CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Few people outside Quaker Oats know exactly what the Cedar Rapids factory is making when a sweet, wholesome smell wafts from the plant north of downtown.
Locals call it a Crunch Berry day because Quaker – the world’s largest cereal plant – makes Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries, but the aroma could also be oats roasting for Oatmeal Squares or maple-flavored instant oatmeal.
The oats fueling that sweet-smelling goodness come not from the rich Iowa soil near the plant, but from up to 1,000 miles away in Canada. For decades, the plumpest, most consistent oats came from the northern plains, but new field trials show food-grade oats can be grown in Iowa and Minnesota by farmers eager for an alternative to corn and soybeans…