The Minnesota Department of Transportation is telling drivers to slow down and stay alert as farm equipment moves onto rural roads for harvest season.

Combines, tractors, grain trucks and other slow-moving machinery will share highways and county roads across southern Minnesota and other farming regions in the coming weeks as growers move between fields. MnDOT issued the advisory as harvest activity ramps up statewide.

The safety warning carries real economic stakes for growers. A collision that damages a combine or grain cart can idle a machine during a narrow harvest window, when weather and crop condition dictate how quickly farmers can get crops out of the field. Equipment downtime during peak harvest directly cuts into margins at a time when growers are already managing high input costs and volatile basis.

MnDOT advises drivers to be patient when approaching farm equipment, which often travels at 25 miles per hour or less. The agency urges motorists to wait for a clear passing opportunity, watch for turns into fields and driveways that may be obscured by dust or crops, and be alert for equipment that is wider than a single lane.

For farmers, the advisory underscores a routine but persistent risk of harvest logistics in a state where fields are often separated by public roadways. Moving equipment between fields after dark or during early morning hours adds another layer of hazard, and MnDOT asks both motorists and operators to use headlights and hazard lights to improve visibility.

The department also reminds the public that harvest traffic will remain heavy until row crops are out of the fields. Drivers should expect delays on rural routes and plan extra travel time through the end of the season.

MnDOT says the goal is simple: keep farmers, truckers and motorists safe while the state's corn and soybean harvest moves from field to elevator without incident.