Abstract: An automated system and method for obtaining early detection of biological changes or events by assessing core body temperatures that precede the events within individual animals in a production herd. The system and method may monitor the animals, assess the data acquired with a variation from a diurnally compliant baseline in the selection of or use of data monitored, and provide a timely communication to owners and operators as deemed appropriate. An assessment may establish variations from the baseline, compensate for ambient conditions or identify patterns of variation, that anticipate estrus, ovulation, illness, calving or other biological events throughout the herd population. The assessment may include signal processing techniques that substitute for baseline establishment, or be used in combination with baseline variation assessment.

Abstract: RFID tags, such as those in boluses for ruminant animals, comprise RFID tags may be provided with energy harvesting (EH) capability so that they may collect energy from the environment, either deliberately radiated (such as RF) or gathered from existing sources (i.e., motion, heat, etc.). The energy collected by the RFID tag allows for independent (stand-alone) operation of the tag, such as for logging of temperature in one hour intervals, then transmitting the temperature readings (and ID) periodically (such as six times per day) to a reader (or equivalent, such as an active receiver) using an active RF transmitter (radio) or passive RFID techniques.