Got Nature? Blog

IN-PREPared: As harvest 2025 continues across Indiana, unusually dry conditions have increased the risk of combine and field fires. Farmers and landowners are urged to take extra precautions: perform regular equipment maintenance, clean combines frequently to remove crop residue and keep fully charged fire extinguishers accessible at all times.

This season brings plenty of opportunities to enjoy campfires, cookouts and hayrides – but please enjoy these activities safely. Be mindful of fire safety, especially in dry areas, and always check for local burn bans before lighting any recreational fires.

Combine fires are a much too common sight throughout Indiana and the Midwestern corn belt during the fall harvest season. Sometimes these equipment fires spread to the surrounding fields and cause property damage and threaten or even take lives. Dry weather makes harvest-related fires even more likely. This site offers ready-to-use materials to help Extension staff, media outlets, emergency managers and agricultural organizations raise awareness about preventing combine and field fires — and responding safely if one occurs.

Click on the website to view more resources and information: Combine & Field Fires.

Resources:
FNR Ask The Expert: Prescribed Fire, Purdue Extension Forestry & Natural Resources
Wildlife Habitat Hints: Prescribed Fire Techniques, view – Point Source Fire, Ring Fire, Flanking Fire, Strip Head Fires, Backing Fire and Late Growing Season Prescribed Fire, Purdue Extension Forestry & Natural Resources YouTube Channel
October Is Firewood Month: Protect Indiana’s Forests by Making Smart Choices, Purdue Extension – FNR Got Nature? Blog
100 Year Project Shares New Video, Prescribed Fire, Purdue Extension – FNR Got Nature? Blog
Brooke’s Prescribed Fire Videos Utilized in Global USFS Efforts, Purdue Extension – FNR Got Nature? Blog
Renovating Native Warm-Season Grass Stands for Wildlife: A Land Manager’s Guide, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Prescribed fire: 6 things to consider before you ignite, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – 4Forestry and Natural Resources
An Introduction to Trees of Indiana, Purdue University Press
Native Trees of the Midwest, Purdue University Press
ID That Tree, Playlist, Subscribe to Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Finding help from a professional forester, Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association
District Foresters for 10 plus acres, Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Ed Sheldon, Farm/Veteran Job Coach and Engagement Coordinator
Department of Agriculture & Biological Engineering, Purdue University