Choice white and yellow grease prices were higher again today. Buyers are piling into the market due to the favorable spreads to tallow and distiller’s corn oil.

Sellers have been reluctant to sell heavy volume out ahead due to uncertainty over supply. COVID related absences have contributed to lower slaughter numbers to start the year. Cattle slaughter is 8 percent behind year-to-date levels for 2021 and hog slaughter is just under 14 percent behind last year’s pace. The slower production comes despite near-even levels of cattle on feed compared to 2021, simply put – the number of cattle available for slaughter hasn’t changed much, the ability to slaughter has. The story is the same in the pork industry and while livestock await their trip to the packing plant, weights are likely to…