Web Resources
- Managing Risk of Field and Equipment Fires in the MidwestDuring periods of reduced precipitation and drought, farmers and land managers in the Midwest face an increased risk of rural on-farm fires. Fire can ignite in equipment, including tractors and combines, and can also spread through fields, fueled by dry crops and other vegetation.
- Fire Prevention and Safety Tips During Harvest"Abnormally dry conditions could enhance the potential for combine and field fires this fall. Low relative humidity levels and high winds will further increase the risk of fires."
- Prepare for fire [tips for ORCHARD OWNERS]Foresters, growers give advice for protecting orchards and vineyards from wildfires.
See also the Farm Equipment Hazards tab in this LibGuide for preventing fires caused by farm equipment.
About this Page
"During periods of reduced precipitation and drought, farmers and land managers in the Midwest face an increased risk of rural on-farm fires. Fire can ignite in equipment, including tractors and combines, and can also spread through fields, fueled by dry crops and other vegetation."
- USDA Climate Hub. This page provides information on preventing and responding to rural field, crop, orchard, and brush fires.
Responding to Rural Field Fires
- Avoiding, Preparing For and Reacting to Harvest Fires"Harvest fires result in a financial, emotional and environmental burden to the farm and risks the lives of farm personal, local fire departments and the public and uses firefighting resources. Make sure you are prepared before harvest begins!"
- Harvest Fires Happen — How to be Prepared"Despite taking all the preventative measures and properly maintaining your equipment, combine fires can still happen. The key to avoiding a disaster is to be prepared. Listen as Nebraska Extension Educator Amy Timmerman shares some additional steps producers can take to quickly extinguish combine fires and prevent wildfire from spreading during harvest season." October 25, 2024
- In the Event of a FireFires may start despite your best prevention efforts. When a fire breaks out in a farm building everyone must be evacuated from the
building immediately. This site provides other steps to take when a fire breaks out - Preparing for a Corn Maze fire"...every year, in communities across the globe, entrepreneurs sell tickets and profit from putting people in corn mazes that break every one of these fire prevention principles. Customers line up and pay to walk into a field of flammable corn leaves grown 12 feet high, with exits blocked or nonexistent aisles that dead end and leave no way out, while campfires often burn on the perimeter of the maze for effect."