This master thesis was made to investigate the possibilities of using the Matlab-basedsoftware Basegrain to determine Grain size distributions of erosion protections onhydropower dams. Basegrain is a photogrammetric tool developed to generate grainsize distributions and other information about coarse flood sediments by analyzing adigital photo of the stone bed. The investigation was made by validating the ability forBasegrain to assess Grain size distributions of various materials smaller than the blocksused in an erosion protection by comparing sieving results or manual measurementswith the results obtained by the program. A statistical comparison was then made bycomparing the results from sieving and the program. The possibilities of using thesame method on existing hydropower dams were then investigated by determiningwhether the method was practically viable or not.The results showed that Basegrain generated Grain size distributions for coarse gravelthat were very close to the sieving results.

Treatment wetlands been showed efficient for reducing pollutant in waste water. In Lajeado ? RS, Brazil the landfill has poor leachate water treatment. It is necessary to supplement the treatment plant because they need to reduce BOD, COD and nitrate of the water going to recipient. A subsurface flow wetland (SSF) can be a good choice.  In order to be able to design an efficient SSF it is important to understand how the Grain sizes of a substrate affect the reducing of pollutants in waste water.

In this dissertation I have tried to figure out if it possible to make any money on acid grain to feed cows through a case study. The method is a case study combined with a documentary research. At present the farm sell all grain in connection with harvest and buy it back continuously in the neighbourhood, I have compared that with an alternative where I invest in a construction for to store acid grain on the current farm. I have delimit me to only have a look on acid grain because I think that is one of the cheapest way too store grain in smaller aplenty. Before beginning with acid grain is it important to be versed in how everything works and the risk to keep on with acid grain. One disadvantage is that the acid grain is not possible to store more than 12 months with out acid it once again. It is also easy to get mould in the pasture if it is not acid enough.

The purpose with this study is to compare different systems of grain storage from a financial point of view. Grain that is supposed to be fed to laying hens. The systems that were compared were different airtight storage of grain and a system of conventional storage. To make this case study I choose to compare four different systems. In the case study there was one system with bin drying of the grain, two systems with airtight storage of the grain and one system where you buy dried grain during the season. I made several of capital investment appraisal where I found the cost of each system, then I took the cost and divided it with the total grain use and calculated the cost for each kilogram of grain, and also the cost of the feed. Then I compared the cost from my case study with the cost of buying feed. All the systems except for one, gave a lower cost for the hen feed than buying feed from a dealer The best system, witch were bin drying lower the cost with about 80 000:- SEK.

The purpose with this work was to investigate some alternatives for an effective handling with grain, to find the most economic alternative. It is not common that moisture content is below 14% when harvesting grain in Sweden. To store the grain safe it has to be preserved in some way. I have described some of the most common systems for preserving grain in this paper. I have used the systems as a basis when I made calculations in handling the grain for a company. I have chosen a company placed in south of Sweden. The productions are crop farming and pork.

The increasing oil prices during the last years have made it profitable to use cereal grains as a fuel. When compared with wood, cereals contain higher amounts of Cl, S and ash. The Cl and S content makes the gases from cereal combustion more corrosive than gases from wood combustion. The goal of this master thesis was to find out the variation of Cl, S and ash content for oat grain grown under different conditions. Oats was chosen because in Sweden it's considered as the cereal with the best fuel qualities.

The purpose of this examination work was to make a general description about drying and storage of grain, and a case study with a comparison between brought and home-made feed. The case study was made on the farm Solhem in Hörby, a farm that produces 3870 pigs for slaughter a year. In this project three alternatives have been compared, 1st alternative: own produced grain approx. 400 ton + wet grain 415 ton purchased during fall, 2nd alternative: own produced grain approx. 400 ton + dry grain 415 ton purchased during winter, 3rd alternative: bought feed 815 ton purchased continuously during the year. Considering the price information provided to me the 1st alternative gave the cheapest feed..

Today there is a limited demand for quality certified cereal in Sweden. The demand can in the future increase and become a requirement for the entire market. Since the first of January 2005, grain producers in Sweden are food producers and traceability is important for the food industry. It is possible for grain producers to certify the productions under the certification IP SIGILL. The purpose of this essay is to explore why some grain producers continue to be certified while other producers end the IP SIGILL certification.

