October 10, 2003
US Beef Industry's 1st Data Exchange Standards Developed
An alliance of 5 leading agricultural data service companies has announced plans to create the US beef industry's first data exchange standards, according to a story on PR Newswire.
The organizing companies involved in this coalition are: AgInfoLink USA in Longmont, Colo.; APEIS Corp. in Norfolk, Neb.; eMerge Interactive Inc. in Sebastian, Fla.; IMI Global Inc. in Platte City, Mo., and Micro Beef Technologies Ltd. in Amarillo, Texas.
The 5 participating companies, each actively involved in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service National Identification Development Team, are establishing the Beef Information Exchange to address the need for a uniform set of data movement standards among the nation's beef industry producers.
Initially, the Beef Information Exchange will facilitate the rapid and secure sharing of data required for a national identification system to address potential mandatory identification and traceback requirements. The system may be expanded over time to accommodate a greater variety of production data.
Establishing common data sharing standards is critical to the future of the beef industry because it creates a standard information platform which will allow for greater operational efficiency, reduced supply chain uncertainties, and potentially lower costs, the story said.
