# 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 Aug 24, 2026 · source last checked Sep 3, 2026 · page revised Sep 3, 2026_ > Lowest cost per pound of crude protein this week is Sunflower meal at $0.266 per lb of crude protein, 71% of soybean meal's cost. This is a price screen on a single nutrient, not a feeding recommendation. Data week of Aug 24, 2026, USDA feedstuffs board. Sunflower meal and feather meal are tied for cheapest protein at 71 percent of soybean meal's cost per pound of crude protein on a dry-matter basis. Sunflower meal prices at $0.266 per pound of CP and feather meal at $0.269 per pound. The soybean meal benchmark is $358 per ton FOB. Nutrient coefficients used in these rankings are book values from published feed-composition tables, not lot-specific analyses. No new USDA AMS feedstuffs data has been published since the previous issue. ## A nutrient-cost screening board. It ranks price per pound of a single nutrient (crude protein or TDN) on a dry-matter basis, not what to feed. The Category column separates plant protein meals, grain co-products and animal by-products, which are not interchangeable on crude protein alone: an animal by-product's amino-acid profile and digestibility do not match an oilseed meal's. Effective fiber, palatability and inclusion limits are the nutritionist's call. | Ingredient | $/ton | $/lb protein | vs soybean meal | $/lb TDN | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sunflower meal | $155 | $0.266 | 71% | $0.149 | Plant protein meal | | Feather meal | $435 | $0.269 | 71% | $0.333 | Animal by-product | | Distillers dried grains (DDGS) | $175 | $0.330 | 88% | $0.111 | Grain co-product | | Linseed meal | $242 | $0.353 | 94% | $0.174 | Plant protein meal | | Cottonseed meal | $300 | $0.365 | 97% | $0.231 | Plant protein meal | | Soybean meal | $358 | $0.376 | 100% | $0.245 | Plant protein meal | | Safflower meal | $165 | $0.378 | 100% | $0.162 | Plant protein meal | | Corn gluten meal | $491 | $0.407 | 108% | $0.303 | Plant protein meal | | Corn gluten feed | $203 | $0.473 | 126% | $0.144 | Grain co-product | | Meat and bone meal | $498 | $0.481 | 128% | $0.373 | Animal by-product | | Wheat middlings | $157 | $0.484 | 129% | $0.111 | Grain co-product | | Canola meal | $345 | $0.485 | 129% | $0.259 | Plant protein meal | | Wheat millrun | $153 | $0.498 | 132% | $0.113 | Grain co-product | | Rice bran | $138 | $0.519 | 138% | $0.110 | Grain co-product | | Hominy feed | $123 | $0.592 | 157% | $0.076 | Grain co-product | | Soybean hulls | $140 | $0.627 | 167% | $0.101 | Fiber and forage | | Blood meal | $1300 | $0.752 | 200% | $0.981 | Animal by-product | | Whole cottonseed | $375 | $0.886 | 236% | $0.217 | Plant protein meal | | Corn (US #2 yellow) | $174 | $1.044 | 277% | $0.113 | Benchmark grain | | Alfalfa meal | $410 | $1.231 | 327% | $0.373 | Fiber and forage | | Cottonseed hulls | $475 | $3.895 | 1036% | $0.621 | Fiber and forage | ## 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 this 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. ## 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 period: Weekly board - Last observation: Aug 24, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: Lowest cost per pound of crude protein: sunflower meal at $0.266 for protein (per lb of crude protein) on a dry-matter basis, as of Aug 24, 2026 (USDA feedstuffs board). The Ration. https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-protein Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-protein