# Corn (US #2 yellow) price USDA corn (us #2 yellow) board price per ton, national benchmark, with its cost per unit of protein and energy _Data through Aug 17, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026_ > Now $163/ton (national corn benchmark, plant input cost) as of Aug 17, 2026, USDA, up 6% on the week. Protein costs $0.973 per lb of crude protein (274% of soybean meal); energy $0.105 per lb of TDN (100% of corn). Corn stands at $163/ton as of Aug 17, up 5.6% on the week and 20.4% year-over-year. Despite the sharp recent run, current levels align with the 4-year median. ## The numbers | Period | Current | Prior | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Week over week | $163/ton | $154/ton | +5.6% | | Month over month | $163/ton | $159/ton | +2.5% | | Year over year | $163/ton | $135/ton | +20.4% | | vs 4-yr median | $163/ton | $163/ton | -0.5% | ## About Corn (US #2 yellow) price Corn (US #2 yellow) is one of the two commodities every feedstuff is priced against. On a dry-matter basis it runs about 9.5% crude protein and 88% TDN, roughly 0.92 Mcal of net energy for lactation per pound of dry matter, at about 87.9% dry matter as fed. Those figures come from Kansas State University Extension, Nutritional Composition of Feedstuffs for Beef Cattle (MF3648). The leaderboard uses them to convert this week's board price into a cost per pound of protein and per pound of energy, so it can be ranked against corn and soybean meal. Prices are quoted per ton, and the cheapest board price is not the cheapest fed price once freight and moisture are counted (see the FOB-vs-delivered guide). Corn is the crop this whole board is measured against, and what is quoted here needs no processing detour to reach a feed bunk: it is the grain itself, US number two yellow, off the farm. Price is set in the futures market more than in any feed report, moving on Corn Belt acreage and weather, the ethanol industry's grind, export sales to Mexico and Asia, and the competing pull of soybean acreage each spring. Feed use, mostly cattle, hog and poultry rations, is the single largest claim on the crop, but it competes against ethanol and exports for the same bushels, which is why corn swings more than any feedstuff priced off it. ## About this data - Source: USDA AMS feedstuffs board - Series: Corn (US #2 yellow) board price - Basis: Grain Co-Products plant input cost, national - Geography: National - Unit: $/ton - Calculation period: Weekly national benchmark - Last observation: Aug 17, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: Corn (US #2 yellow) price is $163/ton as of Aug 17, 2026 (USDA feedstuffs board). The Ration. https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/ingredient/corn