Indiana soybean farmers — through their soybean checkoff — are looking for innovative soy products through a new program called INVEST (Indiana New Ventures and Enterprises in Soy Technology). The program seeks individuals and small businesses with innovative new soy products or technologies needing help bringing their products to the marketplace. The program has $125,000 available for the initial round of funding in 2008.

“We're interested in people who are past the first stage of development and are in the testing or refining period,” says Ryan West, Indiana Soybean Association director of new uses and technology commercialization. “The goal of INVEST is to catapult these products or technologies over the last few hurdles and help with product deployment.”

Interested parties can access the complete list of rules and guidelines from the INVEST Web site, www.soy-invest.com. Applications are due by Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, and can also be found on the Web site. Or, contact contact Ryan West at rwest@indianasoybean.com or call 317-347-3620.

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