Recycled asphalt one of more than 600 exhibits on display at Farm Progress Show next week

One of the groundbreaking technologies on display when the Farm Progress Show opens in Boone next week will be underneath visitors' feet.

Underneath the one-acre Varied Industries tent is asphalt, but this blacktop is made out of recycled materials bound together with soybean oil, a new product made by researchers at Iowa State University. It's one of many new agricultural technologies that will be showcased at the Farm Progress Show, Aug. 30 to Sept. 1

Others include sprayer drones and other autonomous equipment, as well as large tires that allow a tractor to float in water.

Eric Cochran, a chemical and biological engineering professor at ISU, said the soybean-asphalt mix is much cheaper and more environmentally-friendly than laying traditional asphalt.

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Cochran, who has researched the use of soybean oil instead of petroleum since 2010, said an acre of traditional asphalt might cost between $500,000 and $1 million, depending on its thickness and quality. Using recycled asphalt would cost somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000 for the same acre, he said.

There's hundreds of millions of tons of recycled asphalt in the U.S. and the product can be easier to install than traditional materials, he said.

Every acre paved with recycled asphalt uses an equivalent of 1,000 fewer barrels of oil.

Nacu Hernandez, CEO of SoyLei Innovations, which is commercially marketing the product, said there are other demonstration projects underway across the U.S., though they hope to sell the product globally. Cochran said the recycled asphalt and soybean oil mix is not up to interstate highway standards, but it would be good for use in most other pavements, such as residential roads. 

Hernandez said other oils could be used to bond the asphalt. But Cochran said canola oil, for example, mainly goes toward the food market and is cost prohibitive.

He's also researched using cover crops to make oil for the asphalt mix, which could make them more valuable to grow, entice farmers to plant them and in doing so, help prevent erosion and improve soil health.

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More information on the Farm Progress Show

The Farm Progress Show runs Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 at the Central Iowa Expo, 1827 217th St., in Boone.

With more than 600 exhibits, it attracts agricultural corporations, political leaders and financial analysts from all over the world. 

Tickets cost $20 for adults at the gate, or $15 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online at farmprogressshow.com/en/attend/ticketing.html.

Student tickets for people ages 13 to 17 are $10 at the gate, and children 12 years and younger are free.

General admission tickets for Aug. 31 include entry to a concert by country star Lee Brice, staring at 5:30 p.m.

Questions about tickets can be answered by calling 800-441-1410.

More information on directions to the show, a map of exhibits, getting around and the daily schedule is available at farmprogressshow.com/en/home.html.

A map can also be accessed by scanning the QR code below.

Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.