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Jackrabbit AstroTurf backed with soy-based product

The synthetic grass at the new South Dakota State University Athletic Complex has a backing manufactured from a soy-based product.

The backing of the AstroTurf incorporates soy-based polyurethane, replacing a significant portion of the petroleum-based product that would normally make up the backing.

Doug Giles is the Marketing Director for Universal Textile Technologies, the Dalton, Georgia firm that makes the backing.

“We’re applying that soy-based technology to the back of AstroTurf, and South Dakota made a decision with the assistance of the local farm community that they wanted to be a part of this,” said Giles, from his office in Dalton, Georgia.

The company says the renewable backing extends the turf’s life, enhances player safety, reduces dependence on foreign oil and in the case of the SDSU athletic complex, improves indoor air quality.

South Dakota soybean farmers will be among those at the facility’s dedication ceremony on the SDSU campus Saturday afternoon.