Farmers sow the future of oats in Minnesota

NINA MOINI: Some farmers in Minnesota and Iowa are banding together to add oats to their usual soybean and corn crop rotations. It's a movement rooted in response to climate change and unpredictable markets. But those farmers need to get big food companies on board, who usually source most of their oats from Canada. Here to explain all of this is journalist Erin Jordan. She reported on the push for oats in the area for Investigate Midwest. Thanks so much for joining us, Erin.

ERIN JORDAN: It's my pleasure. Thanks so much, Nina.

NINA MOINI: I am curious to what led you to reporting on oats in the region.

ERIN JORDAN: Yeah, well, I had seen a news story about how there's an independent oat mill that's opening in Albert Lea, Minnesota in 2026. And I had seen that a lot of the investors in that mill are the farmers themselves. And to me, that seemed really different. And I've been reporting on agriculture in the Midwest for maybe 8 or 10 years now. And I know that we've got this kind of stranglehold of corn and soybeans on our farmers. And so any time they are trying something new, and it's working, and it seems to be a win-win, I definitely want to report on it.

NINA MOINI: It's interesting to hear about the ways that farmers are being innovative, and getting together, and putting their heads together, it sounds like, to think, how can we start to be innovative when they are up against so many challenges and climate change, and others, like we mentioned. Tell me a little bit more about this movement of farmers talking about oats.

ERIN JORDAN: Yeah, well, oats are a traditional crop in the Midwest, used to be fed mostly to animals. In recent decades, oats have been used more as a cover crop over the winter months to reduce erosion, and as a conservation practice. But growing oats for human consumption is relatively new. And that's part of what this mill would do, would be processing organic oats to sell to companies that want to use it for human consumption.

And so these farmers, I think, kind of realized they could add a rotation in where one year, they're growing oats. The next year, they're growing corn. Next year, they're growing soybeans. And they could sell the oats, and then there are some conservation and water quality benefits also from having oats in the rotation. So as long as they can find a market to sell the oats, it could be a pretty good deal for farmers. And so that's why many of them have invested in the Green Akers Mill in Albert Lea.

NINA MOINI: And when you talk about that market, is that mostly some of these bigger companies, like, say, General Mills, or some of the companies that we talked about, mostly buying oats from Canada?

ERIN JORDAN: They would love for Quaker and General Mills to be their market. And they have been courting those companies pretty intensely. Some of the farmers, they convinced Quaker to accept a shipment of 100,000 bushels this spring, in May. And they're still kind of waiting to hear back whether those oats met Quaker's standards, whether they want to buy more. When I tried to get Quaker to comment for the story, they didn't respond. So those big companies are desirable. But meanwhile, there's some smaller companies.

I interviewed the co-founder of Seven Sundays, which is also based in Minnesota, and they could be a potential market for some of their products, which sell in Costco and other places.

NINA MOINI: Why are Minnesota and Iowa good places for growing oats? It is a better climate or a different climate from Canada, I guess?

ERIN JORDAN: Cool, cooler, consistent weather is critical to it. I think the parts of Iowa that are most conducive to oat growing are the northeast part of the state, and then farther north. So the top oat growing states in the country, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, so that upper Midwest. So that makes sense if you think about going toward Canada. But also, that region, especially if I'm thinking about Northeast Iowa, is also facing some really intense water quality challenges. So adding oats to the rotation could be very beneficial.

NINA MOINI: And also, speaking of Canada, there's a lot of talk around tariffs. Is that at play at all in this conversation?

ERIN JORDAN: It is kind of around the periphery. The tariffs on goods imported from Canada have so far not been imposed on agriculture on some agricultural imports like oats. But it's been threatened, and it's out there of 25% to 35% tariff on these imports from Canada. So if you're Quaker or General Mills, and you're using lots of oats in your cereals and other products, I think it might make sense to consider buying domestically, at least some of your products.

NINA MOINI: Do you think then that is likely that some of these bigger companies could be convinced to source their oats from Minnesota and Iowa, just in part like you're saying? Because I imagine it also looks good for marketing or PR purposes to say, hey, we're sourcing from within the United States and from our own state.

ERIN JORDAN: Oh, definitely. This summer, PepsiCo, which is the company that owns Quaker, they put out a news release along with [? Cargel, ?] saying how they want to have Sustainable Farming practices on so many acres. And speaking to that as a public relations move, and also to be good stewards through their companies. And buying domestic oats seems like it would fit with that idea, and just also the idea of potentially avoiding the risk of tariffs. There's additional freight costs if you have to haul oats from Canada versus within the state where you operate.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. I want to zoom in, again, a little bit about Albert Lea and the processing plant that we've talked about or touched on a couple of times, because that's just so fascinating to me that this is happening. Would you put into perspective for us just how big of a step this is for the state of Minnesota in this realm?

ERIN JORDAN: Yeah, having a processing plant within your state and fairly nearby is very critical for these groups. If they can't sell their oats within a reasonable driving distance, it might become too costly for them. Say they don't have a place to process their oats nearby, and they have to transport them to Missouri or somewhere else. Then it becomes, you have to factor in those additional transportation costs.

So this mill, it has real potential to provide that market for these Midwest farmers. And the mill, with this kind of cooperative of farmers who are involved, they agree to not use glyphosate or Roundup. And so all the oats that are processed there will be free of that herbicide.

NINA MOINI: I also want to touch on a point you made earlier that made me go, "oh, I didn't think of that," that people using oats for, say, oat milk, or oatmeal, or for feeding humans, like you said, is on the newer side of things. I wonder where this all fits into the wellness industry and maybe some of the more anti-dairy boom that might be out there.

ERIN JORDAN: Yeah, oat milk has grown in popularity significantly. And I think some of the groups that estimate consumers buying habits believe there's going to continue to be growth in oat products. You've got oat flowers that might be free of-- that hopefully are free of gluten and other things. And that fits with some trends we're seeing in people's dietary habits. And I think we've also seen some changes at the Food and Drug Administration about reducing dyes and things like that.

A lot of these companies that might be looking for these organic oats are also going for kind of a product that's free of dyes, or artificial colors, and allergens. So I think it does definitely fits with the patterns we're seeing.

NINA MOINI: And as you look at those patterns and the future of this area of the wider industry, what do you think is going to happen with oats? These farmers here locally that are kind of getting creative and being innovative and taking a bit of even more of a risk, I would assume. Do you think oats have a future here?

ERIN JORDAN: It seems like they do. I feel like this processing mill is a big step. And we'll have to see when that opens. I think they're going to be able to process the crop from the 2026 crop. And I'm guessing buyers like Seven Sundays, and hopefully, the big ones, General Mills, and Quaker, and others, are really going to be paying attention and maybe seeking out that domestic product.

NINA MOINI: Erin, thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge and your reporting with us. I really appreciate it.

ERIN JORDAN: Oh, I appreciate it too. Thanks so much, Nina.

NINA MOINI: That was Erin Jordan talking about her reporting for Investigate Midwest. And by the way, that oat processing plant in Albert Lea that we mentioned called Green Akers Milling is having a free tour this Saturday. If you want to learn more, head to MPRNews.org.