Detta arbete är en litteraturstudie som handlar om hur deltidsbete påverkar mjölkkors avkastning, foderintag och välfärd. I Sverige har vi beteskrav till skillnad från många andra länder i världen. Detta skapar problem då besättningstorlekarna ökar och det blir svårare att få marker i närheten av gården att räcka till alla kor. Det största problemet med mjölkkor på bete är dock att högavkastande kor inte producerar lika mycket på bete som inne på stall. Det är därför viktigt att finna ett sätt att lösa problemen som både gynnar kon och bonden.

There are a great possibility to shorten the time between mowing and preservation by spreading of ley crops in connection to the conditioning. In this case the cellular respiration (the plants breeding that consume sugar until the crop is ensiled) should not continue as long and the forage will perhaps get a higher nutritional value. The capacity of the next machine could also be higher because the rake gives swaths with a lot of material. There is also a possibility that spreading of ley crops gives the material a more homogeneous content of dry matter and that gives a reduced growth of clostridium. This is particularly important when the method of harvest doesn?t include any mixing of the material like it does with a round baler or silagewagon.

In today?s genetic evaluation of Swedish beef cattle, mainly traits that are directly related to productivity are measured. However, other traits, such as temperament and mature cow weight affect the economy of the farmer, as well as the welfare of the animals. This thesis evaluates possible ways of measuring new traits, with focus on temperament and mature weight of suckler cows. The goal is to examine the possible benefits of including these traits in the Swedish breeding scheme.

The tick-borne disease bovine anaplasmosis is primarily caused by Anaplasma marginale. A variety of wild animals act as reservoirs for A. marginale, but the understanding of their role in the epidemiology of A. marginale is yet poor. This cross-sectional study was conducted to establish if proximity of wildlife affect the prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in cattle.

Fieldstudys on 22 farms (23 silos) to study relationships between the actual particle size of the maize silage and the theoretical length of cut. The measure of theoretical length of cut were stated by the farmers and not measured by us. Particle size of maize silage was determined using the New Penn State Forage Particle Separator. SLU Skara made a special sieve for us, that had larger holes than de original sieves. The samples were shaken after instructions and then the material was weighted. We have also been taking out samples for microbiological analyses from the silos on 13 of the farms.

In this final thesis a study about welfare indicators in the Swedish milk production has been carried out. The system Swedish Animal Welfare Monitoring Scheme developed by the Swedish Dairy Association has been used as a base and the EU project WELFARE QUALITY® has also been used as a source of information. Focus groups have been used as a qualitative investigating method. This included four focus groups, two with farm auditors from the two different dairies and two with dairy farmers. This method was chosen because in this way one can study how a conversation about a given subject takes form in a respectable way.

The purpose of this work was to see if it was possible to rebuild an old dairy house into a house fore sheep production. The goals fore the work was to see witch kind of production model was suitable, how the actual drawing would look like and witch kind of interior was needed. The building was built in the beginning of 1900. It is located on the mountain Kinnekulle in Sweden. It was a big production fore its time and hade about 60 dairy cows. It was a lot of hard work because the floor was built by big stone blocks and it was very hard to rebuild when some more automatic solutions came fore handling all the manure. The idea of remaking the building came when we rebuilt the roof fore 5 years ago.

Feed costs constitute a large part of the expenses of dairy farmers. Pasture is a high quality feed with a low cost. However, feeding with concentrates has been shown to enhance milk yield (Leaver, 1985; Bargo et al., 2003; Stockdale, 2004). The purpose with this study was to investigate how milk yield and milk composition were affected as the concentrate proportion in the diet decreased. Pasture behaviour was examined to see if the different concentrate levels affected the time cows spent grazing and ruminating.

Peat litter is a soft material with high absorbency. About hundred years ago many farmers in Sweden used peat litter to their dairy cows. After the World War II the use of peat litter decreased and the farmers used more straw. Nowadays (year 2007), when it is harder to find straw and sawdust to buy, peat litter is advancing again. The purpose with this study is to investigate peat as a litter to dairy cows.

