# What are wheat middlings? > Wheat middlings, or midds, are the bran, shorts and germ left when wheat is milled into flour. They run about 18 percent crude protein on a dry-matter basis with energy from fiber rather than starch, and they are high in phosphorus relative to calcium, which has to be balanced. _Updated Jul 21, 2026._ Wheat middlings are the bran, shorts and germ left when wheat is milled into white flour. Millers call them midds, and they are one of the steadier mill feeds on the board: a moderate-protein, moderate-energy feed that trades against corn and the co-products when the price is right. The flour is what the mill sells; the middlings are what is left, and they go to feed. ## How they are made Flour milling grinds wheat and sifts out the white endosperm for flour. The outer bran layers, the small broken bits called shorts, and the germ do not go into flour, and together they make wheat middlings. Because the starchy endosperm is largely gone, midds carry more of the kernel's fiber, protein and phosphorus than the flour does. ## Protein and energy On a dry-matter basis wheat middlings run about 18 percent crude protein, between corn and the oilseed meals, with energy that comes from digestible fiber rather than starch. That makes their energy a bit lower and more variable than corn's, changing with how much bran versus flour ends up in the stream. [Kansas State University Extension](https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/nutritional-composition-of-feedstuffs-for-beef-cattle_MF3648.pdf) tabulates the mill feeds among the feedstuffs for cattle. ## Who feeds them and the limits Midds go into beef and dairy cattle rations and into hog diets, valued for being palatable, low in starch and gentle on the rumen, so they carry little bloat or acidosis risk when fed sensibly. The main constraint is mineral: [Mississippi State University Extension](https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/feedstuffs-for-beef-cattle) notes mill feeds are high in phosphorus and low in calcium, so the ration has to be balanced to keep the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio right. Their bulk and variability also mean the guaranteed analysis is worth checking load to load. ## Worked example: reading the board [Chart: Wheat middlings price ($/ton, as-fed)](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-middlings) ([data](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-middlings.md) — chart image: https://the-ration.com/charts/ingredient/wheat-middlings/chart.png) The chart above is the live wheat middlings board price in dollars per ton. Read the latest point as this week's price, then take it to the leaderboard to see its cost per pound of protein and energy against corn and soybean meal. When midds are cheap against corn on energy, the wheat middlings versus corn spread is where that shows up. The Ration reports the USDA wheat middlings price as published, per ton, and does the cost-per-nutrient math on it. It does not tell a reader what to feed or at what rate. ## Related data + guides - [Wheat middlings price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-middlings) - [Wheat middlings vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/wheat-middlings-vs-corn) - [The feedstuffs menu](https://the-ration.com/guides/the-feedstuffs-menu) ## Common questions ### What are wheat middlings made from? The bran, shorts and germ left after wheat is milled into white flour. The starchy endosperm becomes flour; the outer layers and germ become middlings, which go to feed. ### How much protein is in wheat middlings? About 18 percent crude protein on a dry-matter basis, between corn and the oilseed meals, with energy that comes from fiber rather than starch. ### Are wheat middlings good cattle feed? Yes, they are a palatable, low-starch energy and protein feed for beef and dairy cattle and hogs. The main thing to manage is their high phosphorus relative to calcium, which has to be balanced in the ration. ### What is the difference between wheat middlings and wheat bran? Wheat bran is mostly the outer seed coat, while middlings include bran plus shorts and germ, so middlings are a broader mill stream with a bit more protein and energy than straight bran. --- Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/guides/what-are-wheat-middlings