Horses are grazers with a digestive system that is adapted for a high fiber diet. Forage is a fiber rich feed that includes grass and legumes. A deficiency of Forage and an excess of grains may cause gut disturbances and stereotypic behavior. The aim of this literature study was to summarize information on the horse?s capacity to consume Forage-only diets with focus on the horse?s need of energy and protein.

The use of Forage maize has increased over the last years. The aim of this litterateur review was to summarize a part of the research that has been conducted on Forage maize for growing cattle, including cultivation and conservation of the maize. The Forage maize is planted in April or the beginning of May when the temperature in the soil is between 6 and 10°C. Maize needs high temperatures and much water. Maize is harvested in the autumn when the dry matter (DM) is more then 30% or the plants have been exposed to the first frost in the autumn.

High-performance equine athletes have an energy requirement that often reaches twice the maintenance requirement. Horses are grazers and adapted to a grass diet, and diets high in grains and concentrates are associated with digestive upsets and behavioural disorders. It could therefore be of interest if the energy requirement of a high-performing horse could be met by Forage. It is important that the Forage have a high concentration of energy so that the horse is able to consume the whole amount of energy needed from the Forage without exceeding the maximum voluntary intake. The purpose of this literature study was to investigate if the energy demand of a high-performance horse can be covered by Forage produced under Northern Swedish climate conditions.

Dairy cows transform grass to milk with help from ruminal microorganisms that can digest indigestible fiber in their feed. The digestive system of the cow is adapted to a diet consisting of Forage and disorders like acidosis, laminitis and abomasal displacement can occur if the feed contains too much starch. To achieve the highest production possible the cow has to be given a high amount of concentrate or grain as the difference in milk yield is significant, approximately 1000 kg energy corrected milk per cow and year between conventional and organic cows that are fed a lower versus a higher share of Forage. If the cow shall be able to eat the same amount of energy from Forage as from grain or concentrate the eating- and rumination time gets longer and she might not be able to eat enough, which will result in a lower milk yield and will make it harder for the cow to recover from the negative energy balance that originate from the beginning of the lactation. Fat and in a sense protein content differs also depending on if the cow is given a high or low share of Forage..

Cows are ruminants and they need fibers in their feed and sufficient eating time to function psychologically and physiologically. Many of our cows don?t get enough Forage and too much concentrates, which given in the wrong way may cause health and behavior problems. Too much concentrates at once makes the pH in the rumen sink and this may cause decreased fiber utilization since the microbes in the rumen are negatively affected by this. The cow may also get serious problems such as laminitis and abomasal dislocation.

In Sweden the climate makes it impossible to feed fresh herbage to cattle during many months of the year. During periods when preserved Forage must be supplied it is important that this Forage is stored in such a way that high quality is retained, both nutritionally and hygienically. Furthermore, it is essential that losses occurring when handling and storing the Forage are kept as low as possible. This study compares storage in tower silos, bunker silos, big bags and bales,estimating dry matter losses as well as losses in metabolizable energy and crude protein that occur during storage. The results show that tower silos, bunker silos and big bags, the systems with the largest amount of Forage and a long feed out period involve larger losses than bales, which are fed out immediately after being opened. As the feed out rate influences the losses, tower silos and bunker silos should be used during the period of the year when the feed out rate is as high as possible, i.e.

Successful forest regeneration is a prerequisite for sustainable forest management. Therefore, it is important to prevent browsing damage on the commercially important tree species Scots pine. In this study I have tested a new alternative way to increase the available amount of Forage and increase the use of these resources by especially moose. The method is based on a slash treatment at harvest, where the accessibility of slash as Forage is increased during final felling or commercial thinning by gathering the slash and putting the Scots pine slash on top of the slash piles. This study has compared the availability of Forage, the amount of browsed biomass and the number of fecal pellet groups between conventional and slash treated stands after final felling and commercial thinning in southern Sweden.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect on growth of foals on two different diets, either a Forage-based diet or a diet containing approx. 40 % concentrate. The report also includes a review of the pertinent literature on the effects of diet on mares? milk and growth of horses. The hypothesis of the study was that a Forage based diet will result in a similar growth pattern as a diet including more concentrates if the diets contain the same amount of energy, crude protein, lysine, calcium and phosphorous.

The purpose with this literature study was to investigate the possibilities for improvement of Forage protein in dairy cows with focus on feeding strategies and conservation of Forage protein. The utilization of Forage protein in dairy cows is often not that efficient as it could be. The feed crude protein consists of both true proteins and non protein nitrogen. The digestion of proteins in the rumen depends on the protein degradation rate and the ability of the microbes to synthesize microbial protein. The microbes need a balance between carbohydrates that provide them with energy and proteins that are degradable in the rumen.

Bark-stripping by red deer (Cervus elaphus) cause extensive damage to economically valuable spruce trees (Picea abies) in Swedish forests. The underlying causes for bark-stripping are not fully understood, and the frequency and severity of damage unpredictably differ between regions. In this study, I investigated if landscape structure (e.g. agricultural dominated landscape opposed to forest dominated landscape), Forage availability, population density and disturbance (e.g. roads and settlements) affect bark-stripping frequency.

Bark-stripping by red deer (Cervus elaphus) cause extensive damage to economically valuable spruce trees (Picea abies) in Swedish forests. The underlying causes for bark-stripping are not fully understood, and the frequency and severity of damage unpredictably differ between regions. In this study, I investigated if landscape structure (e.g. agricultural dominated landscape opposed to forest dominated landscape), Forage availability, population density and disturbance (e.g. roads and settlements) affect bark-stripping frequency.

Today it is common to have adult horses stabled for most of the day. This limits the horses? ability to perform some of their natural behaviors such as foraging and movement. The purpose of this review was to compare the feral horses? diurnal rhythm and time budget with stabled horses.

The purpose of this report was to compare Lilluns egg production with other Swedish egg producers based on the flow of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in the egg production systems. The main focus in the report was the utilization rate of the Forage and the excess of nutrients per kg egg. Additionally, the purpose was to identify the environmental impact from Lilluns egg production and compare the results with other egg producers. The inflow of nutrients associated with Forage and poultry was compared with the nutrients that were exported from the production. All of the egg producers in this study had an excess of nutrients.

Higher demands of competitiveness and efficiency have led to increasing sizes of farms, with more land, more capital and more comprehensive logistics. The aim is to gain benefits of scale economies that reduce the production cost per unit. However, a greater extent of the business exposes the farm of increased risk where small deviations rapidly can erase the benefits. A modern dairy farm thus put high demands on the farmer?s ability to coordinate, plan and manage the Forage production through the whole process until storage to obtain silage of the desired quality and quantity at the right price. The objective of this study was to design a simple model, i.e.

Ungulates are causing conflicts between stakeholders due to browsing damage on forests and agricultural crops. At the same time there is a big demand of keeping high ungulate densities for sports hunting and recreational purposes. Movement patterns of ungulates are strongly correlated with Forage availability. Therefore, measures affecting Forage quantity and distribution might be a tool to reduce the economical losses in forestry without decreasing the ungulate densities and thereby decrease the conflict between different interest groups.This study investigated the potential biomass production and utilisation of marrow-stem kale (Brassica oleracea var. medullosa), at game fields in Misterhult, Sweden, as well as browsing effects on adjacent forests.