When climbing up or down, always maintain at least three points of contact-one hand and two feet or one foot and two hands. Combine fires are costly. Keep the combine and other machines clean. Watch for sources of combustible materials that could lead to a fire, such as leaky fuel lines, weak hydraulic hoses, and oil-soaked crop residue. Make sure there is at least one, and preferably two, ten-pound ABC dry chemical fire extinguishers on every combine.
Smaller extinguishers are useless against a typical combine fire.
It's important to get down off a machine every two hours or so, even for a five-minute leg stretch. Drink lots of water, even in cool weather. If you pack a lunch, include an apple, grapes, carrot sticks, or other fruits and vegetables. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein give your body the necessary energy and nutrition to meet the physical demands of long work hours. Some producers use CB radios or two-way radios, but cell phones are becoming increasingly common.