The Baltic Sea is threatened by eutrophication that largely is due to nutrient leaching from farmland within the catchment area. To solve this problem the surrounding countries cooperate within various configurations such as HELCOM and the EU-financed project Baltic Compass. Poor manure management in Russia has been discussed frequently the last couple of years. A literature review of different types of reports and legal acts is the core of this degree project which has been performed in connection to two ongoing research projects financed by EU (Baltic Compass) and SIDA. It is supplemented with interviews with Swedish agricultural consultants and travel reports from two occasions when I had the opportunity to discuss with Russians active within the agricultural sector. Different hypotheses were investigated and discussed. The environmental debate in Russia is quiet and there is a widespread approach that economic profit always trumps environmental concern ? a Soviet heritage that influence the Russian agriculture considerably. The Russian legal acts on stable manure management focus mainly on sanitary questions and only secondary on nutrient leaching.

This study was conducted at VikingGenetics' bull breeding station in Falkenberg, Sweden. The bulls waiting for the results of their progeny testing at this station are either kept in group housing or individual housing. Since both of these housing systems have advantages and disadvantages, it was in the interest of VikingGenetics to know which of these housing systems is the best. The aim of this study was to investigate the welfare of the bulls in these two housing systems through behavioural observations and the use of activity monitors. In the preparations for the study 16 bulls, 8 in each housing system, were chosen.

The taste of the dairy product is probably the main factor determining consumer?s dairy products choice. Consequently it is of great importance that the product tastes good and as expected every time. Off-flavors in milk can be caused by for example oxidation of the milk fat. Since copper is a prooxidant, a high copper content in the milk can cause oxidation.

This EEF-project is a part of a larger project at SLU, Division of Reproduction, Dept of Clinical Science, with the intention of developing and evaluating new methods for the assessment of stallion semen quality. Over the last 10 years there has been an increase in the use of artificial insemination with cooled semen in Swedish horse breeding. At the same time, foaling rates have decreased. This has lead to a need for new and better methods of assessing the quality of stallion semen. This EEF-project was based on an objective method to calculate motility, with QualispermTM, in fresh and cooled stallion semen, and after selection. Today sperm motility evaluation is mainly done subjectively by visual assessment with a light microscope, and the correlation between these motility results and fertility have varied.

Kvarstående betäckningsinducerad endometrit är ett stort problem inom hästnäringen och så även andra typer av endometrit. Detta är den främsta orsaken till infertilitet hos ston. Vissa ston är nämligen oförmögna att klara av den inflammatoriska reaktion som normalt följer av betäckning (för att eliminera sperma och patogener) eller så drabbas de lättare av kroniskt infektiös endometrit, oavsett betäckning. Det finns otaliga förslag till förklaringar till varför de inte kan hålla uterus fri från inflammation såsom defekta myometriekontraktioner, stoets reproduktionshistoria eller anatomiska aspekter (t.ex. pneumovagina, otillräckliga mekaniska barriärer eller en horisontell uterus).

If you keep cattle in a herd outside all year round on big varying grounds, their possibilityto perform their natural behaviour increases. This way of keeping cattle requires that youprovide them with their other needs, like shelter and a dry and clean resting place.According to the animal welfare authority´s regulations on livestock farming, only animalsthat are suited to stay outside during the cold season are allowed to be kept outside. Theyshould also have access to a shelter or another building that gives them protection from theweather and wind and provides a dry and clean resting place.Research has shown that as long as cattle do not get exposed to precipitation and wind theywill manage low temperature well. Some of the things that will affect how well the animalshandle different climates are the isolation ability of the fur, the animals´ body size and thefeed intake. A dry lying place that is both insulating and moisture absorbent is also of greatimportance.

Mastitis in dairy cows is an emerging and challenging disease in the tropics, including India. Nation-wide reports suggest that the incidence of clinical mastitis varies from 3.94% to 23.25%, and for subclinical mastitis from 15.78% to 81.60%. In Assam, a northeastern province of India, dairy is an essential part of the mixed farming system that exists in the state, but the milk yield is far below domestic standards. In 2009-2010, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and local associates started to develop a training program for local farmers in Assam, in order to enhance the informal bovine dairy sector in and around Guwahati, India. The project continued until mid-2013.

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.

Most of the beef production in Sweden has been integrated with milk production. Since the 1990:s, the number of dairy cows has decreased. A specialised beef production has developed in purpose to compensate for this decrease. The consumption of beef have increased in the last decade, but the Swedish production has no followed this trend. In 2004, the percentage of beef self-sufficiency in Sweden was 60 %.

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).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate which apple cultivars are best suited for production of juice and cider. The study was limited to 41 cultivars. Common as well as uncommon apple cultivars were selected from available cultivars in the cold storage at Balsgård, Department of Horticultural Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, SLU.The practical part of the study consisted of the apples being pressed, and then the juice characteristics being assessed by appropriate criteria and methods of analysis. The analyses consisted of measurment of soluble sugars with a refractometer (Brix), titration of total acidity, determination of total phenolic content with a spectrophotometer, estimation of alcohol content by density meters and qualitative taste tests.The study did not account for different maturity of cultivars. Different apple cultivars were pressed on separate occasions, before and after Christmas 2010.

Nature conservation has for a long time been founded on the assumption that high ecological values depend on low human impact. In Sweden this has led to forests with these characteristics being strictly protected from human influences. However, it is also known that historical land-use can enhance ecological values in forests. Mountainous forests in Sweden, which have not been affected by modern forestry, have for a long time been considered as untouched by people. However, forest history research has in recent years shown that even these areas have been used by people for a long period of time.

Global catch fishery is said to been oppressed to its limit (Boyd & Schmittou, 1999), further implying aquaculture might be the only solution to the world demand for fishery products. The applied term aquaculture in this paper refers to the one used by NOAA (2008); breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all kind of water environments, including but not limited to ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. According to Shamshak & Anderson (2008, p. 74) aquaculture has over the past 20 years been the fastest growing food sector with an average annual growth rate of 8.7%. It further represents approximately 37 % (Shamshak & Anderson, 2008, p.

Canine herpesvirus-1 (CHV-1) är det herpesvirus som är specifikt för hunddjur. I likhet med andra alfaherpesvirus ger det oftast upphov till en ofarlig infektion hos vuxna individer och en dödlig, systemisk infektion hos nyfödda. När den akuta infektionen är över går viruset in i en latent fas. I den latenta fasen finner man vilande virus främst i de lumbosakrala ganglierna, tonsillerna, öronspottkörtlarna och levern. Stress kan få infektionen att reaktiveras. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka hur viruset påverkar individer i olika åldrar, sjukdomens effekter på hundaveln och lämpliga åtgärder för att undvika sjukdom. Hos den vuxna individen ses oftast bara lättare luftvägsinfektion, ögoninflammation eller genitala förändringar.

Sheep production is the only animal production in Sweden that is increasing. Therefore,increasing knowledge of the production is of great interest. In order to run a viable sheepproduction, producers needs to be successful in the breeding of the animals and achievean economic surplus in the end. Lambs that are born healthy and vital have greaterconditions to perform high lamb weight gains and thus a successful production. Thereare many factors affect the survival, birth weight and early weight gain of the new bornlamb.