The University of Idaho and the Idaho Sustainable Agriculture Initiative for Dairy (ISAID) will host a national conference April 7-11 focused on finding creative and valuable ways to make use of animal waste.

The Waste to Worth Conference will be hosted at The Grove Hotel in Boise, with early registration offered at reduced rates through Feb. 14. Organizers expect 100 to 150 participants representing cooperative extension, other research entities, producers, regulators, conservation groups and industry to attend.

The Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community (LPELC), which is a network of professionals from the U.S. and Canada involved in animal agriculture and environmental stewardship, hosts the conference every few years in a different region.

Assistant Professor Linda Schott, a UI Extension specialist of nutrient and waste management, and Professor Mario de Haro-Martí, a UI Extension educator based in Gooding County specializing in agricultural nutrient and waste management, are co-chairing the 2025 conference, along with Professor Rhonda Miller, Utah State University’s agricultural environmental quality Extension specialist.

ISAID is funded with a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and involves 78 U of I faculty, extension educators and students, with the goal of converting excess nutrients from dairy production into valuable bioproducts including commercial fertilizers and bioplastics.

The conference encompasses all aspects of animal agriculture including management of swine, poultry and cattle feedlot waste. It represents an opportunity to showcase the diversity of Idaho agriculture and the scope of the state’s dairy industry. Idaho is the nation’s third largest dairy producing state, and the dairy industry will be emphasized at the forthcoming conference.

Schott envisions attendees from other states will benefit by learning about Idaho’s unique approach to dairy production. In turn, Idaho participants will glean fresh ideas through their interactions with participants from other states facing different challenges.

“By hosting folks from elsewhere, we can hear feedback of, ‘Oh, we did this in Wisconsin, or we did this in Texas or New York,’ and get the ball rolling for collaboration,” she said.