The biggest change to the Australian wheat industry post-deregulation will be the increased volatility, according to ABB Grain general marketing manager Peter Jones.
However, Mr Jones advises growers to remember that along with risk, volatility can present growers with opportunity.
"There will be constantly changing prices, but that will provide a chance for growers to get a good price if they monitor things closely," he said.
Mr Jones said farmers would have to be eagle-eyed with their market monitoring.
"I think we'll see prices changing a lot more rapidly, with changes during the day – as we see a reluctance from companies to have bids out there for the long-term.
"A price may be there in the morning and not in the afternoon - but it will go both ways – both up and down."
He said there would be changes to the industry without the steadying influence of the single desk.
"The national pool lent a certain amount of pricing stability to the wheat market and the absence of that will be a change for growers," he said.
"The desk meant that the volatility experienced on an international level had a lag time before it was felt in Australia."
But Mr Jones said farmers' experience operating in a deregulated environment in other commodities would stand them in good stead.
"Most growers don't just grow wheat and the other commodities have been deregulated for years and they have managed that without a worry," he said.
He did not think there would be significant tonnages forward sold this year – but that has less to do with deregulation than concerns about climate risk.
"The disappointments of last year will be fresh in the minds of growers – the deteriorating crops and increasing prices led to hardships for a lot of farmers and that will be ringing in their ears as they think about marketing decisions this year."
The cash versus pool debate will depend on a couple of key factors.
"There's every chance we will see a strong push for growers to sell for cash at harvest should the price hold up and buyers remain in the market at harvest time – the attractiveness of pooling options will be determined by the price of wheat at harvest.
"The lower the cash price is, the more we will see in the pool."
He said marketers would try and use pools as a low-cost way of getting hold of grain.
"I don't think everybody has endless pockets of cash, there is just not the available capital to see everything sold for cash."