Dry weather conditions quickly turned to weeks of clouds, mist, and wet fields. This means when it is go time, farmers will hit the fields hard and fast to combine the crops.
However, rushing to the field without proper maintenance, due diligence, and luck can lead to equipment fires during harvest season. With more than half of South Dakota farmland classified as moderate to extreme drought at some point during the growing season, harvest fires may be a big concern this fall.
Be Prepared
Equipment Preparation
The best way to fight a field fire is to prevent one from starting. Fires generally start in the engine compartment. High heat, sparks from a faulty wire or connection, leaking fuel or oil, and crop dust are a recipe for fires.
To reduce the risk, make preparing and checking your equipment a daily habit. Do a pre-harvest check of bearings, chains, seals, wires, other sparking or heating areas, and any other areas where a spark could occur. Also clean out any bird nests, mouse droppings, and other debris that accumulated over the winter.
- Check and grease bearings and other friction points.
- Check fire extinguishers to ensure they have a full charge. Multiple extinguishers should also be considered. Attach them where they can be easily reached during a stressful situation.
- Use a leaf blower to remove trash and dust several times throughout the day and at the end of the day.
Harvest Management
Additionally, making management changes during harvest can help reduce the risk of a field fire. Getting the crop out of the field quickly once it dries is generally the top priority. However, when weather conditions are right, preventing a fire outweighs the need to harvest on a given day.
- Reduce spark potential by lifting the head to avoid contact with rocks.
- Reduce static electricity sparks by dragging a chain or cable on the ground, provided the risk of sparks from contact with rocks is low.
- Avoid driving vehicles with hot mufflers through tall grass.
- Avoid combining when heat and wind are high, and humidity is low.
Field Preparation
A water tank is another tool to have in the field in case of fire. Additionally, having a disc or plow hooked up and in the field being harvested is another way to prevent the fire from spreading. Limiting the number of acres burnt is the first goal in these situations.
Insurance Response
Talk to your insurance agent to find out which policy you have in place before harvest begins. The first questions after any disaster are related to insurance. Harvest and equipment fires are not excluded from that discussion. However, the questions here often have an “it depends” answer.
Farm property insurance will likely cover equipment loss, provided the equipment is listed and covered in the policy. Most policies only allow equipment to be insured at actual cash value (for the same year, make, model, hours, etc.), not replacement value.
Farm property insurance is not likely to cover the loss of any crop burned by the fire, and a combine fire is also not an insurable loss factor for crop insurance. However, liability insurance may protect the farmer from litigation if a neighbor's crop is burned in a fire.
Another insurance consideration is if the farmer is doing custom harvesting for a neighbor and causes a fire in the neighbor’s field.
Hail insurance and Field Grain Fire Coverage insurance may provide an indemnity payment for lost grain in the event of an equipment fire. A limited number of companies offer these products at harvest.
Insurance is an additional expense for the farm and may or may not be the best tool for you. Evaluate your ability to cover costs and losses if an equipment fire happens.
Risk Management Steps
As harvest approaches, take these steps to evaluate your situation.
- Evaluate your ability to cover losses due to an equipment fire.
- Talk to your insurance agent about the policies you have in place and evaluate them for coverage gaps.
- Equip your harvest equipment with tools that prevent fires from starting.
- Prepare other equipment to battle a fire and limit its spread.
- Download local weather alerts for high wind and high-temperature warnings.
Creating a fire prevention plan and having equipment in place if a fire starts can help minimize injuries, equipment loss, and crop loss. Equipment maintenance, field preparation, and insurance conversations can reduce harvest-time stress and concerns.
