Soybean meal from South America is the most common protein feed used for animal production in Sweden. Production of soybean has negative effects on the environment and the transports from South America to Sweden causes considerable CO2 emissions. Therefore it is a growing interest in locally produced protein feed in Sweden. Protein feeds that are possible to grow in Sweden are rapeseed, peas, faba Beans and lupins. Those are adapted to the Nordic climate and are perfect to grow in cereal rotations.

The aim of this paperisto find out which plants the Cistercian monks might have cultivated in Sweden during the Middle Ages and which types of plants it would have been practical to grow inside or outside of the Cistercian monastery precinct. Archaeologicaland archaeobotanical studies have been consulted to find out which plants were available in Sweden during the Middle Ages. Examples, mainly from Scandinavia, but also from the continent, are used to show that the monasteries were large institutionsthat had to feed a large number of people and that there would not have been enough space to cultivate everything needed within the monastery precinct.Secondary sources have in the main been used to gather this information, except in the case of the Swedish monastery of Nydala where F-Topo, a database developed by the County Museum of Jönköping,has been used to analyse the amount of land and the types of properties owned by the monastery.The conclusion is that for practical reasons the monks would have cultivated plants that needed to be close at hand, that were rare or delicate, that could not be stored for long periods and that were used in small quantities within the monastery precinct. This would include medicinal plants, herbs for cooking and some vegetables like lettuce, spinach,and similar,that do not keep well. Most other items, grains, cabbages, root vegetables, peas and Beans could equally well be cultivated outside the walls.

As for today, a large quantity of protein feeds is imported from other countries to be used in the Swedish dairy production. The main import is soya from Brazil. The soya-production in Brazil results in negative consequences for the natural environment in the area, and the long transport of the feeds requires a lot of energy. The organic dairy production in Sweden is, with the highest probability going to be forced to use 100 % organic feed to the cows in the year 2005, due to new EU-rules. These are some of the causes why there are reasons to look closer at the possibilities to feed Swedish cows with only Swedish feeds. In this study, I have looked at the KRAV-rules for organic feeding, where the goal is feeding with only KRAV-approved feeds.

Kenya is a country of 35 million people and is situated in Eastern Africa. 70% of thepopulation works within the agricultural sector and for many of them food insecurity is amajor problem. Maize and Beans are today the staple food for many households. Goodfarming conditions enable two harvests per year and a potential maize yield of 4-5 tons perhectare.A major problem for many farmers in this area is the increase of the weed striga. The weedcauses severe yield losses, and has a major economic impact on smallholders.

A diet based on a bigger part of locally produced vegetables can contribute to decreasing environmental impact and improved health. In Gotland horticulture has increased more than in Sweden in total during the last 15 years. To investigate possibilities for development of Gotland´s horticulture, the cultivation of potato, vegetables, fruits and berries was mapped through a questionnaire among growers. Interviews and a workshop with growers and reseller were conducted to investigate the interest and prerequisites for growing new crops. In total approximately 2340 hectares of potato, vegetables, fruits and berries were grown in Gotland in 2012.

The aim of this undergraduate thesis was to formulate advices regarding the use of field Beans, cultivated together with spring wheat, as whole-crop silage in feeding to dairy cows. In the thesis, optimal harvest time of the field bean/spring wheat crop, as well as the feeding value and the fermentation quality, was studied. On the research station at Röbäcksdalen in Umeå field bean/spring wheat (70 % respective 30 % of normal seed rate for the pure crop) and pea/oat (70/30) was grown in field experiments both 2002 and 2003. The following year, 2004, the pea/oat crop was excluded and instead field bean and spring wheat was cultivated in three different mixed ratios (field bean/spring wheat; 100:0, 70:30, 30:70). Every year the crops were harvested at four different development stages and the green forages were used in ensiling experiments.

At seed-growing the aim is to produce a commodity with high germination capacity, good soundness and purity, and also slight admixture of seeds from other species. The capacity of germination and the vigour of the seeds may become impaired in consequence of mechanical damage, infection of diseases, growth of mould, attacks of vermin, high drying temperature, secret germination, sprouting in the ears etc. The germ belongs to the outer and most unprotected parts of the seed, and consequently this is much exposed. Even quite sound seeds can instantaneously have low capability of germination. It can be due to the fact that the seeds are in rest of germination, i.e.

The purpose with this study was to analyze the possibilities to produce organic lambs and to hihglight the most common difficulties in such a production system. A description of current organic and conventional lamb production systems was conducted, both from Sweden and from some other countries. The Department of Animal Environment and Health at SLU in Skara performed the project together with The County Board of Agriculture in Västra Götaland and Värmland and The Swedish Animal Health Service. The project lasted from 2002 to 2004. The student report contains the years 2002 and 2003. In the year of 2003 there were 210 000 adult sheep in Sweden, of which 16 400 adult sheep were certified by KRAV. Of the different countries in Sweden, Västra Götaland and Gotland had the largest number of sheep, 14 and 13 per cent of the total number.