Cenex®, the energy brand of CHS Inc., announced today that the Norborne Soybean Festival in Norborne, Missouri, is the Hometown Throwdown $100,000 grand prize winner. The other two finalists, Hayward Musky Festival in Hayward, Wisconsin, and Roseau Fall Harvest Festival in Roseau, Minnesota, will each receive $25,000. The prizes will go toward bringing these unique celebrations to the next level.
As the self-proclaimed “Soybean Capital of the World,” Norborne has been celebrating its agricultural roots since 1982. Hosted each August, the Norborne Soybean Festival is a testament to the hard-working, generous, humble people of Norborne. The 100% volunteer-run festival features entertainment for all ages, including a soy coin hunt, soy donuts, ag in the classroom and naming a new King or Queen Soybean. With its long history rooted in tradition, local pride, community engagement and family fun, it is no surprise that Norborne’s Soybean Festival is the best fest in the United States.
Hometown Throwdown, a social media contest Cenex launched in October 2023, encouraged local pride by asking individuals and organizations to share what makes their hometown festivals unique. More than 500 festival submissions were received during the entry period from Oct. 3 through Dec. 15, 2023.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the response we received for Hometown Throwdown. We love seeing the pride people have for their local communities and it’s clear there’s no shortage of that in Norborne, Missouri,” said Erin Wroge, senior director of energy marketing at CHS Inc. “A big congratulations from all of us at Cenex to the Norborne Soybean Festival. We were truly impressed with all three festivals in the running for the grand prize and we’re looking forward to fostering community pride across the Cenex footprint for years to come.”
Hometown Throwdown is inspired by the Cenex brand’s strong local roots and is a continuation of its long history of giving back to the communities it calls home. The brand is local to its core, with all 1,400-plus retail locations across 19 states run by members of the community. To date, Cenex has given more than half a million dollars in grants to support local communities. These efforts have helped fund more than 80 community projects, including improving aging baseball fields, providing athletic workshops in schools, supporting local food shelters, boosting community pride by funding local festivals and more.
Norborne Soybean Festival was picked as the $100,000 grand prize winner in accordance with the contest rules. Additional information about Hometown Throwdown can be found at CenexHometownThrowdown.com.
If you'd like to learn more about the ways the Cenex brand gives back to local communities, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube or visit Cenex.com/local-giving.
About Cenex
Cenex (www.cenex.com), the energy brand of CHS Inc., provides high-quality refined fuels through 1,400-plus locally owned convenience store locations across 19 states. Consumers depend on Cenex fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products to power homes, businesses and communities.

