Tasmanian cherry growers in the state's south are in a race against the clock to pick their produce or face the possibility of leaving it to rot.

Key points: Eighty per cent of Pip Allwright's fruit is now ready to harvest

Eighty per cent of Pip Allwright's fruit is now ready to harvest She worries her workers won't be able to pick fast enough

She worries her workers won't be able to pick fast enough Fruit Growers Tasmania says changing climate makes a difficult job even tougher for orchardists

The industry is celebrating a bumper crop on the back of a mild winter and spring, but hot conditions in recent weeks have ripened all the fruit at the same time for some growers.

For producers such as Pip Allwright, based in the Upper Derwent Valley in the state's south, it means 80 per cent of her fruit is now ready to harvest.

Ms Allwright employs about 12 seasonal staff to pick the fruit, but she is concerned they will not be able to work fast enough.

"You have to be prepared to maybe just walk away and let them rot on the tree," she said.

"They're really a bit like children — you think you know what they're going to do but they do the other thing.

"We've had to go from Plan A to Plan B, and we're up to Plan C.

"Plan C is that we'll probably open up the orchard and say to people, come and pick your own."

Pip Allwright employs about 12 seasonal staff to pick cherries. ( Sally Dakis: ABC Rural )

This year, the Allwrights expect to harvest up to 15 tonnes per hectare on their 1.5-hectare orchard.

Nick Allwright said it was uncommon for the entire orchard to ripen after Christmas — the peak demand period for the product in the domestic market.

"Two weeks ago, [the cherries] weren't ready and then all of a sudden they are," he said.

"You can't pick them all in one day, though, because then you've got to sell them all in one day."

The hot conditions have also impacted the timeline of other commodities in the agriculture sector, including raspberries.

Fruit Growers Tasmania president Nic Hansen said a changing climate had made a difficult job even tougher for orchardists.

"What we're sure of is that our seasons vary as much as 10 to 14 days a year. There doesn't seem to be the same regular timing there's been in the past," he said.

"Our winds seem to be later in the year. We're seeing extraordinarily hot and cold days, and the variance between the two seems to have increased over the last 10 to 15 years."

Business as usual 'won't cut it'

Mr Hansen said farmers were having to adapt their business models.

"In orcharding and soft fruit growing, we have to be versatile in the way we approach our growing," he said.

"It's a risky business anyway, but with all the climate change that is around, we have to try and mitigate that risk as much as possible.

"All orchardists and farmers have to build in that risk. That means having the ability to move product quickly, to access staff quickly, and to move product through international and mainland channel quickly."

Mr Hansen said developing export markets would help farmers better manage risk.

"The smaller farmers that rely on Sunday markets, domestic trade through local retailers, they are the ones that feel the pinch because their market is shortened by two to three [weeks]," he said.

"In an export scheme, you have a larger scope to send your product to market.

"Export markets give growers flexibility in the way they market their produce.

"You can't simply rely on the way you've done things in the past. That's simply not going to cut it as we go forward."