Mr Irwin says providing storage solutions for those with significant on-farm storage capacity will provide a valuable additional income stream for the business and off-set any potential loss of grain into GrainCorp's bulk handling system.

Mr Irwin said he believed GrainCorp would do the storage work for around half a million tonnes of grain for larger growers across the east coast.

"We've seen a lot of the more sophisticated growers putting in interim holding capacity and we are involved in this process, doing their blending, making sure it is stored safely, both in terms of tarpaulin set-up and fumigation.

"We're responding to a demand from the larger growers – it is still cheaper for them to pay for us to do their on-farm storage for them, once you factor in labour and depreciation, not to mention our expertise in the field."

Mr Irwin said the issue of grain quality would be crucial, and farmers wanted to ensure their grain was stored correctly.

"The last thing they want is grain being rejected because of quality issues, so with our track record, people are happy to work with us."

He said issues of insect resistance to fumigation chemicals such as phosphine was also critical and needed to be managed from a national perspective.

"We really want to ensure that we manage insects effectively, as there aren’t that many tools for control there," he said.

The company was also responding to grower demand by keeping warehousing fees down, Mr Irwin said.

"We think that marketing will be a more year-round thing than it currently is, and we know we have to make warehousing an attractive option for the growers.

"It will be interesting to see what purchasing patterns are from October to December, but we think things will change a bit from the way the market operated under the single desk – which may mean warehousing is a more important option for growers."