YOU CAN TAKE THE SOLDIER OUT OF IOWA BUT...

Some Iowa soldiers in Iraq are hoping they'll soon be eating sweet corn they've grown in their own garden.

While sweet corn sometimes pops up on the mess hall menu, Sergeant Ray Reynolds of Denison and Sergeant Jeff Vore of Vining say it's not the same sweet corn they had growing up in Iowa.

So, the two men asked three friends back home to send them some sweet corn seeds so they could grow their own.

The friends called Pioneer and the company helped them send ten pounds of seed to Iraq.

Pioneer says the sweet corn should do well in Iraq's sandy soil and should be ready to pick by February.

The soldiers will give some of it to a Baghdad homeless shelter and some to Iraqi students who will investigate whether sweet corn could be a viable food source for their country.