Pig-breeding as a knowledge-intensive sector

The production of pork has over time become a knowledge-intensive activity. lncreasing demands on health, animal welfare, economic performance, innovation and nternationalization are transforming the production of pork at all stages of the value chain. Breeders have had to cope with this development too. The Netherlands is one of the world' leading producers of breeding pigs and pork. This case particularly studies knowledge management around the leading Dutch pig-breeding organization, the cooperative Pigture Group with its breeding programme TOPIGS. Pigture Group is the second largest pig-breeder in the world. First, the main developments in the pork industry are described. Next the focus is on the role of TOPIGS in pig-breeding and the knowledge management mechanisms that are present in the TOPIGS network. Finally, the strength and weaknesses of knowledge management in this case are analysed. The case shows the effectivenes of using multiple solution concepts to get knowledgeflowing. There is a clear difference in this case between solution concept used for tacit knowledge and those used for explicit knowledge. Finally, the TOPIGS case show that knowledge management in the Netherlands is effective, but that knowledge management in the international network faces some additional barriers. The Dutch knowledge management system cannot be implemented in other countries.