Press Release

AgInfoLink Global, Inc. Patent Advances Individual Animal Management

Longmont, CO - November 15, 2001 - AgInfoLink Global Inc. has received notice from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that its patent application for a “Method and Apparatus For a Livestock Data Collection and Management System” has been allowed.

The patent broadly provides for the tracking for individual animals from the farm to the table and specifically includes claims for:

• individual animal identification,
• event data collection with radio frequency identification work cards,
• BeefLink® software -- chute-side individual animal data collection,
• Pony Express software -- the sharing of individual data among past and future owners of the animals, and
• distributed databases to store the information needed to interface with other software management systems at each stage of production.

Tracking and tracing of individual animals increases the safety of the food supply and is an essential component of developing branded product lines and moving beef and other agricultural products out of the commodity business and into niche markets. Tracking and tracing allows producers to increase their profits by taking home the dollars they could be “leaving on the table” by managing cattle only as a group rather than on an individual animal basis. In the past, individual animal management was a manual process prone to human-error. Today, AgInfoLink’s chute-side data collection software, BeefLink®, has automated the data collection process making producers more efficient and profitable.

According to Tigh Cowan, a partner in a 5,000 head stockering operation in South Dakota and a BeefLink® user, “Before we used gut instinct to make decisions about our cattle. Today, data gives us the ability to manage each individual animal based upon its actual performance. You can tell exactly what’s working and what’s not because the data doesn’t lie.” Cowan explains, “We’ve increased our profits by $35-60/head by using information to identify poor-performing cattle and sell them earlier. We’ve made profitable marketing decisions because we match cattle to grid specifications and avoid costly discounts.”

AgInfoLink Global, Inc. has also developed Pony Express™, an information highway that automates the sharing of process data on individual animals from different owners and across multiple software platforms throughout the entire food chain. Data recorded at the ranch level can be passed to the stocker owner, feedyard, packer, distributor, retailer and consumer where additional data is collected and returned to the ranch of origin, giving producers a look at animal performance beyond their front gates.

According to Mark Armentrout, AgInfoLink’s Chief Operating Officer, “The benefits of our system can be seen throughout the food chain. At the production level, collecting and analyzing individual animal data is a powerful management tool. Adding information to the animal record from all food production segments creates synergy because the entire food chain benefits from increased efficiency and giving consumers higher quality and safety assurances. AgInfoLink provides the information bridge that connects and adds value to the food chain.”

The AgInfoLink system consists of the BeefLink® data collection software, electronic identification eartags, the TagTracker™ scanning device, programmable workcards, and the Pony Express™ data sharing program. Producers use BeefLink® to create customized regimens with animal information such as birth date, vaccinations, and weights. The regimen is applied to each animal’s record upon scanning its electronic identification tag while in the chute. Data unique to the individual animal can be entered using a workcard with pre-programmed data such as color and breed. Once the data is collected, it can be routed to an existing third-party program or producers can use a series of customized BeefLink reports.

AgInfoLink Global, Inc. is the worldwide leader in agricultural product tracking from farm to table. The company is dedicated to partnering with global livestock production and distribution leaders to collect and deliver individual animal performance, source verification, and food safety information to all segments of the supply chain. The AgInfoLink products allow for the sharing of data among different third-party software packages at each production segment, giving producers real information upon which to make genetic and production decisions.