Deep litter is a system for animals kept in separate stalls, loafing and bedding in wind shelters. The litter can consist of different bedding, like Straw and peat. The system is allowed to build over and to ensure optimal proportions it is necessary to add new Straw regularly and to have good conditions. Important conditions are aerobic state, humidity, amount of organic substance and acceptable temperatures in the litter. The micro organisms are depending on temperature for their living conditions and to get the bottom layer in the litter to start burning.

This study investigates a farm in Dalarna which includes 16 ha of farmland and 1, 7 ha of pasture. The purpose is to find out if it is possible to start an animal production in Dalarna. The study is set only to compare spring lamb production with nurse cow production. There are two buildings on the farm that can be used for this purpose. One is an old cowshed, and the other is an unused silo for silage with a roof on top. Both of the buildings are compared to every alternative in the calculations.

To achieve the requirements to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 % by 2020, Swedenneeds to increase its use of bioenergy. In doing so it seems natural that those who already haveaccess to large amounts of biofuels in the form of by-products such as Straw, wood chips anddigestible materials take advantage of these assets locally. By combining production of heat withpower production at the farm it may be possible to not only reduce the direct use of fossil fuel forheating but also reduce energy costs.The purpose was to simulate different cases of using a small scale biofueled combined heat andpower plant for farm-based systems. A MatLab-model was developed and used to draw conclusionsabout the costs for production of heat and electricity with different conversion technologies.The model uses climate data to simulate the variations in heat energy demand on a day-to-day basis.The given heat demand is the base of the simulation and from this the possible electric output iscalculated. This study has focused on the impact of the following properties: electric-, heat- andtotal efficiency, fuel, fuel price and specific fuel requirements.

The top selection of Swedish beef bulls are evaluated yearly by Svensk Köttrasprövning AB at Gismestad. The bulls are selected from six different breeds; Angus, Blonde d´Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and Simmental, and are kept on Straw bedding apart from a concrete alley in front of the feeding area during the six months of evaluation period. The bulls are evaluated according to their fertility scores, growth, exterior and temperament and the exterior, body posture and claw conformation reflect important qualities for their longevity. In spite of good values for fertility, it has been noticed in the last years that the fertility results and longevity have been unsatisfactory and claw and/or bone disorders have been suspected as a contributory cause. Persson et al. (2007) studied breeding bulls from Gismestad and other places, which had been slaughtered due to poor fertility (no pregnancies in the herd during their last year in service).

At present indoor tethering of dairy cows is still common but is not predicted to take part of modern dairy production. When conducting scientific studies of cattle it is generally necessary to tether the animals to maintain a controlled environment. Studies confirm that tethering and confinements of cattle severely affects the development of stereotypies in cattle. The feeding regime and feeding level have an immense affect on the stereotypi level in cattle. The aim of this experiment was to study dairy heifers that had never been tethered before the start of the experiment, to evaluate the affect of tethering on the development of stereotypies and the impact of the feeding regime on the behavior of the animals. Sixteen dairy heifers were tethered in a tie stall and divided in two groups with different treatments. Heifers in treatment E were fed restrictedly with silage and treatment EH was fed with the same amount of silage but also Straw ad libitum.

This study will analyze and interpret the performance art piece The Last Strawcreated by the artist group High Heel Sisters. The aim is to search for potentialfeminist strategies in their deconstructive ways of incarnating gender and bodiesusing the notion of performativity and phenomenological theories.My study shows that the diversity of this art performance creates a complex platformwere discussions about gendered corporeality and spatial power relations are beingnegotiated..

To be a farmer and have suckler cows is a difficult combination especially considering the economy. Because of the increased feed costs, the margins have become tighter. The meat price from beef cattle has increased a little when this text is written (spring, 2008), but not so much that it covers the cost for feed etc. I have a small suckler cow production on approximately 30 cows and 2 bulls plus followers as a part-time business. The herd is tied in the old dairy stable built in the late seventies.

Phosphorus is the single most potent contributor to eutrophication of freshwater and has also been shown to contribute to the toxic algae blooms in the Baltic sea. The dynamics and paths of losses of phosphorus from arable lands are not fully understood. It is known that phosphorus can be lost directly from plant material to water. In studies where plant material has been subjected to several freeze-thaw cycles, large amounts of phosphorus have been lost. Most studies have been conducted under field conditions, with many factors effecting the measured losses of phosphorus, such as weather and type of soil. This study was performed in a controlled environment without the presence of soil. Instead of soil, small glass beads were mixed with the plant materials in vessels, to make possible homogeneous leaching with water through the mixture of glass beads and plant materials. In this study, clover, ryegrass and dry Straw were cut to pieces, approximately 2 cm long.

