In this study the development of meat sector in terms of livestock population, production, farm size and reproductive material, which forms economic basis for effective meat production was analysed. The aim of the study was to investigate main tendencies of meat production sector and development of economic basis in Latvian agriculture. To achieve the set aim following objectives were defined: 1) to analyse concentration and specialization processes of pig breeding farms; 2) to describe restructuring processes of reproductive pig breeding; 3) to investigate restructuring processes of farms producing beef; 4) to characterize concentration and integration processes in poultry production. The study was based on annual statistical data and statistical bulletins covering results of the Farm Structure Survey from 2001 to 2006, scientific publications, special literature and reports of international organizations. To carry out the research adequate research methods were used. The results of this study showed that meat industry has structurally changed in recent years, where the structural change can be defined as the change in the number and size of farms in pig, cattle and poultry sectors. The results also suggested that meat production sector in Latvia has become more intensive, concentrating meat production in large and specialized farms, where this tendency can stimulate the increase of meat production. Therefore, knowledge of the current tendencies and strategies of pig, cattle and poultry sectors is a necessary precondition for the development of the meat sector.

It has been shown in previous studies that transaction costs (TC) of agri-environmental policy measures often are very large both in absolute terms and as a share of payments. As agri-environmental policy measures make up an increasingly large share of agricultural policies, not least within the European Union, it is becoming ever more important to improve the knowledge about the factors determining the level of transaction costs. This paper investigates the TC determinants of one Swedish agri-environmental policy measure. More specifically, it aims to investigate if the level of TC is attributable to economic factors, such as pasture density and distances, or if political factors, such as lobby groups and political majorities at the county level, influence the costs. To evaluate if the results are robust with respect to alterations in model specifications, a version of the extreme bounds analysis is applied. Although initial results indicate that political parties influence the level of transaction costs, the extreme bounds analysis reveals that those results are fragile. It shows that five of the economic variables are robust with respect to model specifications, but none of the political variables is.

The concept of the state fiscal policy is developed by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economics. The State Revenue Service (hereinafter - SRS) is the administrative body carrying out the fiscal policy in Latvia. Ensuring of tax revenue is the main operational task of the SRS. Based on the consideration that the tax revenue plan for the regions is drafted correctly, i.e. by taking into account the macroeconomic situation in the country and the research contains calculations of the regional budget revenue plan performance indicators which prove that the regional tax revenue planning method is efficient thus efficient tax administration is one of the main factors influencing tax revenue. Considerable part of the research is devoted to the role of the SRS and its operation in order to improve the tax administration efficiency. Polls concerning satisfaction of the SRS clients are carried out for this purpose. By evaluating the poll results it has been stated that by organising seminars for taxpayers the specific character of business in any particular region should be taken into account. It would be useful to organise thematic seminars about applying taxes in specific business areas. In Kurzeme region and Riga it would be efficient to organise seminars on applying of taxes for businesses dealing with international transportation by sea and businesses supplying goods and rendering services for ships which are used for navigation in international waters.

The paper includes economic research results on the second stage of land reform over the 10-year period (1996–2006) in the districts of Latgale region. The results explicitly stress the region's variability, therefore, the results are different, but common trends can be also observed. The number of land users has decreased, whereas that of land owners and the area of privatised land have increased. The total area of used and owned land has increased by 33.4% and exceeded a million hectares.

Progeny testing of Scots pine in Latvia is carried out in only few locations, however, material from selections via seed orchards is deployed in various climatic and soil conditions, therefore concerns arise for influence of genotype environment interaction on levels of genetic gain. Problem is addressed based on 3 open pollinated progeny tests, consisting of 80 open pollinated families, located in 3 distant climatic regions in Latvia. Test age is 27 years, therefore not only growth, but also branch quality traits can be reliably analyzed. Strong genetic correlation (rb=0.80-0.94) among sites for tree height and diameter was found, but considerably weaker for branch traits like diameter of thickest branch (rb=0.52-0.67), average branch diameter, and sum of branch diameters (rb=0.41-0.49). Coefficients of additive genetic variation and coefficients of phenotypic variation among family means, determining potential of improvement via breeding, can be inflated by up to half, based on single site estimates for growth traits and double for quality traits. Backward selection based on results of several trials, in contrast to forward selection or utilization of single experiment results, could lead to improvement of branch traits close to the same as for growth traits (height and diameter). Single site narrow-sense heritability estimates for analyzed growth and quality traits are up to twice as large as across site estimates, indicating possibilities of serious bias in genetic gain estimates based on results from one test site. Testing at 4-5 sites for further breeding work is recommended.

