Buffalo, N.Y., Is Still Major Flour Mill Center, Though No Longer King.

Byline: Matt Glynn

Apr. 16--Buffalo was once the nation's flour-milling king.

Though the city has lost that crown, it remains among the country's top milling centers. But the planned closing of ConAgra Maple Leaf Milling's plant in June would leave only General Mills and ADM to keep the industry's legacy alive here.

State and city officials are trying to assemble an economic incentive package to change the executives' minds and save about 70 jobs at ConAgra. If the plant closes, it will mark another step away from the city's one-time dominance of the industry.

Buffalo held the title of the nation's largest milling center into the mid-1990s, even after Cargill's closing in 1994. But the city has fallen to third at best, behind Los Angeles and Kansas City, said Josh Sosland, executive editor of Milling & Baking News, which tracks the industry. Minneapolis is …