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Food safety around the globe.
Livestock identification and traceability is an exploding area of interest and concern. When societies are able to trace the source and health management of animals involved in the food supply chain, the safety of resulting food products is enhanced, farmers and ranchers are able to increase their profitability, and governments around the world a way can effectively and efficiently manage animal health issues in the event of disease. It is a world-wide market in which Destron Fearing is emerging as a key innovator. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, this Digital Angel subsidiary has been a leading developer and manufacturer of livestock identification solutions since 1945, and pioneering the development of RFID microchip technology for use in livestock in the 1980’s.
To propel the company’s vision, in 2005, Destron Fearing acquired Denmark-based DSD Holdings A/S, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Daploma International A/S and Digitag A/S. The acquisition provided immediate expansion of its existing business in the European market for livestock identification and tracking. Also in 2005, Destron Fearing established a presence in South America, where the need for livestock identification is just emerging onto the global platform. Since then, Destron Fearing has competed for and won numerous government tenders, resulting in the sales of millions of visual and electronic tags in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay. As the need for exported beef and pork products continues to grow, these markets are prime opportunities for expanded growth.
Destron Fearing also manufactures and markets a USDA approved RFID microchip for horses. Once administered, microchip numbers can be recorded in breed and discipline registries or kept in farm / ranch as an invaluable means of providing proof of ownership in the event that a horse is lost or stolen. They can also be used to identify horses involved in breeding operations, competitive sports, and international and domestic travel. Furthermore, LifeChip microchips can also be programmed with Bio-Thermo® temperature sensing technology to allow owners, breeders, trainers and veterinarians to safely check a horse’s temperature in milliseconds rather than minutes.
Safeguarding our natural resources.
Monitoring the movement and population of our wildlife is a growing concern for both commercial research and governmental organizations, and Digital Angel’s Destron Fearing subsidiary is leading the development of new technologies and products for this industry.
Currently, Destron Fearing sells passive integrated transponders (PIT) tags to salmon fisheries in the northwestern Columbia River basin at a rate of 3-4 million annually. In addition, the company has signed a significant multi-year contract extension with the Bonneville Power Administration after successfully installing the world’s largest RFID reader system to track indigenous salmon populations. As a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Energy, this track record of success has helped Destron Fearing to open the door to other governmental and private research contracts.
A case in point, in early 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Destron Fearing a multi-year contract worth up to $10 million for their PIT tag technology used in conjunction with radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna to monitor fish movement via numerous stream and dam passages.
As the need to track and monitor a variety of fish and wildlife continues to evolve on a global basis, the need for cutting-edge, customized identification solutions will only expand.
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