NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD NEWS) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annual Fats and Oils Report for 2025 shows large volumes of vegetable oils and animal fats moving through U.S. processors, a key signal for food costs, crush demand, and biofuel feedstock availability.
In the vegetable oil categories shown, NASS totals indicate palm oil use in processing reached about 2.08 billion pounds in 2025, while palm kernel oil use totaled about 519 million pounds. Sunflower refining activity also remained meaningful, with about 405 million pounds of crude sunflower oil processed and roughly 396 million pounds of once-refined sunflower oil produced.
For farmers, these flows matter because strong oil flows support crusher and refiner margins, which influence oilseed bids. When refiners pull more product through the system, it can help steady demand for oil-bearing crops and competing feedstocks.
On the animal fats side, the report highlights scale in inedible channels. Choice white grease production totaled about 1.23 billion pounds, while poultry fat production reached about 2.21 billion pounds, and yellow grease production totaled about 1.37 billion pounds, underscoring the ample supply available for industrial and fuel uses.
Looking ahead, the mix of edible oil processing and large volumes of inedible fat keeps both grocery pricing and renewable fuels margins sensitive to shifts in demand, policy, and export flows.
Corey Rosenbusch with The Fertilizer Institute joined us to discuss supply chain disruptions and what farmers should watch as global tensions impact fertilizer markets.
