This essay discusses the width of the late medieval desertion of Farms in Sweden from an archaeological perspective. The object of the essay is to investigate if archaeological investigations and research during the last 10-15 years have changed the view of the late medieval desertion in relation to the Scandinavian research project on deserted Farms and villages.The essay also deals with questions on causes to the desertion and when desertion occurred. An ambition of the essay is also to give a general picture of archaeological investigations during the last 10-15 years considering the late medieval desertion. The analyses-material consists mainly of reports from archaeological investigations.Most of the investigations analysed in this essay are investigations of single Farms. Because of this it is natural these investigations do not say much about the width of the desertion.

The feed is a major cost in the dairy production and there is a constant interest in findingalternative cost-effective feedstuffs. Competitive dairy producers have to seek ways todecrease their production costs and the pursuit of cost-effective feed rations contributesto lower costs of production. An interesting group of protein concentrates are rapeseedproducts like ExPro (heat treated rapeseed) which have during the autumn 2008 andspring 2009 been very favourable compared to other protein feeds.This study focuses on the feedstuff products ExPro and Raps-Drank 60/40 (rapeseeddistillersgrain). The potential use of ExPro in dairy cow feed rations are also explored.ExPro is a well known feedstuff but Raps-Drank 60/40 is a relatively new product andnot known for many farmers.A field study on the use of rapeseed products was made on a limited number of dairyFarms. The main purpose was to study the management of the feedstuffs on the Farms.The Farms were selected in cooperation with two local extension services.

The aim of this study was to investigate which elements that functioned in a positive way on the natural behaviors of dairy cattle among KRAV certificated and conventional Farms. The study was based on reading of earlier research and completed by interviews with farmers, animal health inspectors and consumers. The results showed us that the KRAV certificated Farms used only loose housing barns and that the cattle were allowed a pasturetime of five months, or more, in one year. Our interviews with the consumers confirmed that KRAV was a well known trademark. The conventional Farms were more flexible in their choice of housing systems, and used both loose housing barns and barns with the cattle tethered.

The aim of this study was to investigate which elements that functioned in a positive way on the natural behaviors of dairy cattle among KRAV certificated and conventional Farms. The study was based on reading of earlier research and completed by interviews with farmers, animal health inspectors and consumers. The results showed us that the KRAV certificated Farms used only loose housing barns and that the cattle were allowed a pasturetime of five months, or more, in one year. Our interviews with the consumers confirmed that KRAV was a well known trademark. The conventional Farms were more flexible in their choice of housing systems, and used both loose housing barns and barns with the cattle tethered.

Smallholder farmers in Uganda suffer from declining productivity. With a rapidly increasing population, marginal land is taken into production and the current land management leads to loss in soil fertility and escalation in soil erosion. There are studies indicating that the use of agroforestry increases soil organic carbon (SOC) compared to systems without trees. Soils which are high in carbon have many advantages, for example better water holding capacity, which can reduce stress on crops during drought. The aim of this study was to determine the effect agroforestry has on SOC concentration in small-holder farming systems in Uganda. The intended system to study was Farms practicing agroforestry methods or not in intercropped plantain (cooking banana) fields.

In a time when milk producing farm businesses face decline in profitability it is of great importance to examine how the situation can be improved. This thesis is a study off efficiency in milk producing farm businesses represented by Swedish, Dutch and German Farms. The aim of this study is to investigate whether any differences exist between companies in these countries. Moreover, the study includes a mapping of a number of factors that determine how efficient milk production can be managed. This mapping is based on a literature review on prior efficiency studies followed by qualitative interviews with milk production advisors as well as a questionnaire sent out to dairy farmers in Sweden.

The objective of this study was to make an inventory and a potential analysis of the organic beef production in the region of Gävleborg, Sweden. A survey was conducted, where a questionaire was sent to all farmers in the region who had environmental subsidies concerning organic cropping systems in 2001. In total, there were 701 farmers, of which 46 % participated in the study. Three slaughter houses were interviewed to get their pictures of the development of organic beef production. The study shows that there are potentials and interests in the region to increase the production of organic beef.

