I’m sure you’re tired of IFAJ news and information by now so it’s on to other things. For example, COLT Technologies(TM), a Salt Lake City-based developer of wireless agricultural technologies, has appointed D. Bret Smith as its new chief executive officer. Smith replaces Tali Haleua who has assumed the role of executive vice president of sales and business development and will remain with COLT as chairman of the board.

It never ceases to amaze me that people don’t think agriculture is a high tech business. It is and what these folks are doing is just one example. With all the food safety concerns companies like this one are rapidly developing new products to provide the service the consumer is demanding.

“Everyone in the beef and dairy industries recognizes that it’s inevitable that the USDA will hand down more stringent tracking, tracing, monitoring and certifying requirements for beef and dairy products, and COLT’s revolutionary TekVet System is ready to meet that challenge today,” Smith said. “I look forward to introducing these industries to a new paradigm and consider it my responsibility and obligation to lead the beef and dairy industries into the 21st century.”

In case you’re wondering what this TekVet system does, read on:

The TekVet System is a wireless radio frequency (RF) solution designed to track, trace and monitor the health and core temperatures of beef cattle, one of the key indicators of feeder animal health. The TekVet System immediately identifies unhealthy animals by monitoring core body temperature via the TekVet SmartSensor(TM), a small wireless device attached to a feeder animal’s ear that monitors temperature through a thermistor inserted into the animal’s ear canal. When the body temperature drops below (or climbs above) specific temperature thresholds, producers/feedlot workers/researchers are notified immediately via a wireless alert (through cell phone, pager or COLT Technologies’ console management software) about the change in the animal’s core body temperature.