Optimising milling for Australian wheat grades

Optimising milling conditions for key Australian wheat grades

International flour mills struggle to extract maximum value from wheat due to the challenges of milling wheat from different origins with vastly varying characteristics.

This project models the differences in milling requirements for a range of significant Australian wheat classes using response surface methodology (RSM) to determine optimal mill settings and linear programming for optimal stream blending.

AEGIC’s Sydney Pilot Mill is fitted with 11 in-line near-infrared sensors that continuously measure protein, moisture, ash, and starch damage in each flour stream to closely simulate wheat milling performance in commercial mills. Demonstrating the benefits of Australian wheat in terms of its milling potential (i.e., potential yield and therefore actual financial value) makes it more likely mills will pay a premium for Australian wheat.

Completed (March 2025)

• We completed milling and data analysis of Australian Standard White (ASW) wheat from South Australia, demonstrating the impact of relative humidity on the milling conditions. (December 2024).
• We have combined experiments on individual wheat classes from different regions around Australia to develop models that guide optimising mill conditions to extract maximum value from Australian wheat. (January 2025).
• We presented the consolidated results to the General Milling Corporation Phillipines and Graincorp workshop. (February 2025).
• We presented data to millers at AGIC Asia and select flour millers in China. (March 2025)

Scheduled (by June 2025)

• We will continue to analyse the data and use the models to develop training materials and presentations to communicate with end-users the benefits of Australian wheat and how to extract maximum value through maximising yield and meeting final product specifications.
• We plan to present the milling guides at Australian and Asian flour milling workshops and conferences.

If you would like to know more, please contact us