30 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN August 2026 PRODUCTION New Plans, Butler’s Pantries. Because once you have one… you’ll never want to live without it. A separate space to prep, store, and hide the mess—so your kitchen always looks this good. Andover #6186 1,860 sq ft For sale, video online 1-888-927-3272 1230 E 9th Minden, NE 614 Maple Clay Center, KS Wardcraft Homes Andover Butlers Pantry Click for a Quote at wardcraft.com wardcraft.com New inventory homes. The plans are designed. The choices are made. Your home is underway. Press the Easy Button Reassessing the Value of Fat in Feedlot Diets JIM MACDONALD, PH.D., PROFESSOR; CARSTEN LOSEKE, GRADUATE STUDENT; AND GALEN ERICKSON, PH.D., PROFESSOR | DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN For decades, supplemental fat has been included in feedlot diets to increase energy density and improve feed efficiency. As fat prices have become higher and more volatile, the value of supplemental fat in feedlot diets needs to be reassessed. In 2022, soybean oil futures reached record highs as renewable diesel demand expanded, global vegetable oil supplies tightened, crude oil prices increased and the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted oilseed markets. Soybean oil futures briefly traded near $0.90 cents per pound in April 2022, well above the $0.28- to $0.38-per-pound range common from 2015 through 2019. Although prices have moderated, they have not consistently returned to pre-2020 levels, and the trading range during the past two years has been roughly $0.48 to $0.80 per pound. More recently this range was tested as the Strait of Hormuz closure saw soybean oil futures rise from $0.60 per pound in late February to nearly $0.80 per pound at the beginning of June. For feedlots, the question is no longer simply whether fat improves performance, but whether the performance response is large enough to pay for a higher priced ingredient. Another important shift is the type of supplemental fat likely to be competitive in feedlot diets. Cattle feeders have historically fed used cooking oils, including yellow grease and griddle grease, because they were often priced at a discount to choice white grease, tallow and vegetable oils. That relationship has changed as renewable diesel production has increased demand for many of the same fats and oils used in feedlot diets. Used cooking oil is attractive to renewable diesel producers because it generally has a lower carbon intensity than refined vegetable oil. Low-carbon fuel programs reward fuels with lower carbon intensity, so used cooking oil can generate additional value when converted to renewable diesel, especially in markets such as California. As a result, yellow grease may be less available to feedlots than it has been historically. Animal fats are also increasingly important renewable diesel feedstocks. Although they may not receive the same carbon-intensity advantage as used cooking oil, they are still biomass-based feedstocks and compete directly with feed use. This increased competition suggests that animal fats may have fewer opportunities to price into feedlot diets compared with historical conditions. Growth in the total supply of fats and oils is more likely to come from vegetable oils. Soybean oil demand has increased with growth in renewable diesel, and additional soybean crush capacity may increase supplies of both soybean meal and soybean oil. Distillers corn oil from ethanol production may also remain available for feeding, depending on its relative value in feed and fuel markets. Therefore, feedlots may have more opportunities to evaluate vegetable oils as supplemental fat sources, while yellow grease and animal fats may be pulled more strongly toward renewable diesel markets. This shift matters because fat source affects rumen metabolism. Vegetable oils
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