspective should help identify ways to improve soybean production, including healthier plants and higher yields. TerraMax chief operating officer Tom Proepper said the company’s focus on environmentally sound products aligns with the center’s mission, and said TerraMax has worked with Iowa State for years.

The partnership lands in a state where soybean research and commercial demand are increasingly tied together. The Iowa Soybean Association said soybean oil has helped build a nearly $20 billion bio-based diesel market, and Iowa remains the nation’s leading biodiesel-producing state and soybean-oil producer. The association said 2 billion pounds of soybean oil used for biodiesel in 2024 equaled nearly 178 million bushels of soybeans, more than 30% of the crop, underscoring why research that improves soybean performance also supports downstream fuel demand.