Quality concerns climb with relentless rain

Grain quality concerns saw traders lift new crop milling wheat bids for Queensland and northern New South Wales by $20 a tonne, with another round of heavy rain forecast across eastern Australia this week.

Relentless rain has farmers worried about grain quality and they are reluctant to sell wheat with milling specifications.

These concerns also extend to malting barley.

Flour millers are also worried how the rain will impact quality and how this will impact new crop milling wheat supplies.

It also makes it difficult for exporters to commit milling wheat sales.

Wheat harvesting is already underway in central Queensland, but its still three weeks away from starting in southern Queensland.

Early yields have been excellent with many growers reporting that wheat crops are going 3.5-4t/ha.

Early protein levels are well down an average, which was widely anticipated with the favourable season and the soft finish.

But it's the weather in the harvest window that has both farmers and grain buyers concerned.

Farmers are bracing for another round of heavy rains this week.

Weather forecasters are tipping that big areas of southern Queensland and NSW will receive upwards of 50 millimetres in the first 10 days of October. Paddocks in southern Queensland and most of NSW are already saturated from the wetter and cooler than usual September.

Wet cool springs are generally good for grain yields in Australia but can be detrimental to grain quality.

Nearby stockfeed wheat and barley bids into the Downs remain firm as wet weather and harvest delays continue to play havoc with grain logistics.

Domestic feed grain consumers are sitting back on the expectations of big yields and lower than usual protein levels, with the chance of rain affected wheat. The Bureau of Meteorology said the wetter than usual pattern across the eastern half of Australia is expected to continue into the summer.

It said that La Nina, a negative Indian Ocean Dipole as well as a positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode were all contributing to the wetter than usual outlook over large parts of Australia.

Warmer and drier weather is expected to see harvest activity accelerate in Western Australia's Geraldton zone this week.