Activation of lypolysis during milking normally results from faulty design and instalation, and inadequate maintenance of milking equipment, and is associated with excessive air intake into the system, causing turbulence. Majority of pipeline milking systems used in Estonian dairy farms have been instaled in 70s and 80s. Their mounting does not meet the requirements of ISO 6690 and 5707. In recent years, besides installing of new milking equipment, the reconstruction of old ones has been started. There is little information on the effect of that kind of reconstruction on raw milk quality. In this study, the effect of three factors on induced lipolysis were investigated on original laboratory experimental equipment. The parameters of studied factors - the time of agitation the intensiveness of agitation and the rate of aeration - were changed independently. A preliminary study showed these three factors. Aeration rate was mainly responsible for the increased FFA content of raw milk.

Dressing percentage and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of large (2-3 kg) rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), produced in Estonian fish farms were estimated. The dressing percentage and GSI did not depend on fish size, but there was a strong negative correlation (r = - 081, p0.001) between themselves. During maturation the flesh color decreased significantly. The male trout had the palest color (13 color card units), the color of fillets of females decreased with maturation from 15 to 14. The immaturate females had the brightest color (17 color card units) and the highest slaughter yield (mean dressing percentage 87%, mean fillet yield 68%). Due to deterioration of quality (smaller slaughter yield and pale color) the maturation of trout causes profit loss for fish farmers and thus, rearing of late maturing all-female strains is recommended.

Udder secretion samples from mastitic and healthy udders were examined at the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the LUA Research Centre "Sigra". In total, 117 samples from 117 cows were investigated. Somatic cell count was recorded for cows with clinical and subclinical infections, and uninfected cows. The mean somatic cell counts for cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis were 1 825 250+-417 697 cells ml*[-1) and 967 866+-75 796 cells ml*[-1), respectively. For healthy cows the mean somatic cell count was 87 666+-15 384 cells ml*[-1). Gram-positive microorganisms from the genera Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Corynebacterium, and gram-negative microorganisms from the genera Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Escheria and Pseudomonas were isolated from samples from mastitic quarters.

The forest certification becomes actual within the forest sector as a trade restriction when customers have started to require products from certified sources. There are several international documents that are regulating the use of international market restrictions. However some misunderstandings and problems with interpretation of free market and forest certification regarding certified product market still exist.

The aim of the experiment reported here was to evaluate the effects of an inoculant SIL-ALL**4x4 on the fermentation quality and chemical composition of silage made from meadow-fescue and meadow-foxtail. Inoculant SIL-ALL**4x4 provided the good quality of silage in all stages of maturity. Lactic acid fermentation of inoculated silage was very extensive, especially in the stages of ear formation of meadow-fescue. The results indicated that the use of inoculant improved fermentation and silage hygienic quality.

The efficient functioning of drainage objects depends on a number of accidental factors: natural and climatic conditions, the quality of drainage technologies and their exploitation, as well as the peculiarities of drained land use. Drainage reliability may be evaluated in view of the following indices: mean quantitative values, fluctuation peculiarities, interrelations and dependence of the indices. One of the indices, determining the reliability of drainage objects, is the drainage operation time to failure - the longer this time, the more reliable the drainage is from the point of view of exploitation. The paper deals with one of the most important reliability indices of drainage systems - it's operating time to failure. The indices of drainage functioning until its failure have been defined on the basis of probability theory and mathematical statistics. The distribution regularities have been established for the drainage object under different land-reclamation conditions. This might help to determine the failure probability, a certain age as well as to foresee the time and extent of repair works.

As the majority of well-known researchers (All right 1982, Jordan 1989, Morrow 1977 etc.) evaluate needs analysis as the starting point for any kind of teaching and learning ESP, and the new developments in educational psychology contributed to ESP (Chambers F., 1980 etc.) emphasize a learner-centreted approach, the first attempt for such kind of data collecting was made in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Estonian Agricultural University (EAU).

Estimating water quality of rivers, lakes and other water bodies, their contamination is being modelled according to the quantitative changes of pollution factors and their appearance conditions. Water contamination is being determined considering one or another value of contamination factors. The modelling of the impact of pollution factors on water quality becomes problematic when the values of the factors can be estimated only approximately or cannot be estimated at all. It is rather difficult to define qualitative estimation of water contamination factors in comparative terms (scanty impact, average impact, etc.) applying only quantitative mathematical methods. In this case the method of fuzzy logic may be of great help. Fuzzy logic enables us to formalise the comparisons of the ojects or phenomena under discussion as well as eliminates the contradictions between qualitative and quantitative methods. Those two methods supplement each other and can be easily applied together. The objective of the study was to estimate the possibilities of fuzzy logic application for the evaluation of stream water quality.

The rising development of sciences and technologies as well as social problems especially, high unemployment rate, make it indispensable to achieve an incessant innovation of higher education system including the field of electrical and electronics engineering. Some aspects of this goal are formulated in the report of the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia "Flexible Learning Strategy in Latvian Higher Education" in 1999. The study was based on applying SWOT analysis, i.e. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats were identified. This paper reports the results of one of the first attempts to elaborate and implement an original student centred interactive learning tool for the students of higher and vocational schools in Latvia.

To study the organic matter digestibility of feeds 22 in vivo and in vitro digestion experiments were carried out by using DAISY II filter bags system in the Eerika Experimental Farm of the Estonian Agricultural University in 1997-2001. In the in vivo experiments 4 rams and special boxes were used. The in vitro experiments were carried out and the chemical composition of feeds was determined in the laboratory of the Department of Animal Nutrition in the Institute of Animal Science by methods generally recognized in the EU. The objective of the study was the comparison of organic matter digestibility of feeds measured by in vivo methods, by DAISY II filter bags method and of that calculated by acid detergent fibre or neutral detergent fibre.