A method for the measurement of the rate of lipogenesis in ruminants using a continuous intravenous infusion of [1-(14)C]acetate and measuring the rate of [1-(14)C]acetate incorporation into adipose tissue lipid was evaluated. Subcutaneous adipose tissue samples obtained by biopsy over the course of a 6 h continuous intravenous infusion of [1-(14)C]acetate into a wether and a steer maintained in a 'metabolic steady state' demonstrated that the incorporation of [1-(14)C]acetate into subcutaneous adipose tissue lipid was linear for the duration of the infusion period. Subsequent measures of rates of [1-(14)C]acetate incorporation into adipose tissue lipid were made on adipose tissue samples taken at a single time point during the infusion period. The technique was used to measure rates of lipogenesis in the subcutaneous adipose tissue of fourteen Hereford x Friesian steers that had been fed a pelleted diet of dried grass at a range of metabolizable energy (ME) intakes from 1.1 x ME requirement for maintenance to ad libitum for 11 weeks. Rates of lipogenesis increased linearly with increasing ME intake. It was concluded that the method is an effective technique for measuring rates of lipogenesis in specific adipose tissue depots in vivo in ruminants.