Katarina Arvidsson Segerkvist

I am an associate professor in animal science, specialising in meat science. My research mainly focuses on beef and lamb production, but I am also involved in projects concerning pigs and poultry. I am also the director of studies for postgraduate education at the department.

Basic education

I am an assistant course leader and examiner on the two distance courses Market orientated beef production and Market orientated sheep and lamb production. In addition, I teach various courses in meat science, including how different factors during rearing and slaughter affect the eating quality of meat. 

I have been involved in two Erasmus+ projects (AGreenSmart and SmartROOT) where we developed teaching materials and courses in precision agriculture at master level.

Research training

I teach "How to write and publish scientific papers", a course in study circle format. 

Other activities

Within the project "Lammlyftet" I have been involved in developing a standard for Swedish lamb meat quality (Meat Standard Sweden lamb; MSS lamb). Linked to the standard, we have developed a web-based training material. The training material is open to everyone and can be found here (only available in Swedish). We have also developed a similar standard for beef (Meat Standard Sweden beef). Just like for MSS lamb, there is also a training material linked to MSS beef and you can find it here (only avaialble in Swedish).

I have worked on cropping systems, feed production, feed quality, ruminant nutrition, milk production and milk quality and am now mostly involved in projects related to beef and lamb production focusing on feed efficiency, growth and factors affecting meat quality, including both live animal and carcass handling, but am also involved in projects focusing on meat quality from pork and poultry meat. In addition, I have been involved in projects related to efficiency and sustainability of animal production systems.  

In my work I collaborate with other researchers, both within and outside Sweden, and most often the projects also involve the industry, i.e. different slaughter companies, LRF, Svenska Köttföretagen, Svenska fåravelsförbundet, Lammproducenterna, Länsstyrelsen Västra Götaland, Hushållningssällskapen, Gård & Djurhälsan, Sveriges nötköttsproducenter etc. 

Master of Science in Biology (Animal Science) and Agronomy at SLU (2003). Thesis: Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) foliage: a crop by-product and potential protein feed for dairy cattle in Vietnam.

PhD in Animal Science (2009) at the Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden (NJV), SLU, Umeå. Doctoral thesis: Factors Affecting Fatty Acid Composition in Forage and Milk.

Associate Professor in Animal Science, specialisation in Meat Science, SLU (2022)

I am the main supervisor of Qasim Mashood who is researching the problem of PSE-like zones in pig meat. The preliminary title of his thesis is "Deciphering PSE-like zones - genetic background and effects of the slaughter chain". Furthermore, I am co-supervisor for Louise Axelsson, PhD student at the Department of People and Society, SLU, Alnarp. Preliminary title of Louise's thesis is "Advice in large dairy herds - a joint journey to deal with needs and obstacles". Previously, I was the main supervisor for Elin Stenberg who defended her thesis "There is no easy answer - factors affecting meat quality in lambs" in 2023. I also supervise bachelor and master theses. 

Axelsson, L., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Pálsdóttir, A. M., Ljung, M. (2024) The meaning of animal well-being for farmers and dairy farm employees. Agricultural and Food Science, 33, 30-39. https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.136008 

Mashood, Q., Karlsson, A.H., Wallenbeck, A., Eriksson, S., Johansson, A.M., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2023) A review on pale, soft, and exudative (PSE)-like zones in pork: Current knowledge on underlying factors and identification of knowledge gaps for further research. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science; https://doi.org/10.1080/09064702.2023.2279079

Stenberg, E., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Karlsson, A.H., Ólafsdóttir, A., Hilmarsson, Ó.Þ., Gudjónsdóttir, M., Thorkelsson, G. (2022) A comparison of fresh and frozen lamb meat – Differences in technological meat quality and sensory attributes. Animals, 12, 2830; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202830 

Hultgren, J., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Berg, C., Karlsson, A.H., Öhgren, C., Algers, B. (2022) Preslaughter stress and beef quality in relation to slaughter transport of cattle. Livestock Science, 264, 105073; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2022.105073 

Stenberg, E., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Karlsson, A.H., Ólafsdóttir, A., Hilmarsson, Ó.Þ., Gudjónsdóttir, M., Thorkelsson, G. (2021) A Comparison of Two Different Slaughter Systems for Lambs. Effects on Carcass Characteristics, Technological Meat Quality and Sensory Attributes. Animals, 11, 2935; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102935 

Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., H. Hansson, U. Sonesson, Gunnarsson, S. (2021) A Systematic Mapping of Current Literature on Sustainability at Farm-Level in Beef and Lamb Meat Production. Sustainability 13(5):2488; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052488   

Sampels, S., Pickova, J., Gatchell, S., Karlsson, A., Yngvesson, J., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2021) Effect of genetic background, pen size and outdoor access on meat quality in two slow growing broiler hybrids. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science 70, 13-22; https://doi.org/10.1080/09064702.2020.1866061 

Stenberg, E., Karlsson, A.H., Öhgren, C., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2020) Carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes in lambs reared indoors, on cultivated pasture, or on semi-natural pasture. Agricultural and Food Science, 29, 432-441; https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.91706 

Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Höglund, J., Österlund, H., Wik, C., Högberg, N., Hessle, A. (2020) Automatic weighing as an animal health monitoring tool on pasture. Livestock Science, 240, 104157; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104157 

Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Hansson, H., Sonesson, U., Gunnarsson, S. (2020) Research on environmental, economic, and social sustainability in dairy farming: A systematic mapping of current literature. Sustainability, 12, 5502; https://doi:10.3390/su12145502 

Hultgren, J., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Berg, C., Karlsson, A.H., Algers, B. (2020) Animal handling and stress-related behaviour at mobile slaughter of cattle. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 177, 104959; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.104959 

Hessle, A., Therkildsen, M., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2019) Beef Production Systems with Steers of Dairy and Dairy × Beef Breeds Based on Forage and Semi-Natural Pastures. Animals, 9, 1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121064

The full list of publications is available at the bottom of the page.