**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** 1) RESPONSIBLE LIVESTOCK MANURE MANAGEMENT IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF LIVESTOCK OWNERS WORLDWIDE. WHEN PROPERLY MANAGED, LIVESTOCK MANURE CAN BE LEVERAGED AS A HIGH-QUALITY FERTILIZER IN CROPPING OR PASTURE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS BUT FAILURES IN APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES ON WATER QUALITY THROUGH RUNOFF INTO SURFACE WATERS. CURRENTLY, MANURE MANAGEMENT AND RUNOFF MITIGATION ARE LABORIOUS AND TIME INTENSIVE MANUAL TASKS THAT CAUSE SIGNIFICANT BURDEN TO LIVESTOCK OWNERS.2) CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY (CWRU) INVESTIGATORS WILL COLLABORATE WITH VIRGINIA TECH (VT) INVESTIGATORS TO LEVERAGE AN EXISTING CYBER PHYSICAL SYSTEM (CPS) FRAMEWORK THAT CAPTURES AND REPORTS LIVESTOCK POSITION AND BEHAVIOR DATA IN REAL TIME. THE EXISTING CPS PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT THE LOCATION OF MANURE AND LIVESTOCK STRESS LEVELS WITHIN A PASTURE NECESSARY TO PRODUCE AN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM FOR MANURE MITIGATION CAPABLE OF OPERATING EFFECTIVELY WITHIN POPULATED PASTURES. AN EXISTING GENERAL PURPOSE ROBOT PLATFORM WILL BE CUSTOMIZED FOR THE VT COLLABORATORS TO STUDY ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND PASTURE PROPERTIES. ROBOT CONTROL ALGORITHMS AND INTELLIGENCE WILL BE DEVELOPED BY THE CWRU INVESTIGATORS TO ALLOW FOR AUTONOMOUS OPERATION WITHIN THE PASTURE THAT WILL INTEGRATE THE FINDINGS OF THE VT INVESTIGATORS TO MINIMIZE STRESS INDUCED ON LIVESTOCK BY THE PRESENCE OF THE ROBOT IN THE PASTURE. A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SUBCOMPACT TRACTOR WILL BE CONVERTED TO BE CAPABLE OF COMPUTER-CONTROLLED, ROBOTIC OPERATION USING THIS SOFTWARE. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NEW CPS WILL BE TESTED IN ITS ABILITY TO AUTONOMOUSLY MITIGATE MANURE IN A PASTURE WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE NORMAL BEHAVIOR OF THE PASTURE LIVESTOCK.3) THE GOALS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO COLLABORATE WITH VIRGINIA TECH TO AUTOMATE A SMALL TRACTOR TO LOCATE, COLLECT AND TRANSPORT LIVESTOCK MANURE AWAY FROM STREAMS, RIVERS AND LAKES. THUS, LIVESTOCK OWNERS WILL MORE EASILY BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THE FULL VALUE OF THE HIGH-QUALITY FERTILIZER PRODUCED BY THEIR LIVESTOCK AND PROTECT SURFACE WATERS FROM CONTAMINATION FROM MANURE RUNOFF.