This work is a literature review along with interviews from nine suckler herds. How to reducecalf mortality in the cow herd is the focus of this paper. To get profitability of a herd, it isimportant that you get a live calf per cow and year. Good fertility of the cows thus is veryimportant. During the years 2007 - 2008, approximately 5.5% of all calves born by Beef cowsdied and about 8.5% of the calves born by heifers died.

Nyinvesteringar i nötköttsproduktion leder i allmänhet till stora kostnader. Genom att ersätta traditionella byggnader med enklare typer av väderskydd och låta djuren vistas ute vintertid skulle kostnaden kunna minskas. Upptrampad mark och koncentration av gödsel och urin kring utfodringsplatsen, väderskydd och vatten kan dock bli ett problem då köttdjur hålls ute vintertid. Ett flerårigt projekt Animal-Driven Sustainable Beef Production, som finansierades av Mistra, Stiftelsen för miljöstrategisk forskning, genomfördes för att utveckla en ny typ av utedriftsystem. Systemet är mobilt och innebär att djuren vintertid vistas på åkermark som ingår i en växtföljd och att de regelbundet får foder på nya ytor.

ABSTRACT There is present a lot of focus on animal welfare issues during transport and the related loading and unloading of animals. This thesis is a field study investigating the present situation of Beef and dairy farms in Sweden. The predominant reasons stressing cattle when transported to abattoirs are when they are loaded and unloaded on the trucks. The aim of this thesis is to improve the handling and the loading facilities to facilitate the handling and reduce the stress for the animals as well as the personnel. The field study was done by travelling together with the transports from the farm to the abattoir in Uppsala. Three trucks where used and about 60 farms were visited January to March 2003.