In Latvia, birch is the second most widespread tree species; the share of birch is higher in private forests. The Forest Research Inventory that was launched in 2004 provides credible and up-to-date information about all forests of Latvia irrespective of the ownership. The data from first three years’ data base of this Project has been used in the present study. The aim of this study was to analyse birch stands in state and private forests concentrating on different aspects: mixture degree, origin of the stand, productivity and quality of the stand. 735 sample plots were selected from the database for the analysis. The proportion of the birch stands in the private forests was slightly higher than in the state forests. There were more mixed stands in the state forests than in the private ones. The standing volume was higher in the mixed stands while the opposite was true for the current annual volume increment of birch. The main regeneration method in both the state and private birch stands was natural regeneration from seed. Artificial regeneration was used only rarely in the private birch stands. The productivity did not differ significantly between the state and private forests; the same was true for the quality, expressed by the outcome of veneer logs. The stand quality differed significantly among site types, being the highest in the forests on dry mineral soils and the lowest in the forests on drained peat soils.

In Latvia, almost 50% of all forests are privately owned. Due to hard economic situation in the 1990ies, many private forests have suffered from illegal forestry operations and overexploitation. One of economically most important tree species for private forest owners is Norway spruce. In this study the productivity of state-owned and private spruce forests was compared, assuming that the stand productivity of private forests should be lower compared to those owned by the state. Data gathered in the Forest Resource Inventory in 2004, 2005 and 2006 was used for the analysis. Total standing volume of the dominant stand and the current mean annual volume increment (CMAI) of spruce were used as main productivity indicators. The mean values of the main stand characteristics were found to be rather similar in state and private forests. The only significant differences were discovered in the mean diameter and CMAI of spruce in 60-90 years old stands; in both cases the values were higher in private forests. Site type and mixture degree were tested as the possible influencing factors. Although there were differences in the site type distribution between state and private forests, the influence of this factor on the CMAI of spruce proved to be insignificant. It was found out that the CMAI of spruce depended significantly on the mixture degree. The proportion of mixed stands in the state forests was considerably higher than in the private forests; presumably therefore the value of the CMAI in the state forests was significantly lower.

Willows (Salix sp.) and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinecea L.) (RCG) are fast growing perennial energy crop and potential cultures for recovering of cutaway peat lands. Cut away peat land soils are characterized by high acidity (pHKCl 2-3), high NH4**+1, and lack of P and K. Wood ash could be good liming agent and resource of potassium. Waste water sewage sludge (WWSS) compost is effective fertilizer and source of phosphorus. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of application of WWSS compost and wood ash fertilizers of different doses on ingrown of willow cuttings and RCG in potted cultures. The wood ash addition of 10 g lE-1 and 20 g lE-1 to WWSS compost mix with peat from used query in proportions 1:1 and 4:1 were tested. The length of shoots and dry mass of shoots and roots were assessed to determine the effect of fertilization on growth of crops. Chemical analyses of growing media were performed to determine the content of main nutrient elements and pHKCl changes during season. The positive effect of fertilization on growth of crops was observed - an optimum dose for willows is (10 g lE-1) equivalent to 10 tDM haE-1 wood ash with mix of WWSS compost with peat. RCG produces more biomass in growing media containing largest doses of wood ash and WWSS compost premix. The willows produced bigger amount of biomass and accumulated more nutrients from growing media than RCG.

The data on chemical composition of groundwater in the boreholes installed in the fields of a swine-breeding complex JSC Kontvainiai irrigated by liquid manure and in the production territory are presented in the article. This complex is situated on the Lithuanian coast, southeast of Klaipeda district. The data covers the period 2001-2005. It was established that the chemical composition of groundwater depends mainly on the soil. Ion sum was 2 times higher in the water of the well which was installed in the soil having a peat layer. The chemical composition of groundwater depended as well on its movement direction. As groundwater moves to the southeast, south and southwest from the fertilized area, the mineralization of water in wells 1 and 4 was the highest – 699 and 728 mg lE-1, respectively.

Rising oil prices, national security concerns, the desire to increase farm incomes, and a host of new and improved technologies are propelling the European Union to set the directive for the year 2010 – each member state should achieve at least 5.75% biofuel usage of all used transport fuel. The report on the progress made in the use of renewable fuels shows that the average Member State of the EU has achieved only 52% of its target, and biofuels’ share in 2010 will not raise much above 4%. The prices of different biofuels are still not able to compete with oil based fuel prices. One of the possible ways how to solve this problem is to optimize biofuel supply chains using different methods of systems engineering. The aims of this investigation were finding out appropriate simulation tools for biofuel supply chain modelling, development of rapeseed oil supply chains for different production types, and modelling the developed supply chains. As the result of software survey, two packages were chosen – AnyLogic and ExtendSim Suite. Modelling studies showed that rapeseed oil supply chain is very sensitive, because changing just single parameters in a short scale, the actual cost price of 1 litre of oil changes considerably. Comparing the fossil diesel fuel prices with rape oil actual cost from modelling studies, the use of oil as a fuel for farm machinery seems to be profitable. Analysis of costs distribution shows that the greatest part is composed by rapeseed growing expenses.