Katarina 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 deputy head of department at the Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare. 

Background

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 have worked with cropping systems, feed production, feed quality, ruminant nutrition, milk production, and milk quality. Currently, my research focuses primarily on beef and lamb production, with particular emphasis on feed efficiency, growth, and factors affecting meat quality. This work encompasses both the handling of live animals and carcasses. I am also involved in projects focusing on pork and poultry meat quality, as well as projects addressing efficiency and sustainability in 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. 

Selected publications

Ringmark, S., Connysson, M., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Müller, C. (2026) Harvested forages for horses from a feeding perspective – a systematic literature review. Grass and Forage Science, https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.70068  

Blomberg, S., Carlsson, A., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Stenberg, E. (2026) Meat quality in cull ewes – The influence of feed during finishing and ageing on carcass characteristics and technological meat quality. Animal, 101876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2026.101876 

Stenberg, E., Olsson, V., Karlsson, A.H., Wendin, K., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2025) Influence of different production systems on the sensory attributes, fatty acid composition and vitamin E content in meat from intact male lambs. Agricultural and Food Science. 34, 104-112. https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.154949 

Axelsson, L., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Pálsdóttir, A. M., Ljung, M. (2025) The learning process among employees in Swedish milk production: potentials to implement reflective learning. Journal of Workplace Learning, 37, 75-89. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JWL-11-2024-0257 

Mashood, Q., Hessle, A., Olsson, V., Therkildsen, M., Krogh Jensen, S., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2025) Meat quality of dairy and dairy × beef steers reared in two production systems based on forages and semi-natural pastures. Animals, 15, 1081. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15081081 

Mashood, Q., Wallenbeck, A., Eriksson, S., Johansson, A.M., Karlsson, A.H., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2025) Prevalence and severity of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE)-like zones in crossbred pigs (Yorkshire x Hampshire): Insights into season, gender, slaughter weight and technological meat traits. Livestock Science, 295, 105690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2025.105690 

Von Greyerz, K., Ericsson, N., Jardstedt, M., Hessle, A., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K., Röös, E. (2024) Feeding straw to suckler cows spared land but did not decrease the climate impact. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 39, e36. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170524000255 

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

Sampels, S., Jonsson, M., Sandgren, M., Karlsson, A., Arvidsson Segerkvist, K. (2023) Sustainable Delicacy: Variation in Quality and Sensory Aspects in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Meat and Comparison to Pork Meat—A Case Study. Foods, 12, 1644; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12081644    

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. I am also responsible for the course "Sustainable meat production in the Nordic region".

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 (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 (only avaialble in Swedish).

Supervision

I am currently the main supervisor of three PhD students:

• Qasim Mashood, the title of his thesis work is "Deciphering PSE-like zones - genetic background and effects of the slaughter chain".
• Kajsa Lätt, the title of her thesis work is "Forage in a chaning climate".
• Maria Gustavsson, the title of her thesis work is "Feed efficiency and gas exchange in diary cows and their offspring".

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.