Farmers & Ranchers Livestock Commission Teams With Integrated Management Information (IMI Global) to Offer First Independent QSA
05 2월 2007 - 8:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Program Designed to Help Cattle Ranchers Earn Premiums for Cattle
at Auction CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Integrated Management Information, Inc. (IMI Global) (OTC:INMG)
(BULLETIN BOARD: INMG) , a leading provider of verification and
Internet solutions for the agricultural/livestock industry, and
Farmers & Ranchers Livestock Commission Co., the largest "live"
cattle auction in Kansas, today jointly announced launch of the
nation's first independent QSA (Quality Systems Assessment) program
offered by a livestock market. Approved by the USDA on August 22,
2006, the program is rolling out in 2007 to ensure producers have
an opportunity to verify their calf crop prior to bringing calves
to market. John Saunders, president and CEO of IMI Global, said the
new program will serve as a model for other sale barns interested
in enhancing the services they provide to their customers. "As the
largest sale barn in Kansas, with more than 200,000 head of cattle
auctioned annually at its Salina facility, Farmers & Ranchers
was an ideal candidate for this first-of-its-kind program at a sale
barn," Saunders said. "Farmers & Ranchers is a progressive
organization that is keenly interested in adding value for its
customers and building its reputation as an innovator in the
livestock auction business. In teaming with IMI Global, they
demonstrated a strong desire to maximize quality assurance both for
buyers and sellers at auction and to provide an excellent example
of how cattlemen can profit with a verification program behind
them." Mike Samples, manager of Farmers & Ranchers, said the
new verification offering resulted in $3 to $5 premiums per
hundredweight for the first consignment of QSA, source and age
verified cattle that recently passed through the sale barn. "We
knew a lot of producers we dealt with were applying electronic
identification tags," Samples said. "But simply electronically
identifying their cattle didn't qualify those cattle for some of
the export markets requiring third party verification. Therefore,
they weren't getting the premiums for their cattle that should have
been available to them. When we decided to offer a third party
service for age and source verification, the logical choice to team
with was IMI Global, an industry leader for verification products
and services." Demand for cattle verification and identification is
increasing steadily. Internationally, demand is being driven by
quality concerns. Domestically, demand is coming from feed yards
and packers who are eager to support quality claims and gain access
to domestic and international markets requesting and requiring
verification. Samples said Farmers & Ranchers makes the QSA
source and age program simple and cost effective for producers who
want to cut down on compliance paperwork and focus on the business
of raising cattle. "Initial customer acceptance of our new QSA
program has come from cattle ranchers who are not interested in
developing their own USDA programs and who want to avoid the
additional red tape associated with complying with multiple
programs offered by different companies," he said. "Our customers
appreciate the fact that our QSA program can be easily set up with
very little additional work required on their part, leaving them
free to manage their business while affording them the potential to
earn significantly higher profits on their cattle at auction. We
believe that as more producers understand the benefits of
verification programs in addressing consumer concerns, meeting the
demands of export markets and increasing their revenue, they will
become increasingly interested in our value-added marketing
option." About IMI Global Founded in 1995, IMI Global is a leading
provider of verification and Internet solutions for the
agricultural/livestock industry. Go to http://www.imiglobal.com/
for additional information. IMI has worked with some of the largest
agricultural organizations in the United States, providing
web-based applications for verification and identification as well
as a range of consulting services tailored to meet each customer's
needs. IMI operations include CattleNetwork.com, an online service
offering market information and industry news to the cattle
industry, and CattleStore.com, an online source for livestock
supplies, such as animal identification, medical equipment and
veterinarian supplies. Additional IMI web sites include
USVerified.com and AgNetwork.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT This news
release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, based on
current expectations, estimates and projections that are subject to
risk. Forward- looking statements are inherently uncertain, and
actual events could differ materially from the Company's
predictions. Important factors that could cause actual events to
vary from predictions include those discussed in our SEC filings.
Specifically, statements in this news release about the impact and
efficacy of, and demand for, the Company's products and services in
the market place, are forward-looking statements. Readers should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The
Company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking
statements to reflect new information or developments. For a more
extensive discussion of the Company's business, please refer to the
Company's SEC filings at http://www.sec.gov/. DATASOURCE:
Integrated Management Information, Inc. CONTACT: John Saunders,
Chief Executive Officer of IMI Global, +1-303-895-3002; or Jay
Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer High Investor Relations, Inc.,
+1-303-393-7044, for IMI Global; or Mike Samples, Manager, Farmers
& Ranchers Livestock Commission, +1-785-825-0211 Web site:
http://www.imiglobal.com/
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