Cattle urine is high in nitrogen, and this contributes to a range of serious environmental problems. If some of the urine cattle produce could be captured and treated, the nitrogen that it contains could be diverted to reduce the environmental impacts. Lindsay, together with colleagues from the two German research institutes (FLI and FBN) and the University of Auckland with support from the Volkswagen Foundation made a groundbreaking discovery – they developed a method for potty training cattle! The procedures are like those used with children – but, significantly, the cattle learned more quickly than most youngsters! The results are reported in the prestigious scientific journal Current Biology. More needs to be done to understand how best to use this technique with animals in both indoor and outdoor farming contexts to reduce the adverse effects of urine on the planet – this will be addressed in the next phase of their research.