The experimental studies were carried out in the most common cowsheds in Lithuania. The cowsheds involved in the research featured different insulation patterns and livestock keeping technologies where cows were kept tied or loose. The efficiency of ventilation system was measured in 7 cowsheds based on the variation in air temperature, air relative humidity (RH) and ammonia. The main problems of microclimate in Lithuanian cowsheds were found to be as follows: a high relative humidity resulting in water vapour condensation on the roof structures; the air temperature is regularly below the recommended minimum of -7 °C; the air temperature is regularly above the recommended maximum of 25 °C. Optimization of the microclimate in cowsheds concerned, it is recommended to adjust the ventilation intensity based on the difference of air temperatures within the barn and outdoors. During cold months of winter it is recommended to keep the air temperature in semi-insulated cowsheds by 8–11 °C higher than that outdoors, whereas in uninsulated box-type cowsheds with roof cement – higher by 5–7 °C, and in uninsulated box-type cowsheds with roof metal – higher by only 3–5 °C. During severely freezing periods of outdoor temperature, the air temperature was found not to drop below -7 °C only in insulated cowsheds. Whereas during extremely hot days when the outdoor temperature rises above 26–28 °C, the cowsheds of all types (those insulated and uninsulated) were found to be too hot for cows. Consequently, thermal insulation of a cowshed’s roof and adjustment of the ventilation intensity are not sufficient for solving the problems caused by heat stress in the cowsheds.

The development of an integrated safety and quality system at enterprises for the production of baby food includes measures  thataimed at analyzing risks and identifying critical control points throughout the process. The article presents studies on the identification and analysis of hazards and assessing the severity of the consequences of their manifestation. In order to integrate, the international standards ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 were selected, on the basis of which the quality system processes were identified, the resources and requirements for them were determined, as well as the parameters for monitoring these processes, the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed system were established. Within the framework of the integrated system, the main and interior processes were identified. The main processes include organization management processes, planning and implementation processes for safe and quality products, and processes for monitoring, analysis and improvement. Support processes include processes for managing the organization’s personnel, its infrastructure and production environment, as well as processes for managing documentation and records of the system.

Fusing best international and local quality management and control practices is one of the most effective ways to gain competitive advantage. Among other things, this includes implementing "customer focus" and "factual decision-making", the key principles of Universal Quality Management, through qualimetric models. The authors have identified qualimtric models with the best quality management potential across the food processing industry, at different product life cycle stages. They especially emphasize the potential of applying qualimetric forecast to food quality and safety. The authors have identified the main stages of product quality metrics forecasting to predict and achieve the desirable food quality in the most effective way possible. The proposed methods are a combination of qualifying methods and world’s best quality management tools and techniques. With the example of quality management in curd products at the development stage the authorship points out the indicators defining product quality and safety, ranks value in building product quality, gives a math formula to describe product quality and an algorithm to assess product quality based on a comprehensive quality indicator and deduce recommendations to achieve desirable and predictable product properties. The proposed stages of qualimetric forecasting, based on the integration of qualimetric models in quality management, have been tested on some curd products in production and proven to be practically effective.

Tree resistance to pathogens is related to the general viability of trees, their growth energy, and ability to synthesize and to mobilize secondary metabolites (SMs), usually phenolic compounds, in tissues. The total phenolic content (TPC) in Norway spruce needles was determined during two vegetation seasons in order to compare the chemical background and ability of different Norway spruce half-sib families to synthesize TPC in response to seed treatment with physical stressors: cold plasma for 1 and 2 min (CP1, CP2) and electromagnetic field for 2 min (EMF2). TPC in seedling needles significantly differed between affected and control groups, but differences were stronger exerted during the first year of vegetation. In the first vegetation season, the strongest positive effects on TPC synthesis were induced by EMF2 treatment in 463 and 577 half-sib families, by CP1 treatment − in 457 half-sib family and by CP2 treatment − in 541 half-sib family; in the second vegetation season strongest effects were detected in CP1 treated 457 half-sib family and in CP2 treated 548 and 477 half-sib families. The half-sib families of Picea abies with higher TPC induced by seed treatment with different physical stressors could be more resistant to pathogens and diseases. The variance component of family for TPC variated from 14±10 % till 17±11 %, and was significant. The interaction of genotype and environment on TPC was as high as 49 ± 20%.

The issues of the development of thematic villages are mostly investigated in Poland, Austria, Lithuania. Village development theming is usually defined as a strategy or model. It acts as a vehicle for village renewal, enabling even small villages to develop successfully in the age of globalization. An experiential marketing strategy guides village development towards sustainability and helps to ensure integration between village environmental, economic and social development dimensions. Thematic villages play a heuristic role, they "push" locals and customers out of established spaces, village storytelling schemes, and encourage the search for alternative life, behavior and business models. This research aim was achieved: to determine the characteristics of the village theming development: thematic space, integrated (complex) consumption, co-creation, recreation, interests (needs), experience. Thematic analysis, collation and other methods of scientific literature were applied. Representatives of the various stakeholders must be involved in the village development theming characteristics package planning, management and control processes. There is a two-way communication between the development of various thematic objects in economic, social and environmental terms and the creation of a thematic space which must serve not only the interests of the visitors but also the inhabitants.

