Manure evaluation has been suggested as a cheap, fast and easy method which can give information about the digestibility of the ration, the function of the rumen, where in the gastrointestinal tract the feed is digested and the health of the cow. An experiment was conducted to study how manure evaluation could be used as a management tool in Swedish Dairy farming. Manure was collected from cows on Kungsängen Research Station and from 9 other farms. The manure samples were analysed for dry matter, ash, starch, pH-value and particle size (wet sieved). Also, the consistency of the manure was determined on a 5-point scale and the colour and smell were noticed. Penn State Forage Particle Separator was used for determining the particle size of the roughage.

Chewing behaviour includes both eating and ruminating activity. Chewing behaviour is of great importance for the feed intake as through the action of chewing (i.e. eating and ruminating) animals mechanically process the Forages in small particle sizes and prepare the food for digestion. As cattle grow the chewing behaviour changes along with increasing body weight and chewing efficiency is increased. The aim of this thesis was to review the available scientific literature in order to describe chewing behaviour in growing cattle, as well as the factors that affect this behaviour.

Today we have more game species than ever before in our landscape, both regarding number of species and number of individuals. The increasing number of wild species is an increase in game recourse for the countryside. The increase of game species, however, has negative effects on forests and agriculture land. The negative effects for forestry are damages on economic important trees, due to losses in production and quality. However there are ways to decrease the damage on valuable and important trees.

Grasslands which have been actively managed for a long time and which in modern times have not been subject to cultivation such as fertilization are called semi-natural grasslands. These rare and species-rich areas hold an ecological, biological and historical value and if the management stops these areas will likely diminish. More effective agricultural systems and a declining number of grazing animals have in Sweden, among other countries, made semi-natural grasslands less valuable as foraging areas. Shrubs and fast growing plants rapidly colonize abandoned semi-natural grasslands, threatening biodiversity. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of breed and season on diet composition, with special reference to four competitive species found in wet areas ? in cattle grazing heterogeneous semi-natural grasslands ? and thereby contribute to improved management of these areas.

The choice of harvest date for leys is one of the most important factors affecting the size and quality of the harvest. An early harvest gives a high nutritive value while a late harvest gives larger quantity. Today?s aim to produce high nutritive leys gives early harvest dates both in primary growth and regrowth in northern part of Sweden. The consequence is a growth in the autumn, a "third harvest".The aim of this master thesis was to study the effects of different harvesting systems and their effect on size, feed quality, wintering and economy for conditions in the northern part of Sweden.

The choice of harvest date for leys is one of the most important factors affecting the size and quality of the harvest. An early harvest gives a high nutritive value while a late harvest gives larger quantity. Today?s aim to produce high nutritive leys gives early harvest dates both in primary growth and regrowth in northern part of Sweden. The consequence is a growth in the autumn, a "third harvest".The aim of this master thesis was to study the effects of different harvesting systems and their effect on size, feed quality, wintering and economy for conditions in the northern part of Sweden.

The project was initiated by Medipharm which produce microbial inoculants which used as additives to preserve Forage. The main goal was to test three inoculants to produce maize silege. The following Medipharm produced inoculants were tested, Milab 393, Lactisil Wolecrop II, Lactisil 300 2. An untreated control was included in the study. The trial was done at Swedish university of Agriculture and Science in Alnarp, Sweden. Eurostar was the cultivar of the maize and was grown on 20, 5 hectares.

The horse's motivations to Forage and eat are behaviors that horse owners should take into consideration when designing the horse's living environment. In today?s housing of horses, horses are often kept alone in boxes and paddocks and are fed with small amounts of energy-rich roughage. Problems that can arise with a shortened feeding-time and long periods of fasting are behavioral changes like stereotypic behaviors and an increased risk for ulcers. A solution to the short feeding-time is that you are feeding roughage in a small mesh hay net, or a so-called Slow-feed net.

The farm management system controlled traffic farming (CTF) aims to reduce soil compaction by restricting the field traffic from agricultural machinery to permanent traffic lanes. Literature and empirical findings show that soil compaction and field traffic from heavy machinery may affect crop growth negatively, reducing crop yields. If grass-clover leys are subject to heavy field traffic the botanic composition might be altered, providing a lower clover content in the Forage. Clover as a silage feed is rich in protein providing good conditions for high yielding dairy cows. Grass-clover silage production is generally associated with intensive field traffic.

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 metabolism Mg plays an important role because it affects many cellular enzymes in the body. The energy metabolism and protein synthesis are dependent on Mg as an enzyme activator, Mg is also involved in the synthesis of RNA and DNA. Absorption of Mg primarily takes place over the ruminal epithelium in ruminants. The main storage of Mg is in the bones but that can only be reached if the cow is in great need of calcium or phosphorus, it's a hormonal regulated process that induces catabolism of bones. Free and available sources of Mg are found in soft tissues and in the extra cellular fluids that includes cerebrospinal fluids and blood.

During thousands of years, reindeer have adapted to living under harsh conditions with large seasonal variations in climate and Forage availability. This adaptation implies that body functions and nourishment needs are strongly bound to the season. In the summer the reindeer has to maximize food intake to build up fat and protein reserves for the winter. More than 200 different plant species are included in the reindeer diet, but since reindeer have an unique ability to use the nourishment in lichen, different lichen species make up a large portion of their winter diet in many areas. Fundamental for reindeer husbandry is access to natural grazing during most of the year.

Wildlife is a valuable and renewable resource that promotes economical, ecological and social values. These values are important for developing and maintaining many rural societies. However, growing ungulate populations have led to increased browsing pressure on valuable forest trees and crops. Previous studies have proposed supplementary feeding and gamefields as potential methods for controlling the ungulate foraging and reducing browsing damage by providing other attractive food resources. However, quantitative estimates of potential biomass production of various gamefield crops and browsing pressure on the surrounding forest have been lacking.

The relatively poor economy in European dairy farming might be improved from efficient feeding systems and dietary management. Increasing herd sizes and transition to loose housing systems in Sweden, increases the possibilities for other feeding systems than separate feeding that is the traditional feeding system in Sweden. Other possible feeding systems are partial mixed ration (PMR) and total mixed ration (TMR), where the TMR system sometimes is associated with overfeeding and thereby increased environmental impact and high feed cost. Diets providing nutrients above or below animal requirements are considered as unbalanced, which in turn are associated with reductions in health, fertility and milk production. On the other hand, a balanced feed ration improves feed efficiency, nitrogen utilization and profitability.

Maize for silage has been used as fodder in different parts of the world for a long time and has recently become more common also in Sweden. Our cold climate has been a problem as maize is very sensitive to low temperatures and frost. With new varieties and better techniques for cultivation it is now possible to grow maize in the southern and middle parts of Sweden. As for the north of Sweden the length of the cultivation season is a limiting factor as there are too few days with temperatures of over +10 ºC. Maize is well suited for silage making but oxygen-free conditions are required.