Rains Cut Into Promising Wheat Crop

Wednesday, July 11th 2007, 8:52 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- What was once expected to be a bumper wheat crop in Oklahoma is being hit hard by the constant flooding across the state. Oklahoma Wheat Commission director Mark Hodges says only the Panhandle region has escaped the heavy rains that have left wheat fields muddy and farmers unable to harvest their crop.

Hodges says thousands of acres of wheat will likely be abandoned and says virtually everything north of Interstate 40 is the hardest hit area.

In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast the wheat harvest in Oklahoma at 160 million bushels. That forecast was cut to just under 152 million bushels in June.

A revised forecast is to be released Wednesday and is expected to predict 81 million bushels of wheat harvested in the state this year.