As the transportation industry ramps up the production of biodiesel fuel made from corn and soybeans, it’s creating a cheap byproduct called soymeal that can feed livestock.
That byproduct could eventually drive down meat prices.
If produced on a wide enough scale, farmers could use the cheap feed to raise more animals, and the bigger supply could mean lower costs, experts say.
“If the byproduct (soymeal) of another good (renewable jet fuel and diesel) will lower input prices for feeding animals, then that could certainly help lower future meat prices,” Jeff Jones, who heads the department of finance, economics and risk management at Missouri State University, told The Messenger in an email.
More and more trucking companies are switching to biodiesel to meet government requirements and their own sustainability goals. California, for example, mandated biodiesel in heavy machinery vehicles such as tractors beginning Jan. 1.
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