Crop-livestock integration holds much promise in the dryland production regions around the world; however, much previous research has focused on individual components of crop and livestock systems. During the past 15 years, several Northern Great Plain research institutions have established integrated studies to: 1) investigate synergies of integrated crop-livestock production systems and 2) refine management for integrated systems. Integration is being investigated at both local (on-farm) and regional (area-wide integration) levels. We will highlight results from these US and Canadian studies. Two clear benefits of integration over specialization (crops and livestock production in isolation of each other) are improved fossil fuel energy use efficiency and improved environmental quality. In one 12 year study, energy efficiency was up to 50% greater in integrated vs grain-based systems. Higher energy efficiency was attributed to lower energy input in the integrated system with no change in energy output. We will present highlights of research designs and approaches used for conducting integrated crop-livestock studies, and will address unique challenges of these experiments.