This summer, Iran purchased more than 1 million tons of wheat from the United States, the first such purchase in 27 years.

“Anytime that you have a new market for your product, that’s a good thing,” said Dusti Fritz, Kansas Wheat Commission chief executive. “It’s a positive development for wheat producers in Kansas.”

The purchase of hard red winter wheat began June 1 because Iran’s own wheat production was hurt by a drought. The U.S. and Iran have been at odds politically since 1979 when Iranian revolutionaries took over the American Embassy in Tehran and took hostages. Today the U.S. is concerned about Iran developing nuclear weapon capability.

The U.S. wheat harvesting and marketing season is ahead of that of Iran’s primary wheat providers, Canada and Australia, Fritz said.

“Iran really needed to buy some wheat because their domestic crop was short,” she said. “The U.S. had good-quality, reliable wheat on the market when Iran needed it.”