Reminder on harvesting fire hazards

AS the harvest season fast approaches, the Grains Research and Development Corporation is ramping up work to reduce the risk of harvester fires, which pose a significant threat to crops and machinery. 

Recent workshops held across grain-growing regions nationally have focused on the role of proper harvester hygiene and maintenance, particularly for volatile crops like lentils. 

Statistics show that around 7 per cent of harvesters light fires annually across various crop types, including cereals and pulses and one in 10 of these result in damage to the machinery or fields. 

During the GRDC Harvester Set-up Workshops, Kondinin Group research engineer Ben White shared the importance of maintaining high hygiene standards and machinery upkeep throughout harvesting. 

“Bearing failures are in many cases responsible for fires starting, so regular monitoring of bearing operating temperatures is important,” Mr White said. 

“Operators should be conducting regular clean downs during harvest and exercising particular caution harvesting leafy pulse crops, as these are renowned for dust volatility.” 

Mr White said that in areas where growers are harvesting frost-affected crops, the crops may create higher levels of fine dust which can make the harvester work harder, resulting in higher exhaust gas temperatures, adding to the risk of fires. 

The GRDC has published a Pocket Guide, a user-friendly checklist for fire reduction strategies, which is available online.