Cotton growers in Queensland's southern inland will be busy this week picking the best cotton crop in more than a decade.

Recent rain in the Balonne Shire has caused widespread damage but it has also left the region with an abundance of water.

Mayor Donna Stewart says a predicted harvest of 600,000 bales will lift the region's spirits.

"We've been looking forward to this now for 10 years and so we're watching the sky very anxiously," she said.

"We certainly don't want some of those deluges other communities have experienced over the last couple of days.

"We're asking for nice, relatively fine weather for the duration of the cotton picking."

Ms Stewart says the predicted bumper crop will turn the shire's fortunes around.

"We've been waiting for this for a long time," she said.

"Now they're predicting in excess of 600,000 bales of cotton to be picked in the Balonne Shire this year, so that's way, way beyond anything that we've ever had picked here in the past."