# The Ration > The feedstuffs board. The nutrient-cost screening board: every feedstuff ranked by what it actually costs to buy a pound of protein or energy from it, against corn and soybean meal, plus prices by ingredient and region. One brief a week, from the public USDA record. No forecasts, no formulation advice. _Data through Aug 24, 2026._ ## Latest issue: No New Readings, Protein Tie at 71% of Soybean Meal Holds (Sep 3, 2026) No new USDA AMS feedstuffs data has been published since the last issue. Sunflower meal and feather meal are tied for cheapest protein at 71% of soybean meal. Hominy feed leads energy at 67% of corn. Read: https://the-ration.com/issues/2026-09-03 · Markdown: https://the-ration.com/issues/2026-09-03.md ## The data ### Leaderboard The flagship: every feedstuff ranked by its cost per pound of protein and per pound of energy on a dry-matter basis, against the corn and soybean-meal benchmark. The cheapest protein and cheapest energy this week. - [Lowest cost per pound of crude protein](https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-protein.md) — $155 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Lowest cost per pound of TDN (energy)](https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-energy.md) — $123 (as of Aug 24, 2026) ### Ingredients Each feedstuff's board price over time, its week-over-week and year-over-year moves, and its cost per unit of protein and energy against the benchmark. DDGS, corn gluten feed and meal, the cottonseed and oilseed meals, hulls and mill feeds. - [Alfalfa meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/alfalfa-meal.md) — $410/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Alfalfa pellets price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/alfalfa-pellets.md) — $350/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Almond hulls price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/almond-hulls.md) — $121/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Blood meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/blood-meal.md) — $1,300/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Canola meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/canola-meal.md) — $345/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Corn (US #2 yellow) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn.md) — $174/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Corn gluten feed price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn-gluten-feed.md) — $203/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Corn gluten meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn-gluten-meal.md) — $491/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Cottonseed hulls price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/cottonseed-hulls.md) — $475/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Cottonseed meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/cottonseed-meal.md) — $300/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Distillers dried grains (DDGS) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/ddgs.md) — $175/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Feather meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/feather-meal.md) — $435/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Hominy feed price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/hominy.md) — $123/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Linseed meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/linseed-meal.md) — $242/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Meat and bone meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/meat-bone-meal.md) — $498/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Rice bran price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/rice-bran.md) — $138/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Safflower meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/safflower-meal.md) — $165/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Soybean hulls price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/soybean-hulls.md) — $140/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Soybean meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/soybean-meal.md) — $358/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Soybeans (US #1) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/soybeans.md) — $431/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Sunflower meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/sunflower-meal.md) — $155/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Wet distillers grains (WDGS) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wdgs.md) — $50/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Wheat middlings (wheat midds) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-middlings.md) — $157/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Wheat millrun price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-millrun.md) — $153/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Whole cottonseed price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/whole-cottonseed.md) — $375/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) ### Regions Every feedstuff priced in a given US trade region, cheapest first, with each price's FOB-plant or delivered basis. Feed is a freight business, so the cheapest board price is not the cheapest fed price. - [Alabama feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/alabama.md) — $184/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Arkansas feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/arkansas.md) — $5/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Buffalo, NY feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/buffalo.md) — $135/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [California (Central Coast) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-central-coast.md) — 63.0¢/lb (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [California (Sacramento Valley) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-sacramento.md) — $70/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [California (San Joaquin Valley) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-san-joaquin.md) — 64.7¢/lb (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [California (South) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-south.md) — 63.0¢/lb (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [California feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/california.md) — $225/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Central US feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/central-us.md) — $28/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Chicago, IL feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/chicago.md) — 72.0¢/lb (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Eastern Corn Belt feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/eastern-cornbelt.md) — Awaiting quote; last quoted Nov 10, 2025 - [Illinois feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/illinois.md) — $60/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Indiana-Ohio feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/indiana-ohio.md) — $138/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Iowa feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/iowa.md) — $46/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Kansas City region feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/kc-region.md) — $157/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Kansas feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/kansas.md) — $54/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Memphis, TN feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/memphis.md) — $130/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Michigan feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/michigan.md) — $110/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Minnesota feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/minnesota.md) — $50/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Minnesota-Dakotas (Min-Dak) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/min-dak.md) — $155/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Mississippi feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/mississippi.md) — $435/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Missouri feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/missouri.md) — $52/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Nebraska feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/nebraska.md) — $50/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Pacific Northwest feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/pacific-northwest.md) — $215/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Portland, OR feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/portland.md) — $160/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [South Dakota feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/south-dakota.md) — $49/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Southern Plains feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/southern-plains.md) — $460/ton (as of Aug 17, 2026) - [St. Louis, MO feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/st-louis.md) — $145/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Wisconsin feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/wisconsin.md) — $54/ton (as of Aug 24, 2026) ### Spreads The substitution-watch charts: two feeds against each other over time, DDGS versus corn and the like, in dollars per ton. Watch the trend here; make the comparison on the leaderboard. - [Canola meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/canola-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $345 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Corn gluten feed vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/corn-gluten-feed-vs-corn.md) — $203 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Corn gluten meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/corn-gluten-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $491 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Cottonseed hulls vs soybean hulls spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/cottonseed-hulls-vs-soybean-hulls.md) — $475 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Cottonseed meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/cottonseed-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $300 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [DDGS vs canola meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/ddgs-vs-canola-meal.md) — $175 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [DDGS vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/ddgs-vs-corn.md) — $175 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [DDGS vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/ddgs-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $175 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Hominy feed vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/hominy-vs-corn.md) — $123 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Rice bran vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/rice-bran-vs-corn.md) — $138 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Soybean hulls vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/soybean-hulls-vs-corn.md) — $140 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Sunflower meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/sunflower-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $155 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Wheat middlings vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/wheat-middlings-vs-corn.md) — $157 (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Whole cottonseed vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/whole-cottonseed-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $375 (as of Aug 24, 2026) ### Why prices are moving Why DDGS prices are rising or falling right now, updated every week the data moves. - [Why are DDGS prices falling right now?](https://the-ration.com/why/ddgs-prices-falling.md) — Not the current direction (as of Aug 24, 2026) - [Why are DDGS prices rising right now?](https://the-ration.com/why/ddgs-prices-rising.md) — $175/ton, the current story (as of Aug 24, 2026) ## More - [Key statistics](https://the-ration.com/stats.md) - [Guides](https://the-ration.com/guides.md) - [Issue archive](https://the-ration.com/issues) - [Agent index (llms.txt)](https://the-ration.com/llms.txt) - [RSS feed](https://the-ration.com/rss.xml)