David was seconded to Farmex for two years to research wireless communication for various aspects of environmental control in buildings under a £100,000 Knowledge Transfer Partnership, in association with Bucks New University, which attracted 70 per cent government funding.

"This has been very successful but there is much more to do to get the technology fully adopted and build on these developments," commented Hugh Crabtree, Farmex's managing director.

David, who gained a First Class honours degree in computer science at the University of the West of England, will also be involved in system specification as well as taking responsibility for Farmex's IT systems and web development.

Wireless control of livestock buildings and crop stores has the potential to substantially reduce installation costs. In addition, it can make crucial changes within buildings – such as feed and water consumption or crop temperature and moisture levels - cheaper and easier to monitor and manage.