Cow lifespan is one of most important economical traits in every dairy farm and is affected by different environmental factors. One of genetic factors that affect longevity is cow conformation traits, which varies within different breeds, farms and animals. The aim in this study was to determine how stature and linear conformation traits affect cow lifespan and lifetime milk productivity. In the study, data about 34806 crossbred Holstein Black and White and 38201 Red cow group breed cows, which ended at least one full lactation, and were culled from 2002 – 2012 year were analysed. Data about cow productivity and culling was obtained from Latvian Agricultural Data centre. In the study, data about cow stature, udder depth, central ligament, teat length, and rear and front teat placement were analysed. Conformation traits were distributed in 3 groups. The average lifespan of analysed cows was 1869.9 days in which average 18550.8 kg energy corrected milk (ECM) was obtained. Holstein Black and White cows characterize with shorter lifespan (1833.7 days) than red breed group cows, but lifetime productivity is for 2339.1 kg ECM higher than for average red breed cow. Significantly longer (p is less than 0.05) lifespan – 2031.6 days was in cow group with stature 100 – 135 cm, but in cow group with stature more than 146 cm there is significantly higher lifetime and life day productivity. There is a significant difference between lifetime milk productivity and rear and front teat placement. Significantly higher productivity was given by cows with teat placement inside of quarter (linear evaluation 6- 9 points).

The aim of this study was to investigate amino acid content, biological value and dietary fibre content of conventional and organic pea (Pisum sativum L.) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum M.) flours. Results showed that pea flours contained high amounts of aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glycine, alanine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, lysine and arginine while glutamic acid, proline, methionine and tryptophan were found in similar or smaller amounts comparing with wheat flour. The differences of various amino acids between conventional and organic pea flours were insignificant. The content of aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glycine, alanine, valine, histidine, lysine and arginine was high in buckwheat flours in comparison with wheat flour. There were significant (p is less than 0.05) differences in the individual amino acid contents across buckwheat flours. Significant (p is less than 0.05) variation existed in the content of essential amino acids among samples, whereas the results concerning the proportion of essential amino acids in total amino acids showed insignificant (p is greater than 0.05) differences between pea flours and buckwheat flours (34.80 – 35.77% and 29.96 – 33.90% respectively). The highest content of lysine was found in pea flours, and it formed about 23% of essential amino acids content. For pea flours the total dietary fibre amount varied between 15.28 g 100 gE-1 for conventional and 27.24 g 100 gE-1 for organic pea flour. Pea and buckwheat flours could be characterised as a good source of dietary fibre with significantly (p is less than 0.05) higher content of total dietary fibre comparing to wheat flour.

Kvass is an aromatic soft drink which in a form of powder could be used in dairy or bakery products, or sugar confectionary to expand the diversity of flavours. Spray drying is one of the techniques used for producing powders; however, liquids with high sugar content become sticky during drying process and need additional drying aids to increase glass transition temperature and improve powder stability. The aim of this research was to evaluate the characteristics of dry naturally fermented kvass. Maltodextrin was used in 50, 40 and 25% quantity to kvass dry matter in order to aid the spray drying of naturally fermented non-pasteurised, non-filtered bread kvass. Spray drying of 8 l naturally fermented kvass returned approximately 500 g dry naturally fermented kvass powder with a light brown colour, a pronounced aroma of rye bread and moisture content of 7 ± 0.1%. Microstructure analysis of the spray dried naturally fermented kvass showed irregularly spherical shaped particles, having many shrinkages, breakages and dents on the surface in general. Total viable microorganism count in dry naturally fermented kvass powder was within the recommended levels, traces of lactic acid bacteria were found in all samples. The presence of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was established in dry naturally fermented kvass powders, with possible contamination from spray dryer.

Iron deficiency is a common problem especially among children, women of reproductive age and sportsmen. Addition of highly bioavailable iron to foods could be one possibility to enrich daily diet and increase iron absorption. At present moment, there is a limited number of fortified products with iron in the market. Fortification of common food products is an effective strategy to prevent or overcome iron deficiency. The results show a significant increase of iron in products supplemented with bovine alimentary albumin. Comparing fortified products with non‑fortified control samples of chocolate snacks the iron content increased from (1.17 – 2.61) to (10.15 − 11.53) mg 100 gE-1 in products supplemented with bovine alimentary albumin. By developing a successful recipe of fortified food products, animal origin heme iron could be applicable component and satisfy sensory acceptability from consumers. The aim of this work was to create an alternative sweet product as healthy snack with incorporated highly bioavailable heme iron which may be an addition to daily diet with nutritional properties and accepted by consumers.

