While there have been some in the livestock industry that have had some real heartburn with biofuels, a new report shows that biodiesel has actually made animal feed more affordable.
The National Biodiesel Board has released a new study that shows how soybean oil and meal economics favor the livestock industry, potentially saving farmers and ranchers $4.8 billion from 2005 through 2009:
The basic rule of thumb is when demand for soybean oil increases, the price of the other soybean component (soybean meal) decreases, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded study by CENTREC Consulting Group, LLC. Increasing demand for soybean oil benefits livestock feeders through lower meal prices.
Illinois farmer and former economics and statistics professor Pat Dumoulin has seen biodiesel’s benefits from every side of the equation. She and her family raise corn and soybeans as well as run a 2,100 sow operation.
“No matter whether you are feeding pigs or people, biodiesel is helping meet the world’s growing demand for protein,” Dumoulin said. “With these economics, we would all win if the trucks that brought our soybean meal ran on America’s advanced biofuel, biodiesel.”
The NBB says this new study complements a January 2010 United Soybean Board report that showed how much biodiesel supports the soybean industry.