THE grain harvest under way in Queensland is revealing mixed results that are taking the shine off what might have been a bumper harvest.

AgForce Grains president Lyndon Pfeffer said while the estimated wheat harvest has been revised down from 2 million to about 1.8 million tonnes, it was still going to be an above average harvest, particularly given recent dry years.

“A lot of wheat that has already been harvested has higher than normal screenings or small grains which is being attributed to the dry conditions, frost, mice damage and disease,” Mr Pfeffer said.

“Parts of central Queensland have received more grain than expected but up to half the receivals at some depots have gone into feed rather than bread-milling silos.

This is putting even more strain on storages bulging with the feed grain sorghum,” Mr Pfeffer said.

The southern Queensland harvest is gaining momentum but recent rain has caused disruption in far south west growing areas around Thallon and Dirranbandi, and the inner Darling Downs around Dalby.

Mr Pfeffer said hopefully the later finishing crop, which made up about 50 per cent of the total, would be better quality than the early harvested crops from Miles south through Meandarra to Goondiwindi, which has had high levels of fine grain which will go into low-grade milling classifications or feed.

“It is a Catch 22 situation," Mr Pfeffer said.

"Farmers always like to see rain but if it comes at the wrong time it can result in sprouting of grain and further downgrades in quality.”

Mr Pfeffer said chickpeas in central Queensland fared well, despite late frosts and most growers were happy with yields and quality, but barley had been affected by the dry finish making it stock-feed quality and not suitable for the needs of the malting industry.

“There is also evidence that the high fertiliser prices and subsequent cutbacks in its use this winter lowered grain protein levels, which has resulted in some Queensland wheat going into the low protein bin rather than the usual Australian Hard or Prime Hard classifications,” he said.

Availability of road and rail transport of the crop and storage potential remains an issue considering the amount of grain still to be harvested, particularly around the western growing regions.

The local price for wheat is about A$275, back significantly from the high of A$350-400/tonne last year, whilst feed grain prices have dropped from above $300 to some offers of only $120/tonne.