The harvest season will likely start in northern Iowa within a week to ten days, according to Angie Rieck Hinz (REEK HINES), a field agronomist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. With the hot temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions we’ve had lately, she says the crops matured much more quickly than expected, and those dry conditions may lead to a much greater risk during the harvest.

As farmers prepare for the big job ahead, Rieck Hinz says they’d be wise to make a checklist, one that includes fire safety.

At least seven Iowa counties have active burn bans in place due to continued drought conditions: Buchanan, Delaware, Fayette, Greene, Grundy, Hancock and Worth.