The New England Tablelands do not have the best climate for growing wheat as the winters have unreliable levels of rainfall which reduces the quality of the wheat for bread making. Other regions, such as the Spencer Gulf region of South Australia, are more suited to wheat production as they produce high protein wheat which causes the flour to rise and so better quality bread is baked (Godwin 1983). This is a notable factor as to why the mills of Armidale went 'bust' after access for cheaper, better quality wheat became available. Even individuals of the Armidale community noted that the wheat produced in the New England was substandard. In 1863 Walter Bagot, a local agriculturalist complained about the 'inferior quality' of New England wheat (Ferry 1999). By 1891 only one mill was still present in Armidale and farmers had ceased growing wheat crops (Ferry 1999).

Source: http://www.smallgrains.org/