HAGERMAN - When Sophie St.-Hilaire looks at cow manure and maggots, she sees a healthy meal.

No, she's not a reality-show contestant. St.-Hilaire is an Idaho State University researcher about a year into a study that will determine if fly larvae raised on cow manure are appropriate fish food for Magic Valley's aquaculture industry.

Her initial results are promising, she said, and hint at the possibility of substantial reductions in the valley's dairy waste and a new, low-cost alternative to fish meal. The aquaculture and dairy industries are major economic players in Magic Valley, and the dairy industry is finding it increasingly difficult to dispose of waste.

"This has the potential to reduce manure volume considerably," she said, "between 30 percent and 50 percent, let's say."

Her project is a joint effort between ISU and the University of Idaho, as well as several area food producers. This summer, a Twin Falls dairy will host a field pilot project, said Ron Sheffield, waste-management engineer and assistant professor at U of I.

Sheffield declined to name the dairy, but here's how the project will work:

Manure from dairy cows will be stored in a container. Black soldier fly larvae will be added to the manure, which they use as a food source. When the maggots approach adult stage - soldier flies do not eat after adulthood - they'll crawl out of the manure and into storage containers.

Bon appetite! The insects are fish food.

A bonus: Waste from the insects, St.-Hilaire said, could be a more nutritious fertilizer than regular manure. Also, early tests show cow manure volume is greatly reduced by the insects, sometimes as much as 60 percent, Sheffield said.

As a fish food, the insects are high in protein and fat, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. This summer, St.-Hilaire and her team will try using fish guts, or a combination of fish guts and manure, to see if they can further boost the protein and fat content in the maggots.

"It doesn't sound very glamorous, does it?" said St.-Hilaire.

Maybe not to a typical city dweller, but for dairymen and fish producers, the concept is attractive. Dairymen could have a way to dispose of manure - besides hauling it to farm fields - and get paid for it. Fish farmers could have a healthy, low-cost, abundant food source.

Still, many stakeholders in the project are holding their breath until after the summer tests. Unknown is the concept's economic viability. And fish producers wonder what affect the insects might have on food quality.

"There are things that still need to be addressed," said Randy MacMillan, vice-president of research at Clear Springs Foods, a large aquaculture company in Buhl. "One is food safety," MacMillan said. Another is taste. "We don't want our fish tasting like cow manure. But it's clearly an idea worthy of pursuit."

Times-News staff writer Matt Christensen covers the environment. He welcomes comments at 735-3243 and at matt.christensen@lee.net.