ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS OF CATTLE FEEDING ENTERPRISES DEPENDS PRIMARILY ON LOCAL AVAILABILITY OF FEED RESOURCES, FEEDER CATTLE, AND FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF POTABLE WATER AND WEATHER CONDITIONS AMENABLE FOR PRODUCING BOTH CROPS AND LIVESTOCK). LOCAL SUPPLIES OF FEEDSTUFFS AND FEEDER CATTLE GENERALLY ARE AVAILABLE IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF THE U.S. THANKS TO HIGH QUALITY SOILS AND ADEQUATE AND TIMELY RAINFALL.IN THESE REGIONS, CROP FARMERS DEVELOPED A DUAL-PRODUCTION SYSTEM WHERE THEY OPTIMIZE CROP AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION BY MANAGING NUTRIENT FLOW FROM SOIL TO CROPS TO LIVESTOCK AND BACK TO SOIL (THROUGH MANURE APPLICATION). THESE DUAL-PURPOSE PRODUCERS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY OPERATING SMALLER FEEDYARDS (UNDER 10,000 HEAD), AND REGULARLY MATCH THEIR LAND RESOURCES TO LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION. WHEN REFERRING TO THESE INDIVIDUALS AS GRAIN AND BEEF PRODUCERS, THE SECULAR TERM OFTEN USED TO REFER TO DESCRIBE THIS DIVERSE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS IS: FARMER-FEEDER.IN 2019, APPROXIMATELY 35% OF THE CATTLE-FEEDING CAPACITY OF THE UNITED STATES IS CONTAINED IN THE STATES OF IOWA, MINNESOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, AND SOUTH DAKOTA.ALTHOUGH THE NORTHERN STATES HAVE ABUNDANT SUPPLIES OF GRAIN AND GRAIN CO-PRODUCTS, ALONG WITH ACCESS TO CATTLE OF EXCELLENT GENETIC QUALITY, CLIMATIC CONDITIONS FOR CATTLE PRODUCTION ARE NOT ALWAYS IDEAL. FOR EXAMPLE, FROST LATE IN THE SPRING OR EARLY IN THE FALL CAN REDUCE GROWING DEGREE-DAYS NEEDED FOR LONG-SEASON CROPS LIKE CORN GRAIN. ONE SOLUTION TO THIS DILEMMA IS TO HARVEST EAR CORN OR CORN GRAIN AFTER PHYSIOLOGICAL MATURITY, BUT BEFORE THE GRAIN HAS FULLY DRIED IN THE FIELD. HIGH-MOISTURE (HM) GRAIN OR EAR HARVEST SHORTENS THE LENGTH OF THE GROWING SEASON NEEDED TO PRODUCE THIS HIGHLY ENERGY-EFFICIENT CROP. UNFORTUNATELY, THE BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR HARVEST, PROCESSING, ENSILING, AND RETAINING NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF HIGH-MOISTURE FEEDSTUFFS WERE DEVELOPED IN THE 1970'S AND 1980'S, AND MAY NOT BE OPTIMAL TODAY. CATTLE AND CORN GENETICS, AND HARVESTING EQUIPMENT HAVE CHANGED OVER THE PAST 40-50 YEARS, AND THUS THERE IS A NEED TO UPDATE THE APPROACHES USED TO HANDLE HM GRAIN. FURTHERMORE, THE AUTHORS OF THIS PROJECT RECOGNIZE THAT RECENT INVESTMENTS IN BEEF CATTLE PRODUCER EDUCATION ON CROP HARVEST AND MANAGEMENT LAG DUE TO REDUCED STATE RESOURCE ALLOCATION TO EXTENSION EDUCATION PROGRAMS. THIS SITUATION WAS FURTHER AGGRAVATED DUE TO REFOCUSING OF REMAINING RESOURCES TO EDUCATE BEEF CATTLE PRODUCERS ON THE USE OF CO-PRODUCTS RESULTING FROM THE PRODUCTION OF BIOFUELS FROM CORN AND OTHER GRAINS.THERE ARE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CATTLE FEEDING INDUSTRY IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF THE U.S. THAT JUSTIFY RESEARCH AND EDUCATION EFFORTS FOCUSED ON CONDITIONS PECULIAR TO THIS REGION. COMPARED TO FEEDLOTS IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS, CATTLE FEEDING OPERATIONS IN THE STATES REPRESENTED IN THIS PROPOSAL ARE SMALLER IN SCALE AND LESS RELIANT ON IRRIGATION TO PRODUCE FEED GRAINS: TWO FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS. IN ADDITION, THERE HAS ALSO BEEN AN UPTICK IN THE PROPORTION OF CATTLE FED IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF THE U.S. SINCE 2000.COMPARED WITH STABLE, DRY COMMODITIES (COMMONLY TRADED GRAINS AND CO-PRODUCTS), VARIABILITY IN COMPOSITION OF HMC/HMEC GROWN, STORED, AND FED LOCALLY IS CONSIDERED TO BE LARGE. VARIABILITY IN PLANT GROWTH AND HARVEST CONDITIONS AS WELL AS PROCESSING AND FERMENTATION ALTER THE YIELD OF DIGESTIBLE ENERGY PER UNIT OF LAND HARVESTED. VARIABILITY IN MOISTURE CONTENT ALONE FOR HMC AND HMEC IS NEARLY DOUBLE AND TRIPLE THAT FOR DRY SHELLED CORN (SD = 6.13 AND 9.36% VERSUS 3.9%). UNDERSTANDING HOW HARVEST, PROCESSING, AND STORAGE FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO NUTRIENT VARIABILITY SHOULD RESULT IN THIS VARIABILITY BEING CONTROLLED. IN TURN, CONSISTENCY OF ENERGY CONTENT AND AVAILABILITY SHOULD RESULT ALLOWING FOR GREATER PRECISION IN DIET FORMULATION. CONCURRENTLY, UNDERSTANDING CATTLE MANAGEMENT FACTORS THAT AFFECT HMC AND HMEC UTILIZATION SHOULD, IN TURN, IMPROVE EFFICIENCY OF BEEF PRODUCTION BY CATTLE FEEDERS IN THE UPPER MIDWEST.