2008 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) (1) Determine if yearling cattle can be grown quickly and possibly fattened for slaughter on the northern Great Plains while obtaining most or all of their feed via grazing, (2) determine if the cost and environmental impact of wintering cows on the northern Great Plains can be reduced by grazing perennial grasses instead of feeding hay, and (3) determine if the menace of leafy spurge can be reduced by combining livestock grazing and herbicide treatment. North Dakota State University through its Hettinger Research Extension Center (HREC) will cooperate with the USDA-ARS, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL; Mandan, ND) on research to accomplish these three objectives. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Cooperative research will be conducted at the NGPRL to evaluate the hypothesis that yearling cattle can be grown quickly and possibly fattened for slaughter while meeting all or most of their nutritional needs while grazing. Cooperative research will be conducted to evaluate the hypothesis that winter grazing of Altai and (or) Russian wildrye by cows in their second and third trimester of gestation will substantially reduce the economic and environmental costs of wintering cows on the northern Great Plains compared to wintering similar cows on hay. Cooperative research will also evaluate methodologies for controlling leafy spurge that combine herbicide application and livestock grazing. Results from research trials will be integrated with comprehensive technology transfer programs directed at producers. 3.Progress Report Results from the initial trial with yearling cattle (Objective. 1)indicate that they can be grown and fattened to USDA quality grades of select and low choice while grazing high quality perennial and annual forages with or without small amounts of supplementary grain and (or) oilseeds. These results may only apply to somewhat smaller-framed Angus cattle that weigh 1050 to 1200 lbs when slaughtered. Results were obtained from the initial year of the trials associated with Objectives 2 and 3 of this project, but results from several more years are necessary before conclusions can be made. ADODR monitoring includes phone calls, conference calls, e-mails, and meetings.