Sunflower Meal Is Cheapest Protein at 73% of Soybean Meal

Sunflower meal is the cheapest protein on the USDA feedstuffs board this week at $0.236 per pound of crude protein on a dry-matter basis, 73% of soybean meal's cost per pound of CP. Feather meal ranks second at $0.255 per pound CP, 79% of soybean meal. Corn fell 4% on the week to $4.06 per bushel, about $145 per ton delivered ethanol plant per USDA, pulling the energy benchmark lower and repricing the full board.

• Corn benchmark (US #2 yellow, delivered ethanol plant): $4.06/bu, about $145/ton per USDA, down 4% on the week and 10% below the 5-year median, pulling the cost-per-pound TDN floor lower across the full board.
• Soybean meal benchmark (FOB): about $307/ton per USDA. Soybeans at $11.32/bu are off 2% on the week and 5% below the 5-year median.
• Hominy feed leads the energy board at $0.076 per pound of TDN, 81% of corn on a dry-matter basis. Soybean hulls follow at $0.092 per pound TDN, 98% of corn.
• DDGS (about $170/ton delivered per USDA): protein at $0.320 per pound CP, 99% of soybean meal's benchmark, and energy at 115% of corn's cost per pound of TDN. Nutrient coefficients are book values from published feed tables.
• Yellow grease is running 50 to 95% above 5-year medians across California and Midwest markets per USDA AMS (FOB plant and delivered). No week-over-week price move was reported for any of these series.
• Almond hulls in California (Sacramento Valley and South) are priced 44 to 51% below the 5-year median per USDA AMS, though both series are flagged as stale.

42 series, including alfalfa pellets, almond hulls and barley, have not updated in over two weeks. All prices from those series are stale.