Feedstuffs

Byproduct feeds by region, against corn and per ton of protein · USDA AMS · as last reported Aug 10

Read the date on this page before the prices

Last reported Aug 10
These are the most recent prices USDA has published, not today’s prices. Every figure below is dated Aug 10.
Why this series is not daily, and what the history is

The weekly feedstuff reports ran through 2022, published nothing at all in 2023, 2024 or 2025, and restarted on 13 July 2026 — so the current series is only a few weeks old.

The long-run history further down comes from USDA’s monthly feedstuff reports, which are continuous since 2022 but publish about five to six weeks after the month they describe — the newest covers Jul 1. The two are different reports and are never combined into one figure here.

Distillers grains against corn Derived

Both sides Aug 10
A feedlot substitutes distillers grains for corn, so the question is not what DDGS costs but what it costs relative to the corn it replaces. Both prices are USDA and both are read for the same day; the only constant is that a bushel of corn weighs 56 lb, which is a definition rather than an assumption.
Cheapest against corn
97%
Iowa · $142/ton against corn at $146
Dearest against corn
119%
Illinois · $182/ton against corn at $152
Spread
22 pts
between the two, on the same day
Under corn
1 of 7
regions where DDGS is cheaper than corn per ton
RegionDDGS $/tonCorn $/buCorn $/tonDDGS as % of corn
Iowa$142.00$4.090$146.0697.2%
Minnesota$148.75$3.976$141.99104.8%
Nebraska$159.50$4.106$146.64108.8%
Kansas$170.00$4.169$148.89114.2%
South Dakota$154.33$3.733$133.30115.8%
Missouri$180.00$4.224$150.86119.3%
Illinois$181.50$4.255$151.95119.4%
Under 100% means a ton of distillers grains costs less than a ton of corn in that region. This is a price ratio, not a feeding recommendation — DDGS and corn are not nutritionally interchangeable ton for ton, and USDA publishes no feeding value. Corn bids come from the same daily reports behind the corn basis map.

What a ton of protein costs Derived

Aug 10
USDA publishes the protein spec alongside the price for these feeds, so the cost of the protein itself is arithmetic on two published figures rather than a nutrition assumption. Cheapest first.
FeedUSDA specProtein$/ton of feed$/ton of proteinRegions
Feathermeal80%80.0%$425.00$5314
Meat and Bone Meal46-50%48.0%$311.25$6486
Safflower Meal25%25.0%$165.00$6601
Soybean Meal46.5-48%47.3%$336.68$71312
Cottonseed Meal41%41.0%$320.00$7805
Corn Gluten Meal60%60.0%$492.75$8214
Canola Meal36%36.0%$296.20$8232
Corn Gluten Feed21%21.0%$202.50$9647
Alfalfa Pellets17%17.0%$350.00$2,0591
Alfalfa Pellets15%15.0%$350.00$2,3332
Cheapest here does not mean feedable here. This ranks every protein feed USDA prices, including animal byproduct meals. Federal rules restrict feeding ruminant-derived protein to cattle, and USDA does not say which species a meal came from — so a rank is a price fact, not a suggestion.
How the protein cost is worked out

Price per ton of feed divided by its published protein percentage. Where USDA gives a range — soybean meal at 46.5–48% — the midpoint is used and the range is shown beside it. Feeds with no published spec are left out rather than guessed at.

Protein is not the only thing a ration buys: energy, fibre and handling all differ between these feeds, and USDA prices them without valuing any of that.

