USDA swine tag adopted by Cargill

15-12-2008 | Home | News

Earlier this year the United States Department of Agriculture announced its approval of the first visual Premises Identification Number (PIN) tags for swine entering harvest channels.

While not intended for use as unique individual animal identification, the new tags, manufactured by Destron Fearing, provide a valuable tool to enhance the traceability of breeding stock and to support the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).

“Cargill Pork has long supported premises identification as it relates to swine health programs and policy. The implementation of Destron Fearing tags into our system just makes sense as the next upgrade to our identification system, and the Premise Tag is a great fit for all current and foreseeable quality programmes such as PQA Plus” said Dr. David Nolan, senior operations manager for Cargill Pork.

Swine premise tag
The Swine Premise Tag consists of a pink tamper-proof button and a pink visual panel stud. Each tag carries the official US shield, the assigned alpha-numeric seven character premises identification number and a notice stating “Unlawful to Remove”. Space is also available on the visual panel for producers wanting to include an individual management number.

NAIS is a modern, streamlined information system that helps producers and animal health officials respond quickly and effectively to animal health events in the United States. The programme, which is voluntary at the federal level, consists of three parts: premises registration, animal identification and tracing.

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• Cargill
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