Cargill Adopts USDA Swine Premise Tag
US - Earlier this year, the USDA announced its approval of the first visual Premises Identification Number (PIN) tags for swine entering harvest channels.While not for use as 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).
The Swine Premise Tag consists of a pink tamper-proof button and a pink visual panel stud, reports Pork Magazine. 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.
“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 programs such as PQA Plus,” said David Nolan, senior operations manager for Cargill Pork.
“We felt it was important to take the lead on being the first provider of a USDA approved Swine Premise Tag,” said Steve Bretey, swine business manager for Destron Fearing. “Having an industry leader such as Cargill Pork adopt our swine identification products for its production needs affirms our commitment to provide our customers with solutions that help keep them in front of today’s changing marketplace.”