Protecting the environment has with time grown to take a more central role in the society. Agriculture plays an important role in the society since this sector produces our food. More thorough research on how agriculture affects the environment is therefore motivated. This research can be used to improve the agricultural practice from an environmental point of view. This is something that both the farmers and the consumers can profit from. This study aims to form the basis for creating environmental indicators for use of nitrogen and energy on dairy Farms. Twenty-three farmers in western Sweden have been interviewed about their Farms, both organic and conventional. They produce milk with different intensity, defined as the amount of milk delivered (sold) per hectare of arable land.

In 2003 the recommended phosphorus allowance for dairy cows in Sweden was lowered approximately 10 %. For a cow at a production level of 35 kg ECM it decreased from 0,40 to 0,36 % of dry matter. To investigate if the decrease has been implemented at farm level, analysis of following minerals; P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, S, Se, Cu, Mn and Zn was performed on the TMR at 20 Farms in Sweden in the summer of 2004. The purpose was to describe the actual allowance of different minerals as compared to the new recommendations. One hypothesis was that the decrease in recommended allowance of phosphorus would lead to the need of new mineral feeds on the market.

SummaryIn the area to the east of Hue city, in Vietnam, lays Tam Giang lagoon, one of Asia's largest lagoons, with an area of 22,000 hectares. This lagoon is suitable for aquaculture. One reason for this is because the salinity differs from sweet to salty in different parts of the lagoon. The Vietnamese Government advocates an increase in environmentally-friendly aquaculture and the fish Siganus guttatus (Rabbit fish) is a candidate for this. This fish eats mainly algae and can be cultivated in a polyculture.

This thesis studies settlement continuity on Gotland between approximately AD 200 and AD 1700. The method used is to calculate correlation between the geographical distribution of all known Iron Age stone-wall-houses (on Gotland known as "kämpagravar") and all Farms included in the detailed taxation maps from approximately 1700. The number of remaining house foundations is between 1800 and 1900. A model to estimate the number of removed foundations is presented. It is based on the assumption that the settlement density was proportional to land use around 1700, and that the rate of removal is related to the current land use.

A well, situated on Listerlandet in the western part of Blekinge in Sweden, has a very high content of nitrate. Water with a too high content of nitrate is hazardous to human health, in particular to small children. The area surrounding the well is mostly drained agricultural land with some larger Farms for chicken and mink. The well takes its water from the bedrock and is deeper than most other wells affected by nitrate. The bedrock in the area is dominated by limestone with a relatively high flow of water.This thesis was performed in order to find the source of the nitrate.

The evaluation of the function of the feeding of sheep herds is suggested to involve the work effort, the fulfilment of the nutrient needs of the sheep and the feed waste. Mechanisation of the feeding can be very simple or include high degrees of mechanisation. Three different Farms, representing different levels of mechanisation are presented. Descriptions and analysis of the feeding systems including mechanisation, work effort and estimations of the feed waste are made on each farm. The herd with the most advanced feed mechanisation included a rolling feed band and mix wagon. The other Farms were partly or little mechanised including ad lib feeding from big bales and manual distribution of hay and concentrates. The most mechanised farm was able to feed a large herd of sheep at a low work effort and little feed waste. However, the investment in machinery has to be weighed against the improved efficiency.

This essay is a study that contributes to the larger research question ?Why do Farms shut down?? The subject was chosen because it is a relevant problem that needs to be studied more. This study's boundary is to investigate the reasons for decisions leading to the Farms at the Torstuna community, Fjärdhundra, changes in any activity scale or the outlook of the entire farm. When a decision is made, there are usually several reasons behind it and it is these reasons which this essay is aiming to study. The question "What are the reasons for the elderly to live on the farm even though the farm is not cultivated by them?" is also covered in the study.

The economic conditions for Swedish dairy farmers are constantly changing. The numbers of producers are declining and the economic conditions for dairy production are weakening debilitating. To improve the economic situation for a farm a hired contractor is a possible solution since previous studies show that machinery cooperation may be beneficial for the farmers. The aim of this study is to examine the possibility for farmers to cut costs by hiring a contractor for harvesting silage. A comparison between using own machinery and hire a contractor is the starting point of this study. Another aim is to discuss the farmer?s decision process when achieving today?s situation and to determinate what factors affect their decisions. The study is based on cases selected from four Farms that today have chosen not to or only to some extent, hire a contractor for harvesting silage.