Australia Weather News

North Queensland farmers have awoken to relatively normal weather conditions ahead of Cyclone Debbie which is expected to cross the coastline later today.

The system is about 375 kilometres off Townsville and is due to intensify into category four system and cross the coast just south of Ayr about 7:00am on Tuesday.

Proserpine cane farmer Glenn Clarke said he has finished preparing his farm and had "a few showers last night".

"There's 20 knots of breeze blowing which is nothing unusual for a good south-easter at this point," he said.

No stranger to the effects of a cyclone, Mr Clarke has secured his irrigation equipment, sheds and houses and is now "sitting here marking time".

"We went through (Cyclone) Louie in 2010. It was a category three and did a fair bit of damage to the cane crop," he said.

"It's the heavy wind and rain that could flatten our crops."

He said the worse-case scenario was losing his smaller crops, with the high winds snapping the stalks.

Further north, Steven Land is a vegetable grower near Bowen at Gumlu.

Speaking to ABC Rural early on Monday morning, he said the weather is "lovely at the moment".

"There's a little bit of breeze but no rain whatsoever," he said.

Mr Land, who has three capsicum crops in the ground, is concerned what the cyclone will mean for his farm's topsoil as well as his crop.

"One patch has got fruit on already and if the wind and rain does get heavy they'll just lay over," he said.

"We've got some mango trees as windbreaks and some grass on the topsoil which keeps it intact."

"It (Cyclone Debbie) will impact us when it comes time to pick."

Bowen cattle producer Kelvin Kelly said that while cyclone damage is not welcome, the rain is.

Big falls are expected inland across towns such as Collinsville and Mt Coolon where conditions have been dry.

"Long-term, we really need that sub-soil moisture to go into the soil and make the grass last a lot longer in the year," he said.

Mr Kelly has moved his stud herd's youngest cattle into yards where they will be more sheltered.

"Our property is right on the highway so the biggest concern for us is fences, trees smashing fences and cattle getting on the road," he said.

He is staying upbeat ahead of Cycle Debbie's arrival, knowing he has prepared well.

"We've seen a few of them so we know what to do," he said.

"We know we're going to be in for a rough time and we'll probably get wet and might lose a roof, but we'll be right."

Preparation is key

Growcom chief advocate Rachel Mackenzie said there were a number of simple things farmers could do to make sure they kept themselves safe and to minimise the impacts of strong winds and heavy rain to farmland.

"Simple things like shutting off electricity in areas exposed to flooding or storm damage, moving equipment or vehicles to higher ground, moving your pumps, securing fuel, chemicals and fertilisers," Ms Mackenzie said.

Stocking up on fuel is another important to-do item.

"We have had a few examples where people have not had electricity for two weeks, so if you've got a generator it's only as good as the fuel that you have for it," she said.

As well as preparing the farm, Ms Mackenzie said it was also important for farmers to have their paper work in order and stored safely should they need to make any future insurance claims.

"Take some before photographs of your property so that if there is significant damage and you have got grounds to make either an insurance claim or it can be used for us to help lobby for government assistance ... you can then take some after photos," she said.

"[Also remember] things like your insurance policies, essential contracts, financial records, bank accounts, legal and payroll records.

"It is probably really important to do a stock and equipment inventory because it is really hard to say 'I've lost this' if you have got nothing to base it on."