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DIGITAL ANGEL SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT TO HELP
FIGHT HOOF AND MOUTH DISEASE IN WORLD’S LARGEST BEEF EXPORTING
NATION
SO. ST. PAUL, MN (April 25, 2006) … Digital Angel Corporation (Amex:
DOC), an advanced technology company in the field of rapid and
accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of
high-value assets, announced today that it has entered into an agreement
with the Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation (Embrapa) to conduct a
joint pilot program to fight Hoof and Mouth Disease (HMD).
On
Wednesday, April 26, Digital Angel President and Chief Executive Officer
Kevin McGrath will meet with Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture Roberto
Rodrigues in Brazil to inaugurate the program.
The pilot program
includes the continued development of a bio-thermal (temperature sensing)
RFID umbilical chip that will assist in identifying Hoof and Mouth Disease
in the Cebu cattle population in Brazil. The bio-thermal RFID umbilical
chip being developed is based on the Bio-Thermo® RFID chip currently sold
by Digital Angel in Europe and South Africa. The initial pilot program in
Brazil, which is expected to proceed over the next six months, will
involve tagging up to 175 cattle with an electronic RFID tag, a visual
tag, and a bio-thermal chip located in the umbilical cord. In addition to
temperature sensing, this will provide for visual and electronic
identification of the cattle.
During the research and following
the successful completion of the pilot program, Embrapa will make
available all development information to Brazilian universities, technical
schools, the scientific community, and the Cattle Raiser Association, and
will demonstrate during “Field Days” to all interested cattle ranchers.
All research could also be shared with other Latin American countries in
the HMD Control Program.
“This cooperative effort with the
Brazilian Government to eradicate Hoof and Mouth Disease in Brazil is very
important to Digital Angel,” McGrath said. “We have been working with the
government in Brazil for several years to help it enhance its livestock
herd management, and we have learned a great deal and gained considerable
respect for its commitment to this very important program. This is an
excellent example of the innovative thinking of Embrapa and we are pleased
to be able to expand and strengthen our cooperative agreement with
them.”
Minister Rodrigues recently discussed the importance of
eliminating Hoof and Mouth Disease so that Brazil and the countries of
MERCOSUR, (a trading zone of South American Countries) can increase their
participation in the world’s beef markets. Minister Rodrigues also said
that the eradication of Hoof and Mouth Disease in South America is a major
priority of the MERCOSUR countries, which include Brazil, Argentina,
Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile. In this effort, the MERCOSUR
countries are negotiating a financing of more than $100 million from the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for joint actions to eradicate Hoof
and Mouth Disease in the next three years.
McGrath will also
discuss with Minister Rodrigues Digital Angel’s plans for investing in tag
production in Brazil, including production of visual tags, RFID cattle
tags and RFID umbilical chips.
When scanned with an RFID scanner
and used in conjunction with a database program, the bio-thermal chip can,
in addition to sensing temperature, provide immediate access to specific
information such as the identity of the animal, its age, medical history,
where it has been, and its contacts with other cattle. Once such a system
is implemented in Brazil it would be the first country to use an umbilical
sensor to fight Hoof and Mouth Disease, which could become the standard
for other countries.
Brazil is the largest cattle exporting country
in the world with a herd of more than 180 million cattle, which could
double in the next 10 years. According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of
Geographic and Statistics), the geographic area devoted to the cattle
industry is more than 1,802,500 square miles.
About Digital Angel
Corporation
Digital Angel Corporation develops and deploys sensor
and communications technologies that enable rapid and accurate
identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value
assets. Applications for the Company’s products include identification and
monitoring of humans, pets, fish, poultry and livestock through its
patented implantable microchips; location tracking and message monitoring
of vehicles and aircraft in remote locations through systems that
integrate GPS and geosynchronous satellite communications; and monitoring
of asset conditions such as temperature and movement, through advanced
miniature sensors.
Digital Angel Corporation is majority-owned by
Applied Digital Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSX). For more information about Digital
Angel, please visit http://www.digitalangelcorp.com/.
The statements in this press release that are not strictly
historical, are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors
created by these sections. The forward-looking statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties and the actual results that the Company achieves
may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to such
risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, Applied Digital
Inc. owns 55.4% of the Company’s common stock, new accounting
pronouncements regarding expensing of share based compensation may impact
the Company’s future results of operations, the Company may continue to
incur net losses, infringement by third parties on the Company’s
intellectual property or development of substantially equivalent
proprietary technology by the Company’s competitors could negatively
impact the Company’s business, domestic and foreign government regulation
and other factors could impair the Company’s ability to develop and sell
its products in certain markets, the Company relies on sales to government
contractors for its animal identification and search and rescue beacon
products, and any decline in the demand by these customers for such
products could negatively affect the Company’s business, the Company
depends on a single production arrangement for its patented
syringe-injectable microchips, and the loss of or any significant
reduction in the production could have an adverse effect on the Company’s
business, technological change could cause the Company’s products to
become obsolete, the loss of one of the Company’s principal customers
could negatively impact the Company’s net revenue, the Company’s earnings
will decline if the Company writes off goodwill and other intangible
assts, options and warrants outstanding and available for issuance may
adversely affect the market price of the Company’s common stock, currency
exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on the Company’s
sales and financial results, the Company depends on a small team of senior
management. A detailed statement of risks and uncertainties is contained
in the Company’s reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including in particular the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005. Investors and stockholders are urged to read this
document carefully. The Company can offer no assurances that any
projections, assumptions or forecasts made or discussed in this release
will be met, and investors should understand the risks of investing solely
due to such projections. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise
any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances
that may arise after the date of this press release.
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