# DDGS Protein Cost Holds at 96% of Soybean Meal, No New Board Quotes _Oct 8, 2026_ > No new USDA feedstuffs readings have been published since last week. The substitution board is unchanged: sunflower meal leads protein at 72% of soybean meal, hominy feed leads energy at 67% of corn. _Numbers as of Oct 8, 2026 pull._ No new USDA feedstuffs readings have been published since the previous issue. The substitution board is unchanged: sunflower meal holds the protein lead at **$0.275 per pound of crude protein, 72% of soybean meal's cost on a dry-matter basis**, and hominy feed holds the energy lead at **$0.076 per pound of TDN, 67% of corn's cost on a dry-matter basis**. Both are FOB plant per USDA. [Chart: The anchors and DDGS ($/ton, as-fed)](https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-energy) ([data](https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-energy.md) — chart image: https://the-ration.com/charts/issues/feed/2026-10-08/leaderboard/cheapest-energy.png) - Feather meal is second on protein at $0.281/lb CP (74% of soybean meal), linseed meal third at $0.341/lb CP (89% of soybean meal), both FOB plant per USDA. - Rice bran prices at $0.113/lb TDN (101% of corn) on a dry-matter basis, essentially at energy parity with the corn benchmark, FOB plant per USDA. - DDGS at about $195 per ton (basis not specified in available data, per USDA) prices protein at 96% of soybean meal's cost per pound of crude protein and energy at 109% of corn's cost per pound of TDN, dry-matter basis. - Benchmarks hold at about $174/ton for corn (plant input cost) and about $364/ton for soybean meal (FOB), per USDA. - USDA ERS's September 18 Oil Crops Outlook (Maria Bukowski and Bryn Swearingen) raised the 2026/27 U.S. soybean production forecast to 4.5 billion bushels and the season-average price forecast to $12.00 per bushel. 52 series have not updated in over two weeks. The partial list includes v-suncured p-15 alfalfa pellets (Kansas delivered, Portland delivered) and California FOB almond hulls (Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley and southern California). Treat values from those specific series as stale. --- Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/issues/2026-10-08