With this move, Schothorst Feed Research will take over the tasks of TOPIGS’ experimental farm in Beilen. This pig farm will cease its research activities and be sold.

The collaboration is, in part, possible because the pig herd and research facilities at Schothorst Feed Research are currently being expanded. "The collaboration gives us the opportunity to investigate differences in requirements between genetic lines," says Marcel Hakkaart, director of Schothorst Feed Research. "That will strengthen our position as an internationally recognised knowledge centre."

Schothorst Feed Research has many years of experience in the precise registration of characteristics and performances. "The collaboration with Schothorst Feed Research will enable us to gather data in an efficient manner," says Hans Olijslagers, Technical Director of TOPIGS. "Our research question fits will within Schothorst’s activities."

Schothorst Feed Research is an independent research institute of international repute that is strongly embedded in the Dutch animal feed sector. The intensive and long-term collaboration with animal feed producers forms a bridge between the research performed and its implementation in everyday practice. Schothorst Feed Research links the different elements in the international animal feed sector with its knowledge about raw materials, additives, nutrient requirements and the relationship between nutrition, genetics, health and sustainability.