Sunflower Meal Leads Protein Board at 75% of Soybean Meal

Sunflower meal is the cheapest protein on the USDA AMS feedstuffs board this week, at $0.245 per pound of crude protein on a dry-matter basis, 75% of soybean meal's cost per pound. Feather meal is second at $0.255 per pound (78% of soybean meal) and DDGS third at $0.292 per pound (90% of soybean meal). On energy, hominy feed leads at $0.076 per pound of TDN, 81% of corn's cost per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, with corn at about $145/ton (US #2 yellow, plant input cost) and soybean meal at about $309/ton FOB serving as the two benchmarks per USDA.

• DDGS at about $155/ton delivers protein at 90% of soybean meal's cost per pound of crude protein, third on the protein board. On energy, DDGS prices at 105% of corn's cost per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, above the corn benchmark.
• Soybean hulls are second on the energy board at $0.090 per pound of TDN, 96% of corn's cost per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis.
• Yellow grease, California (Central Coast), FOB plant, is at $60/ton, 80% above its five-year median per USDA AMS. Yellow grease across San Joaquin Valley (delivered, $64/ton, +53% vs. five-year median) and South (FOB $60/ton, delivered $72/ton, both +45% vs. five-year median) show the same pattern.
• Choice white grease, Chicago, IL, delivered, is at $72/ton, 45% above its five-year median per USDA AMS.
• Almond hulls, California, are priced 43 to 51% below their five-year medians (Sacramento Valley FOB $70/ton, San Joaquin Valley FOB $92/ton, South FOB $95/ton per USDA AMS), but all three California almond hull series are stale (see data note).

Corn (US #2 yellow) held flat on the week at $4.05/bu per USDA. Soybeans (US #1) edged up 1% to $11.53/bu, 2% below the five-year median, with soybean meal at about $309/ton FOB.

Data note: 38 series, including almond hulls (all California regions) and alfalfa pellets, have not updated in more than two weeks per USDA AMS. Figures from those series are stale.