Delayed NSW cotton harvest and worker shortage leads women to rise to the occasion to get crop picked

Contract cotton-picker Annie Kennedy with Dutch backpacker Britt de Jong. (ABC Western Plains: Hannah Jose)

Annie Kennedy did not expect to be running two cotton picker machines this year, let alone at seven months pregnant.   

But a significant worker shortage and extended cotton harvest has meant it has been all hands on deck for her and her partner's contract cotton-picking business.

Now the race is on to finish harvest before the baby's arrival. 

"My partner and I make the joke all the time that I'll have to get off the machine and go straight to hospital," Ms Kennedy said.

"I really hope it doesn't come to that, but there's still a lot of cotton to be picked."

This harvest Ms Kennedy has been helped by Dutch backpacker Britt de Jong, a former ballerina. 

"She was afraid to drive a manual car before she started with us, and now she's driving a manual tractor," Ms Kennedy said. 

This year's cotton harvest has been delayed by at least a month due to wet weather and a bumper crop. (ABC Riverina: Olivia Calver)

"She's actually stronger than any of the other guys on my on my team. We call her 'Britt strength'."

Ms Kennedy said their female-led team had surprised some farmers they had worked with. 

"It's been interesting for some people to expand their horizons." 

Annie Kennedy hopes to finish harvest before her baby arrives but it will be touch and go. (ABC Western Plains: Hannah Jose)

Wet weather delays harvest

The wet weather and a bumper crop has meant the cotton harvest has dragged on for months this year.

The majority of NSW's cotton is grown in central and northern NSW, but there is an emerging industry in the Riverina. 

Southern Cotton farm manager Paul Flewitt said because it is a relatively new area, they rely on contract pickers from further north. 

"The northern guys couldn't get their crop off and we couldn't get the contractors to move on south to give us a hand."

However, Ms Kennedy and her team was able to come down and help them out when it was too wet to harvest in the Macquarie Valley. 

"It saved us two or three weeks of extra picking, it was really great," Mr Flewitt said.

Paul Flewittt's wife Rheannon has joined the Southern Cotton harvest team for the first time this year. (ABC Riverina: Olivia Calver)

Returning to the workforce

His wife Rheannon Flewitt has also joined Southern Cotton's harvest team for the first time. 

The mother-of-four returning to the workforce to help get the crop off. 

"There was quite a big staff shortage ... it got to the point that we were working a lot more then we planned so I ended up coming on board."

A few weeks ago southern NSW cotton growers had thought they would still be harvesting in October. 

But a run of sunny weather had meant many will finally finish harvest in the coming weeks.

"Ironically now we're hoping for a bit of wet weather so we can get our winter crops in, you can never keep us farmers happy," Mr Flewitt said.