AFTER a "horror run" of seasons defined by catastrophic floods, Central Queensland's cotton growers are in the throes of picking what is for many their first cotton crop in more than two years.

Growers have been dogged by rain and prolonged overcast conditions throughout February and March, which has impacted on quality, colour and yield.

Industry leaders are calling the season a "mixed bag", but one that thankfully yielded crops in a critical year after successive crop losses due to floods.

Just a few fields remain to be harvested in Emerald, while dryland cotton north of Clermont is likely to be defoliated later this month.

In the Dawson-Callide Valley, about 75 per cent is complete, with some late conventional and dryland cotton not expected to be picked until late May or June.

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry cotton extension officer Susan Maas, Emerald, said the timing of rain had been a big factor.

"While the quality of the early-picked cotton was reasonable, rainfall has certainly affected the quality of open cotton in some fields," Ms Maas said.

"Yields across all areas were helped along by turn-outs as high as 46pc.

"Approximately half of the Central Highlands crop was picked before more than 100mm of rain fell over five days in March, causing some flooding which delayed picking until just before Easter.

"Despite extended periods of wet and cloudy conditions in late January and February, average yields in this early-picked cotton were between 6.2 to 8.6 bales a hectare (2.5 to 3.5 bales/acre), with reports that a couple of fields had gone in excess of 9.5 bales/ha.

"Estimated yields are highly variable for the Central Highlands, as some crops appear to have been more affected by the weather, and the late rain has further affected yields.

"It's been a similar story for Dawson-Callide, although some sections managed to avoid the wet weather. Yields are up around 8.6 to 9.9 bales/ha (3.5 to 4 bales/ac), with a few stand out fields doing much better.

"It's great to see that most growers have quickly started slashing and mulching, putting themselves in a great position to reduce disease and pest risks for next season."

Cotton Australia regional manager Renee Anderson said the earliest crops had generally yielded the best and the later the crop, the less it was yielding.

It's a sentiment echoed by many growers and advisors.

Moura cotton grower, Greg Hutchinson, Hutchinson Farming, Glendale, started picking on March 28 and said the week that growers had planted in the planting window appeared to have made a big difference.

"Only been a week or two difference in planting has produced big differences in yields; some of the early cotton, particularly in Theodore and Biloela, is better than other crops planted just a bit later," he said.

"In January it was looking like our best season ever, but it's probably ended up being an average yield and average quality season due to rain in February."

"We're averaging 8 bales/ha, which is not as bad as we thought it might have been."

Simon Struss, Cotton Consulting Services, Biloela, said there was no doubt growers were pleased to finally be getting a crop off.

"It's been a tough year with very modest results, but at least growers have got some bales to gin, compared to the last couple of years," Mr Struss said.

"It's been disappointing, there's no question of that, but if we had had another disaster this year it would have been catastrophic and a lot of people would have been in dire straits.

"There would have been a situation of banks wanting to sell properties and no-one to buy them."