Technical Abstract: Two complementary experiments were completed to assess short-term foraging dynamics, diet quality, and ruminal degradation kinetics of herbage consumed by steers with 3 level of herbage depletion. Experiment (Exp.) 1 was a behavioral study in which 3 ruminally cannulated steers were allocated to grazing scenarios simulating 3 levels of herbage depletion. These treatments included an ungrazed sward (control), as well as, medium and high levels of herbage depletion. Grazing scenarios were sampled for sward surface height and amount of green leaf and stem. Foraging dynamics were determined through measurements of bite rate, bite depth, eating step rate, eating distance, potential area consumed while grazing, and bites and intake per eating step. Also, quality of potential herbage consumed was estimated from hand-plucked herbage. In Exp. 2, ruminal degradation kinetics of DM for samples of herbage consumed (masticate) by steers during Exp. 1 were assessed in situ within 5 rumen cannulated steers. The immediately soluble, degraded, and undegraded DM fractions were measured. The DM disappearance rate and lag times were determined from a nonlinear regression model, and the effective degradability of DM was calculated. Herbage depletion resulted in increased eating steps/min, as well as the potential area harvested while grazing (P < 0.05) and reduced herbage intake/eating step (P < 0.05). Neither the herbage potentially consumed, nor the ruminal degradation kinetics, were affected by extent of depletion (P > 0.05). Under these experimental conditions, steers adapted their foraging dynamic and were able to sustain diet quality in the short-term. These results imply that behavioral adaptations would make diet quality less sensitive to certain levels of herbage depletion.