Feed Board Unchanged as USDA Trims 2026/27 Corn Ending Stocks

No new USDA AMS feedstuffs readings have been published since the previous issue. The substitution board carries forward at its last reported levels. Hominy feed holds the energy lead at $0.076 per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, 72 percent of corn's plant input cost (~$163/ton), and sunflower meal leads the protein board at $0.266/lb crude protein, 75 percent of soybean meal's cost per pound (soybean meal FOB ~$338/ton).

• Wheat middlings rank second on energy at $0.096/lb TDN (91 percent of corn) and soybean hulls third at $0.099/lb TDN (94 percent of corn), both on a dry-matter basis.
• Feather meal holds second on the protein board at $0.269/lb crude protein, 76 percent of soybean meal (FOB).
• DDGS last reported at ~$169/ton: protein prices at 90 percent of soybean meal per pound of crude protein. Energy prices at 102 percent of corn's cost per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, above the corn benchmark on energy.
• Corn stocks: USDA ERS's Aug 14 Feed Grains Outlook cut 2026/27 U.S. corn ending stocks to 42 million metric tons, down 3.5 million MT from July, driven by higher export forecasts rather than a production change. Production was essentially unchanged month to month.
• Soybean meal supply: USDA ERS's Aug 14 Oil Crops Outlook forecast record 2026/27 U.S. soybean production at 4.52 billion bushels and raised the crush forecast to 2.78 billion bushels, supporting soybean meal availability against the current $338/ton FOB benchmark.

The corn and soybean meal benchmarks hold at their last published readings. Summer old-crop dynamics and ethanol run rates remain the backdrop for DDGS supply.

37 series including alfalfa pellets, almond hulls and barley have not updated in over two weeks. Treat any figure from those series as stale.