This study was designed with the aim to determine the impact of residual antibiotics on haematological and biochemical constituents of broiler chickens’ blood. For this, one-day-old chickens were randomly divided into four equal groups with 10 individuals in each group (n = 40). All groups of chickens fed with commercial basal diet; the first group considered as control, fed only with basal ration; the feed of the second, third and fourth groups of chicken were supplemented with amoxystin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol, respectively. Antibiotics were given daily, individually, in sub-therapeutic concentrations: amoxystin at the dosage 10 mg kgE-1, tetracycline and chloramphenicol – 20 mg kgE-1 of the chicken’s weight for 41 days. The blood parameters were measured at the end of experiment on the 42nd day. In comparison with the control group, decreasing of leukocytes was observed in the 2nd and 4th groups, and increasing in the 3rd group of broilers. The concentration of erythrocytes and hemoglobin was reduced in the 2nd group and hematocrit was higher in the 3rd and 4th groups (p is less than or equal 0.01). The total protein was decreased by 22% in the 2nd group, 16% – in the 3rd and 4th groups as compared to the control group (p is less than or equal 0.01) in blood serum. The concentration of glucose was decreased by 45.8, 46.5 and 51.5% in the second, third and fourth groups of treated birds, respectively, compared to those of birds in the control group (p is less than or equal 0.01). Based on the results it could be concluded that antibiotics influence the dynamics of haematopoiesis and biochemical indices of broilers.

Canine elbow dysplasia is an heritable orthopaedic disease which includes medial coronoid disease, osteochondritis dissecans and ununited anconeal process, as well as, elbow incongruity. Medial coronoid disease (MCD) is one of the most frequent parts of elbow dysplasia syndrome. The aim of the study was to describe medial coronoid process CT findings in dogs with thoracic limb lameness. In cases where there is suspicion of medial coronoid disease for dogs with lameness, an orthopaedic examination and CT were performed. CT examination was done with Philips MX-16 – slice CT scanner. The study represents data from a time frame between September 2014 and December 2015. Examinations were done at The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Latvia University of Agriculture. The study included 20 large breed dogs, 14 males and 6 females, ages ranging from 6 to 60 months, with a median age of 21.7 ± 13.7 months. Results showed that, in most cases, the dogs had subtrochlear sclerosis of the ulna and fragmentation of medial coronoid. Computed tomography revealed 12 dogs with medial coronoid disease in both elbows, whereas 8 dogs only in one of the elbow joints.

One of the cornerstones of sustainable use of land resources is the use of land resources for the identified needs. In every country it is needed to list the land according to the type of land use. Such function of land classification in Latvia is maintained by the classification of purpose of real property use. In a certain period of time needs of the specific purposes for which the land resources are used are changing, so the aim of this study is to research changes of areas of purpose of real property use in municipalities of Latvia. The analysis of purpose of use of real property in Latvia municipalities demonstrates the trend of decrease of agricultural land resource areas in proportion to the increase of forest land resource areas, excluding the region around Riga, where areas of agricultural land and forest land resources are decreasing, but residential land resource area for needs of development of capital is increasing.

Aim of the paper is to explore the possibilities of application of orthophoto maps in determination of land degradation. One of the forms of remote sensing is aerial photography. Orthophoto maps are made from aerial photography with specialized software orthophoto maps were analysed in perspective for several years – from 2005 to 2011.The results are based on the expert. With each year possibilities of application of orthophoto maps are expanding. During the research, data of survey and SWOT analysis of determination of land degradation by orthophoto maps. The study results prove that based on orthophoto maps mainly, it can be detected the following land degradation processes – agricultural land overgrowing with bushes and abandonment of built-up areas.

United States of America and European countries like Great Britain, Germany, Norway have long traditions in the development of scenic roads, special scenic routes for tourists, National Scenic Byway Programs. They have set criteria for road landscape planning and design, discussed the economic value of scenic roads. Scenic roads are also important for tourism, as well as visual and cultural countryside development in Latvia. Planning regions and regional communities in Latvia have strategic development plans and spatial plans. All of them include high value landscapes and protected, scenic territories. Some scenic roads are defined in these documents, but criteria for scenic road designation are set in every region individually. There are unlisted roads with high aesthetic value which could be protected. Common methods, criteria for the assessment of road landscapes and scenic road designation in Latvia are not developed. The aim of the research was to evaluate and understand the present situation of scenic roads in Latvia. An online questionnaire was carried out in order to find out peoples’ opinion about the road landscape quality. Spatial plans of regional communities and planning regions were examined. A field study of two sections of scenic roads was carried out. The research project was carried out from December 2014 to December 2015. Results show that current road landscape has a potential for development, and it needs improvements. The study gives a general insight into the scenic road situation in Latvia and provides basis for further research on scenic road planning and management.

From the 1920s through the 90s, most streams in Lithuania were channelized. Channelization is the deepening, clearing and straightening of meandering streambeds resulting increase of water flow velocity and the rate at which water drained away from agricultural land. Channelized and straightened streams have better hydrodynamic parameters and different morphological properties, but at the same time that caused more unfavourable conditions for natural biodiversity along stream beds and banks reducing the amount of vegetation which means less food and cover for wildlife. Most of West European countries have a good practice for restoring of channelized rivers. This experience is quite new in Lithuania and starting with pilot projects. The most important purpose of these projects is to choose the appropriate restoration measures and evaluate their effectiveness under conditions of dense channel network and tile drainage systems in Lithuania. Two channelized streams, selected for a pilot project are discussed in this paper. The main purpose is to restore stream meandering with minimal efforts allocating artificial obstructions at a right place and reach the necessary stream velocities to initiate the stream bed deformation. For this purpose detailed channel geometry data were collected and 1D hydrodynamic model applied. The results of different scenarios revealed that installed obstructions can accelerate deformations processes initiate the meandering process and at the same time it will not have any significant effect on the agricultural land along restored stream.