# 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 10, 2026._ ## Latest issue: Wheat Middlings Rises 11% on the Week, Prices at 93% of Corn (Aug 20, 2026) Kansas wheat middlings rose 11% on the week to $152/ton FOB plant, the sharpest weekly gain on this week's USDA board. The ingredient still ranks second on energy at 93% of corn's cost per pound of TDN, dry-matter basis. Read: https://the-ration.com/issues/2026-08-20 · Markdown: https://the-ration.com/issues/2026-08-20.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) — $140 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Lowest cost per pound of TDN (energy)](https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-energy.md) — $123 (as of Aug 10, 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 10, 2026) - [Alfalfa pellets price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/alfalfa-pellets.md) — $350/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Almond hulls price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/almond-hulls.md) — $119/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Blood meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/blood-meal.md) — $1,250/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Canola meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/canola-meal.md) — $345/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Corn (US #2 yellow) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn.md) — $154/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Corn gluten feed price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn-gluten-feed.md) — $203/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Corn gluten meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn-gluten-meal.md) — $487/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Cottonseed hulls price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/cottonseed-hulls.md) — $475/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Cottonseed meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/cottonseed-meal.md) — $292/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Distillers dried grains (DDGS) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/ddgs.md) — $165/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Feather meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/feather-meal.md) — $425/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Hominy feed price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/hominy.md) — $123/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Linseed meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/linseed-meal.md) — $250/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Meat and bone meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/meat-bone-meal.md) — $479/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Rice bran price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/rice-bran.md) — $141/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Safflower meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/safflower-meal.md) — $165/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Soybean hulls price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/soybean-hulls.md) — $130/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Soybean meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/soybean-meal.md) — $325/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Soybeans (US #1) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/soybeans.md) — $408/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Sunflower meal price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/sunflower-meal.md) — $140/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Wet distillers grains (WDGS) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wdgs.md) — $49/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Wheat middlings (wheat midds) price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-middlings.md) — $130/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Wheat millrun price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/wheat-millrun.md) — $153/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Whole cottonseed price](https://the-ration.com/ingredient/whole-cottonseed.md) — $378/ton (as of Aug 10, 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) — $185/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Arkansas feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/arkansas.md) — $5/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Buffalo, NY feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/buffalo.md) — $135/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [California (Central Coast) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-central-coast.md) — 67.0¢/lb (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [California (Sacramento Valley) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-sacramento.md) — $70/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [California (San Joaquin Valley) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-san-joaquin.md) — 69.0¢/lb (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [California (South) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/ca-south.md) — 67.0¢/lb (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [California feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/california.md) — $220/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Central US feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/central-us.md) — $32/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Chicago, IL feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/chicago.md) — 72.0¢/lb (as of Aug 10, 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 10, 2026) - [Indiana-Ohio feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/indiana-ohio.md) — $129/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Iowa feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/iowa.md) — $47/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Kansas City region feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/kc-region.md) — $119/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Kansas feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/kansas.md) — $48/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Memphis, TN feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/memphis.md) — $130/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Michigan feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/michigan.md) — $110/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Minnesota feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/minnesota.md) — $50/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Minnesota-Dakotas (Min-Dak) feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/min-dak.md) — $140/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Mississippi feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/mississippi.md) — $425/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Missouri feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/missouri.md) — $49/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Nebraska feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/nebraska.md) — $47/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Pacific Northwest feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/pacific-northwest.md) — $215/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Portland, OR feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/portland.md) — $155/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [South Dakota feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/south-dakota.md) — $49/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Southern Plains feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/southern-plains.md) — $368/ton (as of Jul 20, 2026) - [St. Louis, MO feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/st-louis.md) — $110/ton (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Wisconsin feed prices](https://the-ration.com/region/wisconsin.md) — $54/ton (as of Aug 10, 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 10, 2026) - [Corn gluten feed vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/corn-gluten-feed-vs-corn.md) — $203 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Corn gluten meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/corn-gluten-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $487 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Cottonseed hulls vs soybean hulls spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/cottonseed-hulls-vs-soybean-hulls.md) — $475 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Cottonseed meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/cottonseed-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $292 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [DDGS vs canola meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/ddgs-vs-canola-meal.md) — $165 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [DDGS vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/ddgs-vs-corn.md) — $165 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [DDGS vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/ddgs-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $165 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Hominy feed vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/hominy-vs-corn.md) — $123 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Rice bran vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/rice-bran-vs-corn.md) — $141 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Soybean hulls vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/soybean-hulls-vs-corn.md) — $130 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Sunflower meal vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/sunflower-meal-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $140 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Wheat middlings vs corn spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/wheat-middlings-vs-corn.md) — $130 (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Whole cottonseed vs soybean meal spread](https://the-ration.com/spread/whole-cottonseed-vs-soybean-meal.md) — $378 (as of Aug 10, 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) — Broadly flat for 2 weeks (as of Aug 10, 2026) - [Why are DDGS prices rising right now?](https://the-ration.com/why/ddgs-prices-rising.md) — Broadly flat for 2 weeks (as of Aug 10, 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)