If you haven’t noticed, grain harvest has begun in White County. For those involved in agriculture, harvest is a very exciting time. It’s a time when farmers realize the fruits of many months of labor and investment. Harvest can also be a stressful time for farmers that raise crops next to residential areas. You often hear Farm Bureau talk about “staying safe on the roadways during harvest”, as farmers move their equipment from field to field. However, today I would like to talk about being responsible when living next to a farm field.
We hear countless stories of farmers having to move piles of limbs, sticks, discarded mounds of grass clippings, and all forms of trash from the edges of their farm fields before harvest begins. If unnoticed, these residential disposals can easily plug up a combine and potentially cause damage to the equipment. Other farmers have reported fire pits and burn piles either in their field or immediately next to the property line. While everyone loves a good bonfire on a cool fall evening, locating them next to a dry corn field is an opportunity for disaster, not to mention a very expensive liability for the homeowner.
Farmers do bear some responsibility too for being a good neighbor during harvest. Farmers are encouraged to be mindful of the chaff they expel from their combine as well as keeping their machinery on their own side of the property line. Farmers need to be cautious when moving equipment, especially after dark.
Let us all take a moment and put ourselves in our neighbor’s shoes. Only then can we understand how our actions may negatively impact our neighbor. I would like to encourage everyone to have patience, and be safety-minded during this harvest season.
By Doug Anderson, FBCM
Manager, White County Farm Bureau