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.

The community Vessigebro, in Falkenberg and its surrounding areas housing one percent of all Dairy cattle and two percent of all pigs in Sweden. This means that there is a large amount of manure as a basis for producing biogas in the area. A number of farmers have therefore formed a cooperative named Vessigebro biogas and started the project Green Vessigebro, with the goal of creating the conditions for a more profitable and more sustainable agriculture production.The study deals with the conditions and sale opportunities of the feasibility study Green Vessigebro. The study has looked at the work that was previously carried out for the biogas that could be produced on the farms in Vessigebro, The main pipeline for natural gas on the Swedish west coast and its operators, the Swedish Competition Act , Electricity Act , Natural Gas Act, the District Heating Act , Sustainability Act , previously proposed measures, municipality interest in biogas from Vessigebro , possible collaborations, possible sale opportunities and perform calculations with data from the municipality Ljungby for a suggested transportation of biogas between Vessigebro and Ljungby.The study shows that there are several interesting sale opportunities for biogas from Vessigebro. The production and use of biogas in Sweden is increasing and the trend seems set to continue.

AbstractAn approaching overproduction of cereals and a future uncertain supply of non genetic modified vegetable protein feedstuffs have increased the interest in an expansion of the domestic production of protein feedstuffs in Norway. Besides rapeseed (Brassica campestris), peas (Pisum sativum) may be the most suitable crop for this purpose. Peas are characterized by having a relatively high content of crude protein, ranging between 20-26%, a high content of starch, 42-51%, and a low content of fat. In general, the energy value for peas is higher than for barley but lower than for rapeseed and soybean meal.Pea protein consists of albumins and globulins to 85-100%, which leads to the fact that a large part of the pea protein is soluble and degradable in the rumen. Starch in peas is on the other hand to a large extent resistant to rumen degradation compared to starch from other starch rich feedstuffs.

In Sweden regulations stipulates that dairy cows are kept on pasture, or given the opportunity to spend time outside during a coherent period of between two to four months, depending on region. The transition out to pasture is a big change from the winter period in the stable, especially for the modern high yielding dairy cows. The let out to pasture includes a change in feed, environment, and new routines. There are indications that the milk somatic cell count (SCC) rises in a peak shortly after the let out. The purpose of this study was to see if peaks in the SCC could be observed after the let out, and to study the contribution of inflammatory cells (neutrophils) and if the milk composition are affected. The study included 35 cows that were kept in stable during the winter.

Live exports of animals began during the late 19th century and are nowadays a valuable alternative to the slaughter industry in Australia. About four million sheep and half a million to one million cattle are exported annually from Australia to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Most of these animals are exported for slaughter, but some cattle are exported with the purpose of breeding. One factor that has been the driving force for the live export industry is that countries through tariffs and other barriers have favored the import of live animals rather than the import of meat.The export means that animals with a great cognitive ability are exposed to a long chain of production from the farm to the market and there are many factors that can affect the welfare of the animals in a negative way. Some of the most serious are high temperatures and a high stocking density, although seasickness, noises and handling can also have a negative impact on the welfare of animals.

Sweden signed, in 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and has thus assumed responsibility for the indigenous biodiversity. That also means that Sweden has a conservation responsibility for the Swedish Friesian (SLB) (SJV, 2007a). In a survey conducted by the Board of Agriculture (SJV) in 1996, it appeared that there were around 780 cows and heifers of the SLB breed (SJV, 1997). SJV did in 2006 a plan for the development of livestock genet-ic resources and the number of cows of SLB was estimated at approximately 200. This meant that the SLB was in need of being conserved and SJV assumed it would be categorized as threatened.The primary objective of conservation of a breed is to reduce the loss of the original genetic variation (Lacy et al., 1995).