The rain-favoured storage "hot spot" of Walgett has generated orders for more than 65,000 tonnes of on-farm storage in grain rings in the past fortnight alone.

The only potentially sizeable crop in years could be the first real test of a deregulated export wheat market, and the logistics of a big, fast harvest have not been tested since headers got a lot bigger and trucks considerably harder to find.

Graingrowers keen to maximise returns from the much-anticipated crop have flocked to silo stands at field days, and are also considering a range of temporary storage solutions.

Cowra-based general manager with Canadian machinery and silo importer, Geronimo, Ashley Webster, said the long-term trend to on-farm storage had picked up pace during this year's huge sorghum harvest.

This had been followed by plenty of forward orders for the coming harvest, and interest was still strong.

"Everybody's known about storage, but people who talked to us three or four years ago are now acting."

* Extract from a full report in The Land, Thursday, September 11 edition.