Cenex^® Hometown Throwdown winner uses prize money to improve festival and community 

Soybeans typically flourish in well-drained loam soil that’s rich in organic matter. In Norborne, Mo., newly poured concrete is helping The Soybean Patch — the primary downtown gathering place for the town’s annual celebration and other events – and the community thrive. 

 The Soybean Patch in Norborne, Mo., has a new concrete floor. The Norborne Soybean Festival won the Cenex® Hometown Throwdown $100,000 grand prize in 2024, which paid for the project. 

Building a better festival for the future 

The Norborne Soybean Festival won the inaugural Cenex® Hometown Throwdown $100,000 grand prize in 2024. Prior to the 2025 festival in early August, the planning committee put the money to good use: 

• Paving and adding additional covered space to the patch – an open-air covered structure with kitchen and food service facilities – where people eat, festival opening ceremonies are held and other events. 
• Commissioned a metal sculpture of “Mr. Soybean,” one of the festival’s soybean characters.  
• Purchased picnic tables for additional seating. 
• A new sound system for announcements will be purchased at a later date. 

“We identified needs and invested in our vision for growth and long-term success of the festival,” says Kyle Durham, a local grain farmer and festival planning committee member. “The uneven rock surface of the patch caused mobility issues for people using scooters, canes, wheelchairs or young families with baby strollers. Now people can safely enjoy the space.” 

Kyle Durham, a member of the Norborne Soybean Festival Planning Committee, poses with Mr. Soybean, a sculpture the committee commissioned for the festival and community. 

As the self-proclaimed Soybean Capital of the World, Norborne has been celebrating its agricultural roots and its top crop since 1982. “According to city lore, at one time more soybeans were grown in the region per capita than anywhere in the world, Durham says. “We wanted to have fun and build on that brand for Norborne.” 

Mr. Soybean does just that, Durham contends. Located next to Norborne City Hall, 105 E 2nd St., the 8-foot-tall bean with a 108-inch waistline and wearing bib overalls, jovially greets visitors with a wave, while holding a pipe in the other hand.

Durham is admittedly skeptical if the region was ever the world’s top soybean producer, but area farmers love the legume. 

Jeff Duff, location manager of Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers in Norborne, says the facility typically handles about 2 million bushels of soybeans, corn and winter wheat annually. Soybeans account for about 80% of the total. 

“We are a farm town completely surrounded by soybeans,” Duff says. Ray-Carroll is a member cooperative of CHS.

A soybean field next to Norborne, Mo., with the Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers Norborne location in the distance. 

Celebrating community and tradition 

Norborne Soybean Festival was one of more than 500 community celebrations to enter the inaugural Cenex Hometown Throwdown contest, geared toward giving back to communities it calls home. The contest encourages local pride by asking individuals and organizations to share what makes their hometown festivals unique.  

Durham says the festival’s entry focused on community pride, noting the town of 700 residents ballons to several thousand during the three-day celebration. “What sets us apart is the fans of the festival; those who live here and who have moved away but return every year. It speaks to the vision of the festival that no matter where you travel from, you’re always part of the Norborne family.”

One unique aspect of the festival is the crowning of King or Queen Soybean. “Each year, we honor a local farmer who helps the community. I’m a third-generation King Soybean, following in the footsteps of my dad, Dave, and my grandpa, Don Heil.” 

Durham notes that the improvements made with the prize money will have a lasting impact on the community.

“To have partners like Cenex and CHS [Cenex is the energy brand of CHS] that sees the value in investing in farmers and their communities is very important,” he says.

Learn more about our giveback competition 

Cenex is proud to power the festivals that bring communities together. Through Hometown Throwdown, we invited individuals and organizations to share what makes their hometown celebrations one of a kind. It’s our way of giving back, continuing a long-standing tradition of supporting the places we call home. 

Learn more

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