Agrarian landscape structure in Lithuania is relatively stable and changes only due to intensive economic activities such as construction of buildings, land reclamation, and afforestation. The changes due to the aforementioned activities are most evident in the development areas of the major cities, which are characterized by the increasing process of chaotic urbanization. The suburban municipalities, bordering the three major cities of Lithuania (Kaunas, Vilnius, Klaipėda), were chosen for the research. To determine areas that were influenced by the urban development among the analyzed cities, the multicriteria analysis method was chosen, which helped to assess the intensity of the suburban area development. The determined areas, which were influenced by the urban development, were divided into three categories, in which the villages of 583 agrarian territories are included. The greatest influence of the urban development on the agrarian landscape is evident in the territories that are closest to the major cities (in the areas of category I) and in which the structure of the components of the agrarian landscape changes mostly by reducing the agricultural land. To ensure a balanced influence of urban development on the agrarian landscape, the average built-up area in the development area of the major cities should not be higher than 20%–30% and the agricultural land area should not be lower than 30%–45%. To preserve the fertile land, the built-up areas should be designed in the agricultural lands with lower productivity.

Currently, the agricultural sector is facing new challenges. In addition to meeting the population's food needs in sufficient quantity and quality, it must fulfill new energy and environmental functions as well as other non-food uses such as biomaterials and biomolecules. At the regional scale, there is an increase of non-food valorization projects of biomass, including the methanisation plants. In France, the methanisation sector is in full swing with a national target of 1,000 plants by 2020, as defined in the Energy Methanisation Nitrogen Energy plan (EMAA). The development of methanisation sector generates a regional dynamic involving different stakeholders and linking various business sectors. Then the regional methanisation becomes a collective process in which farmers, industrialists, waste managers and local communities are engaged. The objective of this communication consists on understanding the socio-economic conditions in which this kind of regional projects have emerged. For this purpose, the “Centrale de Biométhane du Vermandois”, a regional methanisation plant in the north of France was studied. This analysis contributes to identify the nature of the expectations of the actors engaged, to better understand the governance in place and the decision-making processes surrounding the project. The results show the success factors but also the difficulties of implementation and development of the project. The results also highlight the main motivations of farmers to join the biogas project.

Initial density to large extent determined the stand development thus is crucial to ensure efficient transfer of genetic gain in forestry. Lower density may reduce the stand establishment costs, but also impact the stem quality and standing volume. Very limited information exists about older sparse plantations, therefore aim of the study was to characterize the forest inventory parameters of low-density Norway spruce (Pice abies (L.) Karst.) stands. Data were collected in two planted, un-thinned, 47 year old, pure stands in central part of Latvia (56⁰N, 25⁰E) with initial density 600 and 1600 trees ha-1, growing on fertile mineral soil. Even the sparsest stand (600 trees ha-1) had standing volume that was not significantly different from the average in Norway spruce forests in similar conditions at the age of 80 years (294±28.8 and 318±18.7m3ha-1, respectively), based on National Forest Inventory data. Mean height (21-22 m) and length of branch-free part (<1 m) as well as diameter of the thickest branch in bottom 2m of the stem (<2 cm) and proportion of trees with stem cracks (4%) was not affected by initial stand density. Mean breast height diameter decreased and lengths of dry-branch section increased with increasing initial stand density. The proportion of browsed trees was smaller in sparser stand (23% vs. 31%). Notably lower initial density of planted stands than currently required (2000 trees ha-1) can be used while avoiding negative impact on forest inventory parameters.

The aim of the study is to identify and describe community development approaches particularly emphasizing community-led local development as it dominates in the European Union as part of the rural development policy. The research is based on the literature review on community development approaches and community involvement in rural development. The most frequently used approaches are the following: community-led local development, community-led development, community driven development, community capacity building asset-based community development, and community economic development. The author concludes that the involvement of communities in development processes is promoted through specific programs implemented by policy makers and initiatives by communities and non-governmental organizations. Community involvement in development is influenced by many factors, such as democratic traditions and societal experience, the distribution of power and the exchange of knowledge between the social agents involved in development processes, the availability of resources and the skills to use them. Community projects are another way in which local agents can participate in improving the quality of life and solving local problems.

In order to be innovative in a rural area, it is necessary to act in an extraordinarily cooperative fashion, partly because the people living there know each other well, but also because they want to remain there, share their lives with the neighbours and do not simply change homes to start fresh in another part of town, as it happens in larger cities. The appropriate support of informational management regarding cooperative behaviour is in the focus of this paper. Our selection of research methods includes the execution of study projects to the subjects of innovation, It- and Information Management for an cooperative network, the development of an app to encourage young people to stay in the pertaining village, to the publishing of four books concerning communication and cooperation on the basis of original research, surveys, discussions with residents, meetings with the management of small enterprises as well as with the administration and colleagues of universities and the evaluation of the collected data through statistical methods and processes. We have found that the introduction of regular meetings of a variety of people with the task to think about new ideas and to decide on which one will be realized first, to give support in different ways before, during and after the project conclusion in combination with suitable Information Management is able to reduce the fear of digitalization and bind the focused power of concentration to the project. In conclusion we find that it is possible to augment the communal mind set to be innovative and creative in order to make rural living more pleasant.