THE Howe family knows not to put all its eggs in one basket.
The family learnt that the hard way watching Cyclone Larry wipe out its initial plantings of bananas in 1996.
It was an experience that bolstered their agribusiness prowess, forcing them to think beyond one plantation and spread their risk geographically.
Consequently, Howe Farming Enterprises now grows bananas at Walkamin and Mareeba.
The Mareeba property was established on a former macadamia orchard.
They further increased their output by acquiring the neighbouring farm. The expansions plans continued as they built a new packing shed at Mareeba to accommodate the flow of fruit from the three properties.
James studied agricultural science at university before becoming part of the family business.
Somewhat ironically, James said in an interview with Growcom's Fruit & Vegetable News magazine in February that he thought Panama disease in the Northern Territory was a bigger risk to the banana industry than weather events.
"You can always bounce back after a cyclone, but not from Panama. Fortunately, a lot of good work is being done in the Territory, but our industry still needs to be very wary," he said at the time.
Later that month, authorities confirmed the disease had been discovered on a property in Tully. Although the farms' Tableland position provides a distance buffer, the operation has implemented its own quarantine measures with regulated property entry points, gates and vehicles sterilisation.
He told ABC Radio that if there was a positive to come from the Panama detection, it was that the property now had improved on-farm security.
"It's a shame (about) the circumstances which have caused us to tighten up our security," James said.
"We all need to work together on this, suppliers included. Those who are serious about growing bananas, they'll have to step up."
The Howe farms dodged a bullet last week when Cyclone Nathan crossed the coast north of Laura, sparing the banana plantation. James told the Queensland Country Life that he was "stoked" the cyclone had not impacted them with the Panama threat enough of a concern to deal with.
"A double whammy doesn't help much either," he said.
"At the end of the day, the fruit's not going to stop growing in the mean time so you've got to keep chugging away."
The concept of spreading risk with their banana operation has also influenced what crops they grow.The family also produces sugarcane, avocadoes, coffee and blueberries.