Piet van der Aar: “It is important


to strengthen co- operation and try to adopt a more


proactive attitude.”


study is always positive, although very little is communicated about when it is less applicable. It has been a constant struggle; Schothorst is committed to its independence but also depends on external money flow. Sometimes we felt inhibited by this. Re- markably, there is a lot of quality research being done in China, mainly in the pig industry. I think Chinese research will become increasingly important and we must keep a close eye on that. The government over there is still investing a lot of money in re- search. We still have a lead in Europe, but we cannot turn a blind eye to these developments.”


What challenges is the feed industry facing? “One of the challenges is social acceptance and what we can do to improve it. There are still people who think feed is full of hor- mones and antibiotics. As a sector, we communicate very badly on this topic. Consumers want to know more. With research we can substantiate how things really work. “Another challenge, in the Netherlands at least, is how to initiate circularity such as through the use of residual waste flows. At the moment we are doing a project with Wageningen UR on how to adjust by-products so they can be used as feed for animals. Unfor- tunately, there are a lot of food safety regulations that are limit- ing. It will be a challenge to innovate within these regulations. “And a third challenge is the social pressure to reduce animal test- ing. Already the assessment of animal tests is becoming more


strict and in the end animal testing will be banned altogether. That will have a major impact on feed studies and we have to come up with alternatives.”


What will be key feed research topics in the coming years? “Precision nutrition will be a very important issue worldwide. By applying sensors at farms we can collect even more data and study the variation between individual animals. However, the question is how to analyse these data. Schothorst is analysing its database of 25 years of research and looking for links between studies, providing us with new information. In addition, nutrition during transition periods – such as around calving and weaning – is a topic in which a lot of research is being done recently. Another area is gut health, the functioning of the microbes.”


In November 2019, during the congress “Nutrition in tran- sition” organised by Schothorst Research, a reception in honour of your retirement took place. Before leaving the feed sector, do you have some advice to share? “Where possible, it is important to strengthen co-operation and try to adopt a more proactive attitude. We are going to face a number of challenges and therefore we must co-operate and be open in our communication. For me, what I really liked in the re- cent years were the international contacts. We have to pay close attention to developments in other countries.”


▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 1, 2020 19


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