Byproduct feed prices USDA

Aug 10 · $/ton
FeedSpecMedianRangeRegionsCheapestDearest
Corn Distillers$165.75$142 – $26513IowaPacific Northwest
Corn Gluten Feed21%$202.50$110 – $2217Central USKC Region
Corn Gluten Feed$31.601Central USCentral US
Corn Gluten Meal60%$492.75$475 – $5754Central USSt Louis, MO
Soybean Meal46.5-48%$336.68$314 – $42212IowaPortland, OR
Soybean Hulls$131.67$110 – $1857ArkansasAlabama
Cottonseed (Whole)$355.75$309 – $4032AlabamaCA-San Joaquin Valley
Cottonseed Meal41%$320.00$290 – $3705ArkansasKC Region
Canola Meal36%$296.20$247 – $3452Min-DakCA-San Joaquin Valley
Wheat Middlings$130.00$102 – $1527KC RegionKansas
Wheat Millrun$155.00$153 – $1553CA-SouthPortland, OR
Alfalfa Pellets15%$350.00$275 – $4252KansasPortland, OR
Alfalfa Pellets17%$350.001NebraskaNebraska
Almond Hulls$110.88$103 – $1192CA-San Joaquin ValleyCA-South
Alfalfa Meal$410.001KC RegionKC Region
Commodity Blood Meal$1,250.00$1,213 – $1,3103MinnesotaCentral US
Cottonseed Hulls$475.001CA-San Joaquin ValleyCA-San Joaquin Valley
Feathermeal80%$425.00$394 – $4404MinnesotaKC Region
Linseed Meal$250.001Min-DakMin-Dak
Meat and Bone Meal46-50%$311.25$220 – $4876Pacific NorthwestCentral US
Meat and Bone MealN\A$478.751MinnesotaMinnesota
Rice Bran$141.251CA-Sacramento ValleyCA-Sacramento Valley
Safflower Meal25%$165.001CA-San Joaquin ValleyCA-San Joaquin Valley
Sunflower Meal$140.001Min-DakMin-Dak
Yellow Corn Hominy Feed$125.00$120 – $2153IllinoisCA-San Joaquin Valley
A feed is identified by more than its name — spec, freight basis and transport mode are different trades at different prices, and wet and dry never share a row.
How a feed is keyed, and what is left out

USDA files each quote with a protein spec, a freight basis and a transport mode: corn gluten feed on Aug 10 ran from $113 a ton free-on-board by barge to $221 delivered by truck. Rows are keyed on all of them, and a region showing several quotes is a median of them. Corn gluten feed with no protein spec is the wet product, priced near a third of the dry.

Source: USDA AMS National Grain and Oilseed Processor, Mill-Feeds and Animal By-Product feedstuff reports. Organic feedstuffs are a separate market and are not included. Greases and oils are quoted in cents a pound rather than dollars a ton and are left out rather than converted.

The long run USDA

Monthly reports · through Jul 1
A different report from the prices above, and about six weeks behind them. USDA’s monthly feedstuff reports have run continuously since 2022 but publish well after the month they cover, so this is history rather than a current quote. It is shown separately for that reason and is never mixed into the figures above.
MonthCorn DistillersSoybean MealCorn Gluten FeedWheat Middlings
2026-07$163.95$351.92$202.50$133.67
2026-06$176.19$335.56$202.50$135.00
2026-05$184.19$355.75$202.50$116.00
2026-04$184.91$342.65$205.00$125.42
2026-03$174.38$336.45$205.00$142.92
2026-02$166.88$321.76$210.50$187.75
2026-01$165.88$309.78$205.66$185.00
2025-12$167.95$317.88$199.33$195.00
2025-11$153.88$335.87$192.62$148.33
2025-10$150.93$306.59$186.57$158.80
2025-09$150.94$316.84$178.93$92.83
2025-08$149.18$288.68$176.11$77.80
2025-07$149.58$259.60$175.00$89.44
2025-06$154.96$279.86$174.64$92.50
2025-05$155.18$294.88$177.57$98.00
2025-04$157.14$292.98$183.57$103.13
2025-03$155.49$303.80$191.43$100.00
2025-02$158.31$299.95$194.75$110.00
Median across every region and freight basis the monthly report covers, so a month is a national middle rather than any one trade. Wet corn gluten feed is excluded here as above.