TekVet, LLC Joins 31 U.S. Senators in Calling upon Japan to Remove Restrictions on Imports of U.S. Beef Prior to Prime Minister Koizumi’s June 2006 Visit to the U.S.

TekVet™, LLC, a Utah-based developer of agricultural technologies, today joined 31 United States Senators, including Senator Orrin Hatch, R-UT, in calling upon Japan to remove the embargo on U.S. beef imports to Japan prior to the June 2006 visit of Prime Minister Koizumi to the U.S.

“We recognize our long-standing friendship and the mutually beneficial economic relationship between the nations of Japan and the United States of America,” said D. Bret Smith, chief executive officer of TekVet. “Nevertheless, I applaud last week’s action taken by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators to urge Prime Minister Koizumi to ‘resolve this matter and to reestablish beef trade prior to your visit’ to the U.S. next month. I further agree that this Japanese ‘prohibition on (beef) trade is unfounded and inconsistent with the guidelines of the mutually recognized World Animal Health Organization (OIE),’ and I call upon President Bush and all members of Congress to work together to remove the restrictions on U.S. beef imports to Japan.”

On Thursday, May 24, Senator Hatch and 30 other members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Japan calling upon the government of Japan to remove its restrictions on U.S. beef imports. A complete copy of the letter to Prime Minister Koizumi can be found online at http://www.meatami.com/storylinks/2006/JapanKorea052606.pdf.

In part, the letter reads: “Despite overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the safety of American beef and an agreement between the United States and Government of Japan to resume trade, the embargo on beef from the United States still exists. We believe you are aware that American beef producers and processors have requested Congress to consider trade-retaliation efforts against Japan. Certainly, efforts such as these are never fully positive and should be used only when absolutely necessary. We urge you to resolve this matter and to reestablish beef trade prior to your visit.”

A bipartisan group of Republican and Democrat Senators joined Hatch in addressing the ongoing Japanese beef embargo in their letter to the Japanese Prime Minister, including:


Sen. Wayne Allard, R-CO
Sen. Max Baucus, D-MT
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-KS
Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA
Sen. Larry Craig, R-ID
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-MS
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-GA
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-MN
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-WY
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT
Sen. James Inhofe, R-OK
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD
Sen. Herb Kohl, D-WI
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-AR
Sen. Trent Lott, R-MS
Sen. Mel Martinez, R-FL
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-KS
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-CO
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI
Sen. Jim Talent, R-MO
Sen. Craig Thomas, R-WY
Sen. John Thune, R-SD
Sen. George Voinovich, R-OH
Sen. John Warner, R-VA
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR


“Since Japan initiated, and has extended, this unfair embargo on U.S. beef imports in December 2003, it is easy to project that the U.S. cattle industry has lost at least $7.5 billion in exports to Japanese consumers,” TekVet’s Smith said. “Japanese businesses and consumers are calling upon their government to end these restrictions and we agree. It is time to end the seemingly endless dance between our two governments and re-open beef imports into Japan.”

About TekVet and the TekVet System

TekVet is best known for its TekVet System™, an automated radio frequency (RF) wireless animal identification solution also designed to constantly monitor the core temperatures of beef cattle at ranges of 300 to 500 feet. Central to the TekVet System is the TekVet SmartSensor™: a small wireless device that is attached to a cow’s ear in much the same way identification tags are used by beef producers, ranchers and dairy farmers. However, the TekVet SmartSensor also includes a wireless transceiver and electronic components, as well as a flexible thermometer that is inserted into the animal’s ear canal at the time the TekVet SmartSensor is attached to the animal’s ear.

Once in place, the TekVet SmartSensor provides core body temperature readings minute-by-minute or periodically throughout the day as determined by a feedlot or dairy manager. Such readings are captured by TekVet SmartReceivers™ and transmitted to the TekVet SmartManagement™ software application via the TekVet SmartNetwork™, where the readings are stored in appropriate storage devices and uploaded via the Internet to the TekVet System central network operation and data center (NOC).

“The most important fact about the TekVet System is that as soon as an animal’s core body temperature begins to rise or drop out of normal temperature range, the producer is notified automatically,” Smith explained. “Hence, as long as a manager, feedlot/dairy worker or animal owner/investor has access to the Internet, they’ll be able to see in real time which animal is sick and where it is located. Not only that, but the TekVet System will also provide a historical archive of the health disposition of every animal ever traced, monitored and tracked by a TekVet SmartSensor, including a complete health history, with records about inoculations given (if any), sicknesses (if any), the historical location of an animal, its feed parameters, and of course, a unique animal ID program inherent to the TekVet System. In other words, TekVet is now delivering what the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been talking about since 2004 – a complete system for tracking, tracing and monitoring the health disposition (and the associated historical data) of every feeder and dairy animal in the United States.”

TekVet (formerly COLT Technologies) announced in mid-May that it had signed deals to begin deploying the TekVet System with major feedlot operations in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, as well as with several foreign producers. The company has since announced a name change to TekVet, the move of its corporate headquarters to North Salt Lake, Utah, as well as launched the TekVet System Grant Program which will provide free TekVet Systems to eligible educational and non-profit institutions.

About TekVet, LLC
Formed in 2003, TekVet, LLC is a privately funded Utah-based developer and manufacturer of agricultural technologies. The company focuses on the application of wireless technologies to lower production costs, increase profits and improve product safety in the livestock industry. For more information on the company, visit its Web site at www.tekvet.com or call 801-335-0500.

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TekVet, TekVet System, TekVet SmartSensor, TekVet SmartReceiver, TekVet SmartManagement, and TekVet SmartNetwork are each trademarks of TekVet, LLC.