(Photo: Iowa Soybean Association)
Bean Scene podcast expands as convenient source for farm information
October 22, 2026 | Rebekah Jones
Listeners can now enjoy Iowa Soybean Association’s The Bean Scene podcast twice as often with bi-monthly episodes and added research and agronomic topics.
Driven by a commitment to better serve Iowa’s farmers, ISA will release episodes on both the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Host Max Schaeffer says shorter, more frequent episodes fit how people listen today.
“People are busier now than they ever were, and there’s so much information available at our fingertips that it can be overwhelming,” Schaeffer said.
Smaller episodes give listeners a “small dose” of something valuable, he explained, so they look forward to the next one instead of getting fatigued.
As part of the updated schedule, The Bean Scene, which focuses on trending ag topics and education, will merge with Pods of Potential, which covered conservation and research subjects. The data-driven research and conservation information that Pods of Potential listeners count on will stay the same. This just means listeners can get all of their trending soybean news in one place.
The Bean Scene launched in April and has covered a range of soy-centric topics including water quality, soy firefighting foam, the next generation of agriculture, and more.
“It’s not just about soybeans,” Schaeffer said. “It’s about the way of life of the Iowa farmer, the challenges, the hills and valleys, the advances, and the technology.”
Schaeffer said one of his favorite episodes so far was about soy foam because of the innovations and breakthroughs, laughing that “I was today years old when I learned about this!”
This week’s episode features nitrogen stabilizer research, including how effective it is for protecting farmers’ fertilizer investments. On Nov. 3, hear from Sara Wyant, an award-winning agriculture journalist and entrepreneur.
Podcast episodes are available wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Written by Rebekah Jones.
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