Granular feed supplement

1. A ruminant feed composition, comprising:

a granulated core comprising lysine sulfate; and

a coating surrounding the core, the coating comprising;

a hydrogenated vegetable oil,

stearic acid, and

palmitic acid;

wherein the total amount of stearic and palmitic acids is at least 90 wt % of the total weight of the coating, and

wherein the lysine exhibits a rumen bypass rate greater than 75%, and an intestinal digestibility rate greater than 70%.

2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, and castor oil.

3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the granulated core has a granular size of about 0.3 mm to about 3.0 mm.

4. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the weight % ratio of granulated core to coating is from 50:50 to 70:30.

5. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the coating has a melting temperature in the range of from about 50° C. to about 80° C.

6. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising one or more of oleic acid, lecithin, palm oil, and combinations thereof.

7. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of stearic acid to palmitic acid is from 20:1 to 3:1.

8. A ruminant feed composition, comprising:

a granulated core material comprising L-lysine sulfate; and

at least two layers of a coating material surrounding the core, the coating material comprising;

a hydrogenated vegetable oil,

palmitic acid, and

stearic acid;

wherein the total amount of palmitic and stearic acids is at least 90 wt % of the total weight of the coating material;

wherein the lysine exhibits a rumen bypass rate greater than 75%, and an intestinal digestibility rate greater than 70%; and

wherein the weight % ratio of core material to coating material is from 50:50 to 60:40.

9. A method of supplementing the diet of a ruminant with lysine, comprising:

providing the ruminant with a ruminant feed composition comprising:

a granulated core comprising lysine; and

at least two layers of a coating surrounding the core, the coating comprising:

a hydrogenated vegetable oil,

palmitic acid, and

stearic acid;

wherein the total amount of palmitic and stearic acids is at least 90 wt % of the total weight of the coating, and

wherein the lysine exhibits a rumen bypass rate greater than 75%, and an intestinal digestibility rate greater than 70%.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the hydrogenated vegetable oil is soybean oil.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the hydrogenated vegetable oil is rapeseed oil.

12. A method of making a ruminant feed composition, comprising:

coating a core material with a continuous layer of a liquid coating material and allowing the coating material to solidify to obtain a coated core; wherein:

the core material comprises L-lysine sulfate;

the liquid coating material comprises:

a hydrogenated vegetable oil,

palmitic acid, and

stearic acid; and

the total amount of palmitic and stearic acids is at least 90 wt % of the total weight of the coating material.

13. The method of claim 12 , comprising: surrounding the coated core with one or more additional layers of coating material, wherein each layer of coating material is allowed to solidify before adding a next layer of coating material.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the core is coated in a batch process or in a continuous process.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

the hydrogenated vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed, and castor oil.