Leaderboard
Lowest cost per pound of crude protein
A nutrient-cost screening board: every feedstuff ranked by cost per pound of crude protein on a dry-matter basis, against the soybean-meal benchmark. A price screen, not a feeding recommendation.
Data through Oct 26, 2026 · source last checked Nov 5, 2026 · page revised Nov 3, 2026
Cite
- Corn (energy anchor)
- Soybean meal (protein anchor)
- DDGS
About this data
- Source
- USDA AMS feedstuffs board; corn and soybean meal benchmarks
- Series
- Feedstuffs ranked by cost per pound of crude protein
- Basis
- Dry-matter basis
- Geography
- National
- Unit
- $/ton
- Calculation
- Weekly board
- Last observation
- Oct 26, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly
Lowest cost per pound of crude protein in the Oct 26, 2026 USDA report week is Sunflower meal at $0.275 per lb of crude protein, 74% of soybean meal's cost. This is a price screen on a single nutrient, not a feeding recommendation. Data week of Oct 26, 2026, USDA feedstuffs board.
Sunflower meal prices the lowest crude protein on the board at $0.275 per pound, 74 percent of soybean meal's cost.
| Ingredient | $/ton | $/lb protein | vs soybean meal | $/lb TDN | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunflower meal | $160 | $0.275 | 74% | $0.154 | Plant protein meal |
| Feather meal | $513 | $0.317 | 86% | $0.392 | Animal protein |
| Meat and bone meal (ruminant) | $330 | $0.319 | 86% | $0.247 | Animal protein |
| Distillers dried grains (DDGS) | $188 | $0.355 | 96% | $0.119 | Grain co-product |
| Linseed meal | $250 | $0.365 | 99% | $0.180 | Plant protein meal |
| Soybean meal | $352 | $0.369 | 100% | $0.241 | Plant protein meal |
| Cottonseed meal | $323 | $0.393 | 106% | $0.249 | Plant protein meal |
| Corn gluten meal | $520 | $0.431 | 117% | $0.321 | Plant protein meal |
| Canola meal | $312 | $0.438 | 119% | $0.234 | Plant protein meal |
| Wheat middlings | $143 | $0.440 | 119% | $0.101 | Grain co-product |
| Safflower meal | $210 | $0.481 | 130% | $0.206 | Plant protein meal |
| Wheat millrun | $155 | $0.507 | 137% | $0.115 | Grain co-product |
| Corn gluten feed | $221 | $0.516 | 140% | $0.158 | Grain co-product |
| Rice bran | $144 | $0.540 | 146% | $0.114 | Grain co-product |
| Soybean hulls (loose) | $168 | $0.754 | 204% | $0.121 | Fiber and forage |
| Blood meal (ruminant) | $1400 | $0.809 | 219% | $1.057 | Animal protein |
| Corn (US #2 yellow) | $152 | $0.911 | 247% | $0.098 | Benchmark grain |
| Whole cottonseed (fuzzy) | $390 | $0.920 | 249% | $0.225 | Plant protein meal |
| Hominy feed | $245 | $1.184 | 321% | $0.151 | Grain co-product |
| Alfalfa meal | $435 | $1.306 | 354% | $0.396 | Fiber and forage |
| Cottonseed hulls | $550 | $4.510 | 1222% | $0.720 | Fiber and forage |
Previous weeks
Week of Oct 19, 2026
Sunflower meal is the cheapest crude protein on the board this week at $0.275 per pound, 71 percent of soybean meal's cost. Feather meal ranks second at $0.309 per pound, though it carries an animal-protein premium at $500 per ton, while DDGS sits at $0.355 per pound, 92 percent of the benchmark. Grain co-products like wheat middlings and wheat millrun offer the lowest per-ton prices but run 126 and 131 percent of soybean meal on the protein axis.
Week of Oct 12, 2026
No new USDA AMS feedstuffs observations have been published since the previous issue. Sunflower meal holds as cheapest protein at $0.275 per pound of crude protein, dry-matter basis, at 69% of soybean meal's cost. Feather meal is next at $0.309/lb CP (77% of soybean meal) and DDGS at $0.364/lb CP (91%). All CP coefficients are book values from published feed tables.
Week of Sep 28, 2026
Sunflower meal holds the protein lead at $0.275 per pound of crude protein, 68% of soybean meal's cost per pound of crude protein, dry-matter basis, per USDA AMS. No new prices have been published since the previous issue. Feather meal is second at $0.301/lb crude protein (74% of soybean meal) and linseed meal third at $0.365/lb (90%). All nutrient coefficients are book values from published feed composition tables.
Week of Sep 14, 2026
Sunflower meal holds the protein leaderboard at $0.275 per pound of crude protein, 72% of soybean meal's cost on a dry-matter basis (FOB plant, USDA). Feather meal is second at $0.281/lb CP (74% of soybean meal), linseed meal third at $0.341/lb CP (89%). No new USDA readings have been published since the prior issue. Figures carry forward.
About Lowest cost per pound of crude protein
This is the calculation a dairy or feedlot nutritionist does by hand. Each ingredient's board price is converted to a cost per pound of crude protein and per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, then ranked against corn (the energy benchmark) and soybean meal (the protein benchmark). A feedstuff below 100% of soybean meal on protein, or below 100% of corn on energy, is delivering that nutrient cheaper than the benchmark in that report week. Nutrient coefficients are verified against named extension and NRC feed-composition tables (see methodology); an ingredient without a verified coefficient is priced but not scored, never given a guessed number. This ranks the board; it does not tell you what to feed. Effective fiber, palatability, handling and inclusion limits are the nutritionist's call, not a price table's.