The Swedish agricultural sector is currently experiencing substantial structural changes, where the number of agricultural enterprises continuously decreases and the average farm size increases. In order to maintain competitiveness, it is important to be aware and adapt to changes concerning the surroundings of the company (Johnson et al., 2011). Agricultural commodity prices sharply fluctuate on the global market in recent years, affecting the profitability of farmers. High volatility market requires tools to reduce price variations and increases the need of decision-making (Bouder & Beth, 2003). Farm-based grain handling facilities increases the sale options regarding agricultural commodities; a flexible strategy to get additional compensation for the storing the grain produced on the farm (Edling, 2002; Edwards, 2013).

In this degree project we wanted to investigate if there are any possibilities to get a higher income from grain growing by giving the grain to hens instead of selling it. We were also wondering if the manure has any value or if it only cost the egg producer money. If the egg producer cultivate his own grain and is able to store it in layer is there quite much money to earn. Expensive pasture makes it profitability to pay up to 1,35 Swedish crowns for a kilo of wheat. In our calculating we?ve used calculation from the company Lantmännen.

Slopes in fine till soils are exposed to surface erosion due to rainfall, snowmelt and upland water sources. Large areas of road slopes are therefore covered for surface erosion protection. Preventive methods like ditches and trenches are also being used. Silt tills are particularly troublesome since the water can bring the soil into suspension and cause mudslides. Different methods for erosion protection have been studied in this work, with the emphasis placed on rockfill covering. The need for and the dimensioning of this type of covering has been examined in literature and field studies.

This examination work brings up opportunities to invest in a construction for heating with grain or pellets on farm level. As example we have chosen Fröberga Gård which is a farm located in Östergötland outside of Söderköping. The farm`s residential buildings is to day heated with oil and electricity. The result of our investigation shows that heating with grain is the best alternative, partly because of economical issues but also because you can grow the grain on your own farm and by that you can get better economy in your seed cultivation. To grow 16 tonne of grain as is needed demand gives a insignificant increase of work. Further an advantage is that no investment in machines is needed because all the machines witch is needed already is in use on the farm. In a situation where a new investment is needed as in the case we studied, is it often profitable to invest in a integrated furnace. Because all the components are well adapted to each other, and because that gives a high efficiency. If you already own a well working furnace is it often most profitable to connect a burner to it. It is important to know that heating with grain need more work than heating with pellets, because the high contents of ash in grain. Even if you choose pellets instead of grain the calculation shows good results. Because peat is an excellent but fairly untested raw material for pelletsproduction we have chosen to watch little more on its quality and conductions. We discovered that peat has a high heating value which makes it possible to raise the heat value in pellets through mix up peat and wood. Or you can make pellets with only peat and get a pellet with high heating value. Even the calculation with peatheating shows good results..

The Swedish cooperative Lantmännen Ekonomiska Förening has initiated a project labelled "Operation Blåljus" that includes an extensive program for closing down elevators. The number of elevators will be reduced from 92 to approximately 15 after harvest of 2007. The objective of Blåljus is to increase the price of grain with 10 öre/kg. A project has been initiated at the Lantmännen Grain division where the purpose is to provide the farmers with support in their decisions and practical advice how they can load a 35 ton grain truck on 30 minutes. The result from the project will serve as a support system to the farmer in his ambition to achieve cost efficient systems to load a truck with grain on the farm.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the stir drying method, for drying of grain during Swedish conditions. The evaluation was done during the harvest year 2004, on four farms with stir driers. The driers were evaluated for their energy consumption, design, stirring effectiveness and how much time the farmer has to spend on every tonne of grain. A comparison was also done with conventional Swedish high temperature driers. Totaly six batches of grain from stir driers were examined, mostly winter wheat, but also barley and wheat.

A common perception is that fungicide treatments increases yield, but that the nitrogen of the particular grain is diluted so that the overall removal of grain nitrogen from the field remains unchanged. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that a healthy crop reduces the risk of nutrient loss from agricultural land. The results from genotype and plant protection trials often show constant nitrogen content in the grain, although the yield has been increased. Results from such experiments are therefore processed in order to confirm this and show that it is no statistically significant difference between the protein content (and also nitrogen content) in crops which have undergone fungicide treatment compared to crops which remained untreated. The trials processed have been carried out in the southernmost part of Sweden and are distinguished to concern winter wheat production.The explanation to the results is that a healthy crop is able to maintain the biological functions of the plant in a more efficient way than a crop damaged by a fungal infection.