Thank you for getting prepared in the lead up to summer, remaining vigilant, and ensuring your heatload management plans are fit for purpose. ALFA encourages you to review your heatload management plan and discuss your internal procedures with your staff ahead of each summer period.
Stay on top of weather warnings for your area on the Bureau of Meteorology website.
This page contains a curated list of resources for lot feeders to utilise in preparation for and during the summer months. These include:
Preparing for Summer Heat Webinar 2024
Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Spring/Summer 2024
Guide on Managing Summer Heat in Australian Feedlots
ALFA Managing Summer Heat online training
ALFA Shade Resource Hub
Heatload Management Tools - Kite Feedlot and Misteo
Integrated pest management for nuisance flies in cattle feedlots
Pen Cleaning, Manure & Environmental Management Online Workshop
Combustion of feed commodities: Warning to watch for heating hay
Preparing for Summer Heat Webinar 2024
To ensure feedlots are well prepared for the upcoming summer season, ALFA hosted a Preparing for Summer Heat Webinar in October for feedlots to hear from industry professionals and find out exactly what steps you need to take.
Featuring experienced industry professionals from lot feeders themselves to vets and nutritionists, the panel discussed how they prepare and plan for heat events.
To watch the recording, head to Feedlot TECH.
Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Spring/Summer 2024
The Government is urging Australians to remain vigilant and be prepared, with large areas of the country at an increased risk of fire in Spring and Summer.
The Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Spring/Summer 2024, released by the Australasian Fire and Authorities Council (AFAC) provides information that assists fire authorities to make strategic resource and planning decisions prior to the fire season.
For the Spring/Summer outlook period, increased risk of fire has been identified for large areas across northern Australia, spanning the NT and Queensland, as well as central Australia, central and southern Queensland, and far west and southwest Victoria.
For more information and to stay up to date with bushfire warnings, visit the AFAC website.
Guide on Managing Summer Heat in Australian Feedlots
The Guide on Managing Summer Heat in Australian Feedlots has been developed to support lot feeders’ in assessing risks associated with heatload and supporting the decision-making process in relation to management practices.
It is a one-stop-shop on the full range of tools available to help you understand and manage summer heat in your feedlot.
ALFA Managing Summer Heat online training
ALFA's Managing Summer Heat online training program is available for free on Feedlot TECH and includes access to eight eLearning videos that can be viewed at a time convenient, covering the following topics:
HLI/AHLU demo & how to undertake a Risk Assessment
Shade Structures
Pre-Summer Preparation
Triggers & Actions
Recovery
Summer Review
Weather Stations
ALFA Shade Resource Hub
The ALFA Shade Resource Hub provides lot feeders with useful information and tools to
understand the benefits of shade and how to implement the right shade at your feedlot.
ALFA encourages all feedlots to consider the benefits that shade brings to the cattle they
care for, their enterprise and collectively as an Industry.
There are also a number of great video and written case studies featured, so you can explore what other operators are experiencing with solutions they’ve implemented to mitigate heat load:
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to the ALFA team on 02 9290 3700.
Heatload Management Tools
Kite Feedlot - Heat Load Tool
The modernised, expanded heat load tool, Kite is based on the highly respected CHLT. The new tool, Kite Feedlot, is an online weather risk management system built on Katestone’s long-standing methodology which delivers the most up-to-date weather forecasts to assess the potential risk of a heat event in Australian feedlots.
The new features include a daily toolbox report, with the critical information needed to understand the daily risk of a heat event, delivered via email. It also includes a Heat Risk Assessment Process (RAP) with updated risk factors and a comprehensive 45-year HLI Climatology for every feedlot location.
Kite Feedlot is delivered on a subscription-basis. Head to Kite Feedlot here.
Here are some other suggestions to help you keep your feedlot prepared for the heat risks during the upcoming event:
Consider if this is the right time to move or truck cattle. Take a look at the forecast for the abattoir before making a decision.
If you need to move high-risk animals to shaded pens make sure this is done well before the onset of the heat load.
Kite Feedlot’s forecast is updated daily (Premium level subscription forecasts are updated 4 times per day).
Maintain an open communication channel with your vets and nutritionists about the potential impacts of the event on your animals.
Identify your high-risk animals and keep regular observations to identify if an event is building.
We also recommend that you revisit your Heat Management Plan for appropriate measures to put in place during a heat event.
mistEO - Heat Load Tool
Australian feedlot operators now have access to a cutting-edge tool for early warning of extreme weather events with the release of Climate Decision Intelligence by mistEO, with its development funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).
While the platform is focused on heat load management right now, there are plans to incorporate data and insights to support feedlot operators to develop risk mitigation strategies to combat broader environmental, operational, occupational health and safety and financial risks impacting their farm.
Feedlot operators can sign up at: climatedecisionintelligence.com
Integrated pest management for nuisance flies in cattle feedlots
The feedlot industry has significantly improved manure management practices over
the past decade, thereby reducing both odour and fly problems. However, flies continue to
be a seasonal problem at many feedlots.
The impact of flies on production and animal
and human health and welfare, as well as the threat of insecticide resistance and a
desire to minimise chemical use underpin the development of a more integrated approach
to fly control.
The Integrated pest management for nuisance flies in cattle feedlots document covers the identification of common nuisance fly species found in feedlot environments and provided practical IPM approaches for fly control.
Pen Cleaning, Manure & Environmental Management Online Workshop
Delivered over three 2-hour sessions, this online webinar delivered by MLA focused on bringing the Waste management and utilisation Manual to life to improve the health and welfare of grain fed cattle.
To view a recording of the online workshop click here.
Combustion of feed commodities: Warning to watch for heating hay
Every hay season several hay stacks spontaneously combust across Australia, in single moist bales or in a stack of any size.
Once the hay has been stacked it’s important to regularly monitor it for heating and act quickly. Unfortunately, even with technological advances in machinery for harvesting conserved fodder, there is still nothing cost effective to help monitor the internal temperatures of haystacks.
So, it’s back to some very simple techniques to keep an eye on your hay stacks. Read this Beef Central article for information on what to watch for.
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to the ALFA team on 02 9290 3700.