Excerpts from the report: Rendering is the process by which tallow and other byproducts are obtained from animal raw materials. Some of these products, such as lard, are used for human food; others are inedible. The term "rendering plant" generally refers only to plants producing inedible products, the principal ones of which are inedible tallow and grease and feed and fertilizer material. The welfare of farmers and consumers is affected by the extent to which renderers are able to salvage a large part of the raw materials available for rendering and to sell their products at a profit. Full utilization of agricultural products is related to returns to farmers and prices to consumers. This study is a general economic investigation of important changes that have affected returns to renderers in recent years. The analysis includes two phases: (1) A general economic evaluation of factors affecting production and markets for products, and (2) an analysis of the relationship between changes in costs and returns in the rendering industry.