Biodiesel, it’s just not for fuel. This is one of the messages that National Biodiesel Board’s (NBB) Kaleb Little shared with media during the #2016 AgMedia Summit in St. Louis this week. Jamie Johansen spoke with him about some of the benefits the biodiesel industry brings to livestock producers.

“The livestock industry has always been important to biodiesel. As the biodiesel industry grows, it’s becoming more and more important to the livestock groups,” explained Little. “About 25 percent of the animal fats produced last year actually went in to biodiesel production. So a little over 2 billion gallons of fuel was produced in the U.S. market, so 25 percent of that came from animal fats. So that has a big connection.”

Last year about half of the biodiesel gallons came from soybean oil and in terms of the co-product, soybean meal for animal feed, the industry’s number one customer is the livestock industry – a message that NBB shares with the industry.

Since Ag Media Summit is about sharing stories, Jamie asked Little how they communicate biodiesel’s message to the industry. He answered that they do a fair amount of direct communication to livestock groups. They also work through state soybean boards and the United Soybean Board (USB) to help communicate that message. NBB has put together data specific to the livestock industry and one interesting factoid is that a soybean is about 80 percent oil, 20 percent meal and with the added value of the oil component, it allows soybean meal to be even more economic for the livestock producer.

“So not only are we adding value to the animal fats, we’re making the feed cheaper too,” added Little.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Kaleb Little to learn more about the benefits the biodiesel industry is providing to the livestock industry: Interview with Kaleb Little, NBB

View and download photos from the event here: 2016 AMS Photo Album