Because of the BSE (mad cow disease) outbreak in Europe, an RFID initiative to track animals was begun there. When the first cases of BSE were discovered in North America, investigations into their source revealed the lack of any standardized national tracking system for the movements of live cattle, or beef products.

Other countries already have such systems in place. In Australia, a major beef supplier, a mandatory RFID-based National Livestock Identification Scheme has been in place since 2002. Analyst Sara Shah says that in Europe the system is still being set up, and livestock growers and vendors have a grace period to purchase the technology.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) to cover most forms of livestock. While a number of technologies ranging from retinal scans to genetic ID are shortlisted for use in such a system, RFID tagging is a leading contender, and is recommended by the U.S. Animal Identification Plan's Beef and Dairy Working Groups. With tens of millions of cows in the U.S. market at any given time, but only an estimated 2% now RFID-tagged, this represents a very sizeable growth potential for the RFID market.

ABI Research's report, "RFID Readers: Analysis of Applications, Standards and Global Markets" focuses on the links between external data and the internal company network. It examines the design and components of the several kinds of RFID readers, and their integration into a total system. An RFID technology summary details standards, frequencies and applications. This reader market assessment discusses product offerings and market trends across the world, including integration, middleware, end-user markets and shipments