A 'Mafia' outfit centered on growing more American oats

Oats used by most American cereal brands are sourced from
Canada. (Graphic by Adam Dixon, Offrange)

Over the past several decades, the acres of oats American farmers have produced have dipped dramatically. The USDA doesn't heavily subsidize oat crops like it does corn and soybeans, and most oats used in the U.S. are sourced from Canada. However, a "growing group of more than 100 Midwestern farmers is trying to bring it back," reports Aimee Rawlins for Offrange.

Back in 2018, Martin Larsen, a fifth-generation farmer in Minnesota, looked at his crops and thought oats would be good for his soil, and the rising popularity of oat milk could help his bottom line, Rawlins writes.

Larsen convinced other Minnesota farmers to add oats to their rotation. The group struggled to find mills and break into the supply chain. Rawlings writes, "But Larsen and his fellow farmers weren’t deterred. Instead, they coined a name for their group: the Oat Mafia. They decided to create a supply chain — and, eventually, a mill — of their own."

Part of the reason Oat Mafia farmers have persisted is that oat crops do soil systems a world of good, including removing nitrogen that "might otherwise leach into groundwater," Rawlings explains. "And when added to a corn-soy rotation, oats help break pest cycles, reduce disease pressure, and curb resistant weeds." Oats also thrive during severe droughts.

The group's persistence has paid off. "Today, the Oat Mafia has around 125 farmers with 50,000 acres of tillable land and about 6,000 acres of oats, said Larsen, who started with just seven acres and now grows 500," Rawlings writes.

The group is investing in building their own mill to avoid milling entanglements, and Larsen is spending more time promoting oats to other farmers as a financially manageable addition to crop rotations. Rawlings reports, "He aims to be a resource for other farmers who aren’t sure where to start, offering advice on everything from what varieties to plant and how many oats per acre, to how much fertilizer to use and how to combine them."