The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the influencing factors on the businesspotential of products with health claims, using PrimaLiv as an example. And togive recommendations on how a dairy producer, which is present in the Swedishmarket, could improve the sales rates of products with health claims. We have chosento put a main focus on the consumer, as he or she determines the business potential.This is an unusual approach since most studies cover the producer?s perspective. Wethereby wish to contribute with new knowledge on the area in question.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att med användande av Resource-Based Theory fastställa hur mejeriföretag kan koordinera sitt resursutnyttjande via stategiska allianser så att de kan stärka sina marknadspositioner på sina hemmamarknader. Bakgrunden är de förändringar som sker inom den svenska mejeribranschen, och det samarbete som diskuteras mellan Milko, Valio och Skånemejerier. Svenska mejeriföretag har på senare tid märkt av en allt hårdnande konkurrens på sina hemmamarknader, den europeiska marknaden och världsmarknaden. Dagligvarukedjornas ökande antal egna märkesvaror samt inträdet av lågprismjölk ändrar maktbalansen mellan kedjorna och livsmedelsindustrin. Internationalisering av produktion och försäljning är därför många gånger nödvändigt för dessa företag i syfte att stärka konkurrensförmågan. Detta medför att mejeriföretagen måste vara mer flexibla för att klara sig under de allt mer dynamiska förhållandena.

SAMMANFATTNING När man i tidigare undersökningar studerat betesgång för mjölkkor har klimatet på betet inte beaktats. En höglakterande ko producerar mycket värme som hon måste avge till sin omgivning för att kunna bibehålla sin kroppstemperatur. De sätt som djuret kan avge värme på är begränsade och påverkas av flera klimatfaktorer samt djurets genetiska och biologiska förutsättningar. Antalet dagar som registreringar gjordes under denna studie blev av flera olika anledningar få, 18 dagar. Klimatet utomhus under studien registrerat som globtemperatur varierade från 22,4 till 34,7ºC. Då djurskyddslagen skall främja djurens hälsa och djurets naturliga beteende fick en grupp 126 höglakterande kor möjlighet att välja uppehållsplats under tiden 26 juli till 11 augusti. 2004. Korna fördes ut på betet vid niotiden på förmiddagen och var därefter fria att gå in och ur stallet efter egen vilja tills de togs in för kvällsmjölkning omkring klockan tre påeftermiddagen.

A shorter dry period length has in studies abroad showed some positive effects among high yielding dairy cows. Among other things it has been suggested that the periparturient metabolic stress becomes lower, that the fertility is improved and dry off becomes gentler for the udder, due to a lower milk yield. The milk yield is generally reduced during the first period after calving, especially among primiparous cows. The aim of this master thesis was to investigate how Swedish cows were affected by a shortened dry period, regarding milk yield, metabolism, health, body condition and body weight from two months before calving to some weeks after calving. Also plasma concentration of lactose during the period before calving was determined.

Modern milk production have come a long way when it comes to accommodating the nutritional and physiological needs of the animals, but unfortunately the behavioural and psychological needs of cows and heifers are often left unfulfilled. A long time for eating is beneficial for the digestion and also gives the cattle something to do and decreases the risks for developing abnormal behaviours. An important factor that influences eating- and ruminating time is the particle size of the roughage. The aim of the study was to find out if particle size influences the behaviour of dairy heifers, in particular with regard to eating behaviour and abnormal behaviours. The study was conducted at Uddetorp farm high school in Skara. Forty-two heifers of the breeds SR and SF were housed in 8 slatted floor pens.

The coproduct, dried distillers grains + solubles (DDGS) from ethanol production based on wheat contains much rumen degradable protein and fiber with low digestibility. To compliment this quality in an effective way a grass silage low in protein and much digestible fiber is needed. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of adjusting the crude-protein concentration and fiber quality of the silage when feeding DDGS and of varying the inclusion level of DDGS, when feeding the adjusted grass silage, on intake, milk yield and composition, faecal traits and feed efficiency. Four different total mixed rations were compared. The normal grass-clover silage had a crude protein content of 17,8 % and an NDF content of 46,2 % of dry matter. The adapted grass silage had a crude protein content of 14,6 % and an NDF content of 52,9 % of dry matter. The diets were formulated to have similar nutritional content except for A + 4 which had a higher content of rumen degradable crude protein and a lower concentration of NDF.

Inom den svenska mjölkbranschen är användandet av köttrassemin i mjölkkobesättningar ett hett diskussionsämne för tillfället. Mjölkpriset är lågt och det sänker priset på dräktiga kvigor. Besättningar med god hälsa har lägre rekryteringsbehov och behöver inte alla sina kvigor för att upprätthålla koantalet och har nu svårt att sälja sina överskottskvigor. Med en kärv livdjursmarknad, tyngd ekonomi och växande besättningar borde köttrassemin bli ett alltmer attraktivt komplement i avelsplaneringen. Uppsatsen kommer att kretsa kring hur man optimalt kan använda köttrassemin i svenska mjölkbesättningar.

Developments in milk production are heading towards fewer but larger herds where the milking process is often fully automated. Automatic milking systems were launched in the 1990?s and in the year 2010 the Automatic Milking Rotary (AMR) was introduced. As a rule there are no supervision personnel present during the milking event in systems with automatic milking. This means that there is a risk that cows can be incompletely milked in one or more udder quarters, for example if the robots fail in attaching the milking cups or if the cow kicks off the milking unit.

SUMMARY By altering the longitudinal slopes of the cubicle floors the drainage could be improved. If the altered slopes also position the cows further back in the cubicles the effect could be cleaner lying surfaces. In result this would lead to lower labour requirements, cleaner cows, cleaner udders and a minimization of the risks of mastitis. However, if the altered slopes lead to that the cows position themselves more diagonally in the cubicles the positive effects could be reduced. The altered slopes could even have a negative influence on the animals? natural lying behaviour.

Peat litter has been used in animal houses for a long time. Because of its good ability to absorb liquid and nutrients from the manure it can create a dry surface for animals and a valuable manure product. Through changes in agricultural practises the use of peat litter has diminished and is to a great extent replaced by straw, sawdust and cutter shavings although Sweden is rich in peat-findings. The aim of this work was to summarize the presented knowledge about the used of peat litter, techniques, advantages and disadvantages and to compare with other commonly used litter materials. Articles on peat litter have been searched for in magazines, databases and books at SLU library. Visits to peat industries, interviews with peat producers and with peat researchers contributed to the material. Peat is not a uniformly material.

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.

Summary The size of the Swedish dairy farms increases and also the demands for rational manage-ment of the herd without affecting the animal welfare enhance. One way to handle the manure in the cow shed alleys is to have automatic scrapers. In this system the scraper has to get rid of the manure somewhere. The most common way of doing that today is to let the scraper deliver the manure under some kind of gate or covering over the manure culvert. When the scraper goes under the gate or the covering there is a risk of squeezing animals and farmer.