For those of you harvesting some precautions you may already be taking but no harm in listing them:

• Alert staff to the dangers of machinery, crop and stubble fires and make sure they know what to do in the event of a fire.
• Have some homemade fire beaters made up and readily available – early intervention can save a lot of trouble later.
• If you have one, keep a filled water bowser with a high-capacity outlet hose ready to hitch on.
• Always keep a cultivator ready to go to help with any larger-scale stubble fires.
• Have fields baled asap after harvesting.
• Cut a little higher on flinty soils to avoid sparks.
• Be even more careful with overhead power lines, they sag in hot weather.
• Clean harvest debris from engine compartments and exhaust pipes as often as necessary but at least daily.
• Have a fire extinguisher fitted to every vehicle.
• In the event of a fire don’t hesitate to call the fire brigade – the sooner they get there the better.
• Use what3words to give an exact location of the field access point to the call handler – download it to your phones