Anna Edvardsson Rasmussen

I attended an Agricultural Upper Secondary school Jälla, where I also worked with dairy cows and pigs. Since earning my veterinary degree in 2012, I have worked as a district veterinarian, at small animal clinics, and for four years as an Official Veterinarian at the Swedish Food Agency, responsible for inspections at slaughterhouses and various food facilities.

In my PhD project, Indilact, I have been investigating the effects of extended and individually adapted lactation lengths. The studies conducted so far have shown that first-calving cows with extended calving intervals maintained their daily milk yield, exhibited improved fertility, and did not experience negative health effects. Extended calving intervals may therefore represent an alternative strategy that increases flexibility and resilience in high-producing dairy herds. Further studies are planned to examine long-term effects and to further develop predictors to identify which cows and farms this strategy is best suited for.

The project Cow and Calf Together, where cows and their calves are kept together for a longer period, has been conducted in different batches since 2019. I have been involved in a part of the project since 2024, examining how this practice affects fertility in both the cows and their heifer calves.

At the Seydlitz Laboratory, I will work in close collaboration with SLU's infrastructure initiative for large-scale data collection from dairy farms, Gigacow. This includes both using the data myself and supporting other researchers in utilizing the available data, with the aim of generating results useful for Swedish dairy producers.

• Course leader together with Sigrid Agenäs in 2023 for the course "Biology of Lactation" (HV0194); has also participated in teaching the course since 2021.
• Assistant course leader together with Torsten Eriksson in the PhD course "Advanced Use of Excel" in 2024.
• Teaching udder-related topics in the course "Veterinary Propedeutics" (VM0125) for 4th-year veterinary students since 2021.
• Teaching reproduction in years 4–5 of the veterinary program since 2024.
• I will be the examiner for the course "Introduction for Physiotherapists" (DO0144) during the autumn semester of 2025.

• van Knegsel, A.T.M., Burgers, E.E.A., Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., 2024. Extended lactations in dairy cows and the effects on fertility and production. Reproduction in Domestic Animals 59, e14690. https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.14690
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., Holtenius, K., Båge, R., Strandberg, E., Åkerlind, M., Kronqvist, C., 2023. A randomized study on the effect of extended voluntary waiting period in primiparous dairy cows on milk yield during first and second lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 106, 2510–2518. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22773
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., Båge, R., Holtenius, K., Strandberg, E., von Brömssen, C., Åkerlind, M., Kronqvist, C., 2023. A randomized study on the effect of an extended voluntary waiting period in primiparous dairy cows on fertility, health, and culling during first and second lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 106, 8897–8909. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-23470
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., Holtenius, K., Båge, R., Strandberg, E., Åkerlind, M., Kronqvist, C., 2024b. Customized voluntary waiting period before first insemination in primiparous dairy cows. Effect on milk production, fertility and health. Journal of Dairy Science. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-24593
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., 2023. Extended voluntary waiting period before first insemination in primiparous dairy cows: effects on milk production, fertility, and health. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae. https://doi.org/10.54612/a.2skeendcfv
• Churakov, M., Karlsson, J., Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., Holtenius, K., 2021. Milk fatty acids as indicators of negative energy balance of dairy cows in early lactation. Animal 15, 100253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2021.100253

• Edvardsson Rasmussen A., Båge R., Strandberg E., Åkerlind M., Holtenius K., Kronqvist C., 2022. INDILACT – Förlängd frivillig väntetid för förstakalvare. Del 1: randomiserad kontrollerad studie. Swedish National Data Service (SND). (accessed 3.10.23). https://snd.se/sv/catalogue/dataset/2022-131-3
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., Holtenius, K., Åkerlind, M., Strandberg, E., Kronqvist, C., 2024. INDILACT - Förlängd frivillig väntetid för förstakalvare. Part 2: Individanpassad FVT - Metadata och R-script med statistiska beräkningar | Svensk Nationell Datatjänst (SND). https://snd.se/sv/catalogue/dataset/2024-424

• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., 2024. "Ökad fruktsamhet med förlängt kalvningsintervall", Forskningsnytt djur mars 2024: https://www.slu.se/okad-fruktsamhet
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., 2023. "Bibehållen mjölkproduktion vid förlängt kalvningsintervall för förstakalvare", Forskningsnytt djur oktober 2023: https://www.slu.se/Forlangt-kalvningsintervall
• Karlsson, L., 2024. Så lyckas du med senarelagd inseminering [WWW Document]. Husdjur. URL https://etidning.husdjur.se/shared/spread/husdjur-2024-03-27-p24-25/aUM1aGSg (accessed 4.3.25).
• Grimstedt, L., 2024. Förlängt kalvningsintervall ger bättre fruktsamhet [WWW Document]. Tidningen Husdjur. URL https://husdjur.se/ovrigt/2024/forlangt-kalvningsintervall-ger-battre-fruktsamhet/ (accessed 3.6.24).
• Edvardsson Rasmussen, A., 2025. Förlängda kalvningsintervall. Ladugårdsförmannen 2-2025, s. 26–29.

• Principal Supervisor of Master's Thesis, 2019: "Field study of the drought’s impact on feeding strategy and biological parameters in early lactation dairy cattle."
• Writing Group Supervisor for "Independent Project in Animal Science" (G2E EX0865), Year 2022
• Assistant Supervisor, 2025: Master's Thesis: "Extended calving interval in sick first calvers – Effects on milk yield and reproduction."
• Examiner, 2025: Bachelor's Thesis: "Effects of limited milking after calving – focus on milk fever."