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Knowledge transfer regarding the issue of animal health

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Abstract

The transfer of knowledge and information gained from scientific investigations into farm practice is a primary constituent of applied agricultural science. The importance of this for both agricultural practice and agricultural science is in stark contrast with the fact that only very few studies have been conducted so far which has focussed on the framework required to achieve a successful transfer of knowledge.

Both the necessary prerequisites for and potential barriers to the successful transfer of knowledge regarding the issue of animal health have been the topic of this study taking different stakeholder perspectives into account. Based on a socio-cognitive approach to knowledge transfer, different communication techniques (e.g. estimations of animal health situations, environmental stakeholder analysis and dialogue cafés) were used to depict and record the views on and understanding of different stakeholders on the issue of animal health.

The analysis revealed divergence in the understanding of animal health, unclear responsibilities and self-referential judgements as barriers in the process of knowledge transfer. In the face of these constraints, it is concluded that a targeted transfer of knowledge with respect to the issue of animal health is considerably compromised, requiring the creation of a framework which would provide the conditions for knowledge transfer. A common strategic goal, limiting the prevalence of production diseases, would help to bypass the current lack of a universally accepted definition of animal health. At the same time, this would function as a quality reference value in line with growing interest in animal welfare in livestock production.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) for financial support based on a decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany via the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) under the Federal Organic Farming Scheme (BÖLN), grant no. 12OE016. The authors want to thank the participants for attending the workshops and their preparedness to contribute to the reflection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Nutrition and Animal Health, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Science, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstraße 1a, 37213, Witzenhausen, Germany

    Susanne Hoischen-Taubner & Albert Sundrum

  2. Schulz von Thun Institute for Communication, Rothenbaumchaussee 20, 20148, Hamburg, Germany

    Alexandra Bielecke

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  1. Susanne Hoischen-Taubner
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  2. Alexandra Bielecke
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  3. Albert Sundrum
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Correspondence to Susanne Hoischen-Taubner.

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Hoischen-Taubner, S., Bielecke, A. & Sundrum, A. Knowledge transfer regarding the issue of animal health. Org. Agr. 8, 105–120 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-017-0175-9

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