Field Boxmores Bourne label business is locked in a dispute with a Cambridge smart tag developer over an order for intelligent labels to attach to the ears of cattle.
Livetag was formed at the behest of some Brazilian cattle farmers, to develop inexpensive "smart tags" that can store information and be read remotely, to enable the farmers to track their cattle.
Livetag director Annabella Pinto, an animal welfare researcher at Cambridge University, said that as the prototype was almost ready for field testing, the tags needed to be prepared for practical use. "We wanted them wrapped in protective layers with our name printed on top." They gave the job to Field, but were far from happy with the result.
"They didnt follow my specification," said Pinto, "and then they said they couldnt understand my drawings. So I gave them new drawings, and they still didnt get it right. We are arguing with them at the moment."
She was doubly riled to discover that Field Boxmore had given information about the smart labels to the press, without consulting Livetag first. "Thats very naughty."
Fields marketing manager Bob Houghton conceded that the situation was "not ideal".
"There is a bit of frostiness there," he admitted. "This job marked our entry into this particular technology, and I think there were teething problems on both sides."
He also said that Bournes decision to give out information about the tags without getting Livetags authority was an oversight, and not Fields normal protocol.
Pinto is not waiting for the quarrel with Field Boxmore to be resolved. "Weve now got a new company to design a new label that fits much better to the anatomy of the ear." Its not a printer, though - "This company is approaching it in a completely different way".
Story by Tania Mason