Western Australian farmers are concerned an abnormally dusty crop will increase the risk of header fires this harvest.

Only two weeks into harvest in the Great Southern, the Wagin shire has experienced six fires, four of which were started through a header. This compares to an average of two per season on other years, according to East Wagin farmer Sam West. Mr West said although he was not sure if the header fires were caused specifically from dust, he was concerned conditions were going to make matters worse. "I imagine it's going to cause a bit more fire risk because it's flammable, and if it gets on hot parts of the engine it could be a problem," he said. "So we have started blowing the header down twice a day." Mr West said although it took extra time, it was worth being more cautious.

Fires not limited to Wagin shire

Mr West said he had attended four of the six fires in his region. "It gets you a little bit nervous and on edge at times," he said.

"There was one last week where we got home, spent 30 minutes at home and then got another call-out."

The header fires are not constrained to the Wagin shire. On Facebook, a number of farmers told tales of header fires in Pingelly, Quairading, Bruce Rock and Bolgart, in the state's Great Southern and Central Wheatbelt region. Mr West said all fires in the Wagin region had been contained fairly quickly, with the worst fire burning through about 100 hectares.

'Dustiest harvest ever'

In the Great Southern region, farmers have described this harvest as the dustiest they have ever seen. Narrogin farmer Ashley Weise said at times it was even difficult to see where he was driving.

"There's this very fine dust coming out of the back of the header, which I haven't really seen before," he said.

"I know oats dust is itchy enough, but this is really quite unusual and I'm not too sure what's causing it." Mr Weise described the paddock as "an absolute cloud of dust". "The other day I took a photo where I couldn't actually see the end of my comb with the wind coming from behind the header," he said. While it is not clear what is causing the dust, farmers and agronomists have guessed the frost event earlier in the year may have contributed. Another theory that has been flagged by agronomist David Stead on Twitter, alongside other farmers, is that it could be related to bigger canopies and a cool finish. Source - http://www.abc.net.au