Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The annual meeting was held at the Northern Agricultural Research Center, Nutritional & Reproductive Physiology Laboratory in Havre, MT. There were two major points of discussion. The first area of concern revolved around transfering the project's $20,000 that was held in an account at the Univeristy of Wyoming back to the W2012. New Mexico State University was elected to serve as the host institution for the project's account. The second major topic was outlining the coordinated progress on W2012 objectives and milestones.

Annual reports listed by station are included in the attachment to the minutes, whereas the project's accomplishments for the duration of the project are entered into the SAES-422 report online.

Our project Milestones were as follows:

• (2014): Work toward standardization of n-alkane procedures across states. Collect plants from participating states. Develop plan for 5th Grazing Livestock Nutrition Conference.
• (2015): Summarize and prepare scientific publication on regional and phenological variation of n-alkane profile of common rangeland plants.
• (2016): Organize and hold the 5^th Grazing Lands Nutrition Conference along with publication of proceedings papers.
• (2017): Identify the strengths and shortcomings of the current Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle based on research results obtained from experiments conducted by this Multistate Research Project. Begin planning the 6th Grazing Livestock Nutrition Conference. Begin addressing areas of interest for project renewal.
• (2018): Prepare Project Renewal that addresses “Optimizing and Characterizing Sustainable Beef Cattle Production in Forage Based Systems on Western Rangelands.”
• (2019): Project Renewed as W3012 that addresses “Optimizing and Characterizing Sustainable Beef Cattle Production in Forage Based Systems on Western Rangelands.” Garner more interest from collaborators in states that are not represented or are under-represented in W2012 group. Coordinate efforts to increase participation in the group in states that are not currently represented (California, South Dakota, Kansas, Washington, Colorado, Oklahoma). Start planning the 6^th Grazing Conference held in conjunction with the National ASAS meeting in Sacramento, CA July 14-15, 2022.

The outcomes and impacts of the previous 5-year period of this project are summarized below:

• The work focused on standardization of n-alkane procedures across states was successful with University of Nebraska, Lincoln and New Mexico State University doing the highest degree of collaboration with n-alkane laboratory procedures.
• Most universities participated with the forage sampling protocol
• Results suggest that n-alkanes can be used as markers to determine intake and diet composition in environments that have a limited number of species (5 or less).  Likewise, environments with multiple grass species may create problems for this analysis because of less than defined difference in n-alkanes among species of plants within the same growth form.
• The new NRC 2016 Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle verified the need for research into the shortcomings for predicting intake. We did gain one concession in the new NRC, on page 2 of the summary: “Equations for beef cows remain the same, however, additional guidance has been provided for predicting intake by beef cows, particularly those grazing forages.” An example of this new guidance is presented on Page 168 of the new NRC with figures and formulas from the Coleman et al (2014) work, as well “rule of thumb guidelines” from Lalman (2004). The Coleman et al., 2014 paper resulted from the 2014 ASAS symposia organized by W-2012. We will continue to refine and update estimating forage intake on rangeland.
• Successfully organized and executed the 5^th Grazing Livestock Nutrition Conference held July 17-19, 2016 at the Canyon Resorts in Park City, Utah. There were 18 invited speakers and 21 volunteered posters for this symposium and 139 individuals from around the world attended. Sponsors of GLNC included USDA NIFA (Conference Grant; award number 2016-67016-24864), corporate sponsors including Micronutrients and Novus, and the Agriculture Experiment Stations of Montana State University and Oregon State University. In addition, the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science provided financial support and the National Office of American Society of Animal Science provided logistical support. A post conference survey was returned by a limited sample pool (n = 9). For the returned survey, 100% reported that the conference gave them a research, teaching, or outreach idea and also that they were able to initiate a conversation that may lead to a future collaboration. A dominant comment received was on the quality of the speakers from around the world and is illustrated by this comment,  “The combination of research and applied practice, worldwide knowledge and impact were refreshing and displayed the real importance of our work and continuing research.” Suggested future topics from meeting attendees of the 5^th GLNC for the 6^th Grazing Livestock Nutrition Conference have been integrated into our planning.
• The list of research achievements, publications, and student theses that are the product of the collaborative work of members of the Project is extensive. From 2013-2018, approximately 130 refereed publications, 64 proceedings, 78 technical bulletins, 8 book chapters, 60 popular press articles, and 106 abstracts have resulted.  
• Since 2015, our members have participated extensively in and gave presentations each year at extension meetings, nutrition conferences, professional society sponsored national and regional meetings, and annual W-2012 meetings to promote the exchange of ideas, information and data. Three members of W-2012 organized the first ever nationwide Grazing Behavior In-Service preceding the Society for Range Management national meeting in 2017. As a result, a national Livestock Foraging Behavior committee in SRM was established with ongoing education and technology sharing. Since 2015, the members of W-2012 have reached 11,000 stakeholders in the different states served by this Multistate Research Group. Several Extension Specialists are part of W-2012 and we will continue to lead outreach efforts in the states served by this group.
• Successfully implemented a project renewal entitled, “Optimizing and Characterizing Sustainable Beef Cattle Production in Forage Based Systems on Western Rangelands” that begins October 1, 2019.