What does the data in the RAP mean?

Once you have selected your animal factors and feedlot parameters in the RAP you will be given a summary of the risk for the HLI threshold representing that cattle population (for both healthy and sick or recovering animals).

The data is presented graphically and in a table for your BASE risk scenario (i.e. no mitigation options or adjustment factors). The data tells you how many days (on average) you can expect a medium (AHLU 20-50 units), high (AHLU 51-100 units) and extreme (AHLU>100 units) risk for each month of the year. For example, the data below indicates that for this cattle population, the highest risk month is February, with an average of 2 days with a AHLU greater than 50 units (i.e. high or extreme risk) for healthy animals and 8 days for sick/recovering animals.

Therefore to minimise the risk during these events a mitigation strategy should be determined in advance and documented in your heat load management plan. This can be done by using the Scenario options in the RAP.

The summary of HLI Thresholds presented in your RAP report can be used to document the mitigation options and also identify periods of higher risk for this cattle population. It can also help determine how you want to monitor your risk.

Note that the RAP will present the HLI Threshold within the range from 78 to 100 at 1 unit steps. We cannot forecast for all these AHLUs so instead we present six AHLU categories from 80 to 95. A table showing which AHLU category should be monitored for each HLI Threshold is available here.

The table below indicates that for the base scenario (Wagyu < 300 days with no shade) the HLI Threshold for healthy animals is 87 (therefore use AHLU86 to monitor these cattle). However, during periods with wet pens the HLI Threshold is only 79, therefore use AHLU80 to monitor these cattle during periods with wet pens. Two scenarios have been assessed for newly arrived animals. Scenario 2 shows the unmitigated risk and a low HLI threshold of 79. Scenario 3 includes shade as a mitigation option and therefore the HLI Threshold increases to 84. Therefore, you can use the AHLU83 to monitor the new arrivals if put into a shaded pen.

We recommend setting any alerts to protect the most vulnerable animals. Therefore for this cattle population, we recommend using the AHLU80 category.