Oklahoma farmers give red winter wheat the cold shoulder

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A growth in the international market for white wheat is prompting many Oklahoma farmers to move away from the traditional red varieties of winter wheat. <br/><br/>Agriculture officials

Thursday, August 11th 2005, 1:04 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A growth in the international market for white wheat is prompting many Oklahoma farmers to move away from the traditional red varieties of winter wheat.

Agriculture officials say over the past three years, Oklahoma farmers planting white winter wheat increased 650 percent.

U-S Wheat Associates official Ron Stoddard says much of the movement is the result of an increasing demand in international markets for a whiter product.

Stoddard says buyers in Asian markets place more value on white breads and noodles, driving up the production of white wheat.

He says as of this year, only about 30-thousand acres of the 5-point-9 (M) million acres planted to wheat in Oklahoma are for white wheat.