Prevention starts from within: by combining unique data from inside the cow with Artificial Intelligence, smaXtec helps farmers identify potential health issues at the earliest possible stage and make confident decisions for better health, reproduction, feeding, and management decisions.

Which system is best for preventive health management?

The key difference between smaXtec and external monitoring systems is where the data comes from. For genuinely preventive health management, measuring the internal body temperature is the gold standard. External sensors are useful tools for monitoring behaviour. They can identify activity changes, heat signals, and indirect rumination patterns. But smaXtec adds a whole different level of insight: by measuring inside the animal, smaXtec can reveal physiological deviations at the subclinical stage, long before behavioural changes such as reduced eating or rumination even occur. This is particularly valuable when the goal is to act at the earliest possible stage, rather than wait until reduced eating, rumination, or activity signals that a problem may already have progressed.

Why do dairy farmers choose smaXtec?

Farmers choose smaXtec because it turns invisible physiological changes into clear, actionable insights, whether that means responding to a potential health issue, preparing for calving or adjusting the ration. Rather than waiting for a cow to show visible signs of illness, smaXtec customers get a head start exactly when it matters most. By combining internal body temperature, water intake and drinking cycles, rumination via motility, activity, and optional rumen pH with Artificial Intelligence, alerts, structured to-do lists, and practical recommendations, smaXtec helps farmers make better-informed decisions across health, reproduction, feeding, and management. This can help prevent severe disease progression, reduce antibiotic use and veterinary costs, improve animal welfare, and contribute to a healthier, more productive herd with less discarded milk.

smaXtec vs. ear tags

Ear tags provide convenient information about activity, heat, eating time, and indirect rumination. But ear temperature is an unreliable indicator of fever, since blood flow to the ear fluctuates with outdoor conditions such as ambient temperature, sun exposure and wind. Only smaXtec measures the internal body temperature and is therefore unaffected by external factors.

smaXtec combines measurements of internal body temperature, water intake and drinking cycles, rumination via motility, activity, and optional rumen pH. This provides a unique inside-view of the cow, helping detect potential diseases at the first immune response. While ear tags are reusable, they can also fall off, break, or get lost, whereas the smaXtec bolus remains securely in the cow’s reticulum for the animal’s lifetime.

smaXtec vs. neck collars

Neck collars are effective at capturing external movement patterns such as activity, feeding time, indirect rumination, and can support reliable heat detection. But they can only detect diseases once they have progressed far enough to visibly impact behaviour, whereas smaXtec picks up the earliest possible physiological signs, often days ahead of behavioural changes. Alongside internal body temperature, smaXtec provides data on water intake and drinking cycles, rumination via motility, activity and optional rumen pH.

This combination helps farmers connect early health signals with feeding and reproduction management and not just observe behaviour after it has already changed and impacted profitability. While neck collars are reusable, they can also slip, loosen or fall off, whereas the smaXtec bolus stays securely inside the cow for the animal’s lifetime.

Beyond the sensor: a true health management system

smaXtec is not just another sensor, it turns complex data into practical next steps. smaXtec analyses bolus data with the help of proven smaXtec algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. With the smaXtec Web and App, farmers always have their herd in view and know where action is needed. Notifications, task lists, and the Digital Assistant make everyday herd management easier. From heat detection and providing the ideal insemination window to calving alerts around 15 hours in advance, smaXtec supports farmers throughout the whole reproductive cycle. Data sharing and integrations with herd-management systems make it easy to keep everyone informed and bring the most important information together in one place.

• High-precision measurement of internal body temperature (±0.01 °C accuracy).
• Calving alerts approximately 15 hours in advance.
• Measurement of water intake and drinking cycles, providing valuable insights into cow health and milk production.
• Direct rumination measurement based on reticulorumen contractions, not just an indirect calculation from external movement.
• Optional rumen pH measurement with the pH bolus to support targeted feeding management.
• Comprehensive reproduction monitoring, including heat detection, insemination window, fertility-related indications, automated calving alerts approx. 15 hours in advance.
• Maintenance-free technology: once administered, the bolus remains securely inside the cow for her lifetime.

Ear tags and neck collars are useful tools for observing what a cow does. But only smaXtec adds insight into what is happening inside the cow. For dairy farmers who want to move from reacting to problems towards preventive health, reproduction, and feeding management, this is the key advantage.