ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain.
Sec. Circular Economy
Economic and Circular Economy Analysis of Including Potato Waste in Beef Feedlot Diets: A Canadian Case Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Lacombe, Canada
- 2Swift Current Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Swift Current, Canada
- 3Canfax Research Services, Calgary, Canada
- 4Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Canada
- 5University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
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The present study investigates the combined impact of adding a common agricultural waste by-product alternative feed (cull potatoes) to the diet of feedlot cattle on both economic profitability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A standard enterprise budget model for beef feedlots was used to estimate economic impacts of replacing feed grains with cull potatoes in cattle diets in two beef feedlot regions in Canada. We compared economic outcomes with the estimated GHG emissions associated with these production systems, along with the carbon offset potential from diverting cull potatoes from landfill to feed for finishing beef cattle. Inclusion of cull potatoes in beef feedlot diets generated a 'win-win' scenario, reducing both the per head feed costs and GHG emissions associated with finishing beef cattle. Diversion of cull potatoes from landfill to feed further offset beef finishing GHG emissions by more than 65% and up to 89% for scenarios with higher inclusion rates of cull potatoes. Increasing the use of palatable waste by-products like cull potatoes in feedlot diets can potentially reduce both the cost of production and GHG emissions, thereby improving both environmental sustainability and profitability. Facilitating greater diversion of agricultural by-products to livestock can enable the ruminant sector to realize its full potential to upcycle waste by-products in a circular bioeconomy.
Keywords: beef cattle, Potato waste, Feedlot cost of production, Greenhouse gas emissions, Circular Bioeconomy
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Stephens, Aboagye, Mengistu, McAllister and Ominski. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Emma Stephens, emma.stephens@agr.gc.ca
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