The intrest and development of bioenergy and energy from renewable sources in Sweden has increased rapidly over the last few years. There are a whole lot of alternatives for those who would like to venture and invest in renewable energy production. Production of renewable energy opens up many opportunities for forestry and farming to venture a new branch of production, on basis of the primary production. Several of the new energy sources grows on farmland or in the forest. The opportunities exist in the primary products, as well as in refining and reselling, in the value chain of energy. The starting-point is the Farmer as an energyproducer. This master thesis studies the nature of farmer-own firms, who has invested in production of renewable energy.

Den förste juli 2011 beslutade Kemikalieinspektioen att godkänna användandet av det tillväxtreglerande preparatet Moddus 250 EC från Syngenta Crop Protecktion A/S i samtliga stråsädesgrödor. Detta var ett beslut som framkommit efter en dom i regeringsrätten den 22 september 2010 (KemI, 2011). Samtidigt är inte den svenska kvarnarindustrin beredd på att ta emot spannmål som är tillväxtreglerad. Jag blev intresserad hur detta skulle påverka svenska lantbrukare och hur de skulle hantera denna lagändring som inte går att utnyttja vid odling av spannmål till humankonsumtion då svenska kvarnindustrin inte tar emot spannmålen. För att undersöka detta gjordes en litteraturstudie i ämnet samt kompletterande intervjuer med öppna frågor till fem företag/organisationer. Litteraturstudien visade på att frågan länge varit aktuell och debatterats sedan 1987 då den första restriktionen om stråförkortning kom. Denna gällde alla sädesslag utom råg som var undantaget p.g.a.

In the farrowing pens the amount of bedding material and the quality of the concrete floor has a huge impact on both the sow and the piglets. In this study imbedding of rubber flooring on the solid area in the farrowing pen was used to see if it had any effects on the sows lying behaviour when compared to concrete. Another important aspect was to evaluate if the rubber floorings had a high enough durability to resist the normal wear in a farrowing pen. Concrete flooring is assumed to have a higher thermally conductive effect then rubber which can affect the sow?s chance to cool down.

The conditions for a good silage process start with good wheather and choice of crop, then choice of harvesting machinery. The shorter and more mechanically treated crop, the better quality of the forage. (Pauly 1994). This study has examined the variations in chopping length depending on harvest method. Precision choppers works with a rotating chopping cylinder, where the crop is cut into pieces.

Today?s climate changes will probably give rise to precipitation in Sweden, which will cause more floods in Swedish rivers. Many of the Swedish rivers are regulated and have lots of hydro-electro power plants. Higher floods in the rivers will give greater water loads on the dams, which mean that a higher discharge through the sluice gates and in the spillway channels is needed. High discharge of water in a spillway channel can create scour of the material in the channel.

After I heard that two deadly accidents in farming 2003 were created by work with cattle, I got the idea of writing this degree project. So far there are not too many reports written about safety for the worker nor the animal. Therefore it will fit in with a report about safe handling of free stalled cattle. The Swedish Board of Agriculture would also like to do an information material about outside stalled cattle with this degree project as a background. The collecting of material was made by visiting farmers. The goal was to visit 15 ? 20 herds and when this is being written 19 herds have been visited.

Hemp is an annual energy crop that fits very well in Swedish crop rotations. It is an interesting crop with many benefits, for example its ability to establish a large quantity of biomass in one year. Hemp is easy to grow and out-competes unwanted weeds through its aggressive growth pattern without the need for pesticides. Interest in growing hemp and other energy crops is currently decreasing, apparently because of high grain prices. These high prices give a higher net profit that we believe could partly cover the cost of hemp cultivation, while the hemp in turn would improve the crop rotation and thus repay its debts in the form of increased yields of other crops. The great disadvantage of hemp is the lack of knowledge about spring harvest of the crop.

At the farm Fride, in Lojsta at the Southern part of Gotland, my family runs a pig production with 80 part-integrated sows in a ?Familybox-system?. The main parts of the facilities are from the early 90´s and have done their job. The production results have the last years decreased because of new infections so we have to do something before shifting ownership! This degree thesis is meant to answer the question about which the optimal extension would be today. By studying literature, use my own experience and make lots of calculations, I try to find out different opportunities.

Half of Sweden?s 140 000-150 000 sows are culled and replaced by 75 000 gilts annually. Culling of old sows is necessary and allows new breeding material to enter the herd. However, many of the culled sows are young, and have not yet become profitable at the time for culling. Therefore, it is an important question for the pig industry, how to raise gilts to sows with a high and sustainable production level.

Barren rearing environment and early weaning of piglets can lead to a high level of distress, behavioural disturbances and reduction in weight gain. The main aim of this thesis was to study the effects of potential enrichment objects on piglet?s behaviour and weight gain during the pre- and post-weaning period. The second aim was to examine what type of object stimulated the highest frequency of interaction. The study was carried out at the Swedish Livestock Research Centre in Lövsta where a batch of litters from 10 first-parity Yorkshire sows were used.

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.

Beef cattle wintering outdoors should be provided a shelter, e.g. a type of barn or corresponding. This type of production requires appropriate soil types and secured animal welfare. For example, a clean and dry resting place needs to be provided to the animals. To receive an exemption for buildings the farmer has to have something equivalent that provides an adequate shelter.

The Republic of Moldova, situated in eastern Europe and a former part of the Soviet Union, is now experiencing a phase of transition in both society and landscape. They have hardly any fossil depots and are currently dependent on Russian gas, with 97% of their energy needs imported. The new elected government wants to move towards the EU and this is generally seen as the way to grow and reduce poverty. Security in the energy sector is important and one tool is to increase the use of renewable energy sources. Through interviews, texts, and visits I have studied the implementation of renewable energies (RE) in Moldova through a society development perspective. The study has aimed to investigate the sociotechnical complexity of this subject and to discuss the potentials and way of dealing with the subject in the specific cultural context of Moldova.

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.

Distillers? grain is a by-product of ethanol production. Corn, wheat and barley are the grains that are generally used in the distillery process. Distillers? grain is rich in protein and phosphorus.