The purpose of this study was to find possible explanations to why the studied herd had an increased incidence of abomasal displacements. The incidence of abomasal displacement in the herd was three times higher than the incidence of an average Swedish herd. The cows in this study were fed a total mixed ration. The different parameters studied were: energy content in food, nutritional content in food, body condition scoring, concomitant other diseases, and blood parameters of glucose, fructosamine, cholesterol, insulin, betahydroxybutyrat and free fatty acids. The author?s suggestions to decrease the problems are to decrease the energy content in the TMR to lower the cows? body condition scores in the dry period and changing the content in the TMR to increase the amount of NDF and adding structure in the form of chopped Straw.

In the current study, the aim was to investigate whether tail posture and motion can be an indicator of the emotional state of pigs and if the tail posture of the pig is affected by social breeding value (SBV), coping style and/or housing. Emotional state can be defined in two dimensions: valence and arousal. Two batches of 96 finishing pigs were studied in a one generation selection experiment with a 2x2 set up and were housed in a barren or Straw bedded pen. In each pen, 6 pigs (3 male, 3 female) were housed. A back-test was done to determine the coping style of the pigs with two categories; high resister and low resister pigs.

The standard housing of farmed mink provides little opportunities for them to behave naturally and abnormal behaviours such as stereotypic behaviour and tail biting may occur. To prevent abnormal behaviours animals in captivity are often provided with different kinds of enrichments. The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of enrichment farmed mink use when they have several kinds to choose from and to observe if abnormal behaviours can be decreased with a larger cage and a more multifaceted environment. Totally 20 silver blue, 10 months old female mink were kept in traditional cages (80x30x40 cm) for 7 days and in larger cages (195x80x40 cm) with several types of enrichments for 7 days. The enrichments were wire net- and wooden shelves, wire net- and plastic cylinders, water bath, plastic ropes, branches, Straw and tennis balls. One-zero scan sampling on behaviour and choice of place were performed during 3 hours and 20 minutes prior to feeding during 7 days per treatment in April 2004.

Cattle used for meat production can be held outside all year round and due to the legislation they should have access to shelters or other buildings for protection against the elements giving them a dry and clean bedding. There are different opinions concerning their need of protection and the question about necessity of shelters for cattle is of current interest due to a less profitable economy in meat production and the investment costs for shelters. The aim of this study was to acquire more knowledge about the natural behaviour of cattle concerning their use of shelters. The basis of the study was a series of questions regarding when animals choose to stay in shelters, if shelters were used less when they had access to protecting vegetation, how temperature and weather conditions affected the use of shelters and the influence of distance between shelter and feed. Behavioural studies was conducted at five different farms where six groups of suckler cows and heifers of following breeds and crossbreeds were observed; Aberdeen Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Scottish Highland Cattle, Simmental and the Swedish breeds SKB and SRB.

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.

The use of earth bricks in Scanian building traditionThe present work is concerned with the manufacturing and use of earth bricks inbuilt heritage in the south Swedish province of Scania. The first part of the studyprovides a thorough description of the traditional use and manufacturing of earthbricks based on relevant literature, archive material as well as interviews withinformants. This forms a basis for the second part of the study in which practicalexperiments on and tests with earth bricks where carried out. This involved themaking of traditional earth bricks of different composition. The new handmadebricks were compared with industrially produced bricks (extrusion bricks) and oldhandmade bricks.

The purpose of this report was to compare two different options for expanding of an existing pig farm. For the time being there are low prices within the agricultural market of pig production, and it is interesting to see if it is worth expanding or not. The two different options this report is based on are: expanding from a herd with 50 sows in breeding gilt production to a herd with 100 sows in breeding gilt production (option 1), or expanding to a herd with 140 sows in breeding gilt production (option 2). The number of pregnant gilts produced per year will stay the same for both alternatives; about 300 pregnant gilts per year. The rest of the breeding gilts will be sold at a weight of 25 kg. The pigs that are not sold as breeding gilts (e.g. castrates, and female pigs that are too small or that have disorders) will be kept on the farm as growing-finishing pigs until 120 kg of live weight, and then sold to the slaughter house. By using the existing buildings, even after the expanding, the investment costs, and thereby costs for housing, were kept as low as possible.