Leaderboard
Lowest cost per pound of TDN (energy)
A nutrient-cost screening board: every feedstuff ranked by cost per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, against the corn benchmark. A price screen, not a feeding recommendation.
Data through Aug 17, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026
Cite
- Corn (energy anchor)
- Soybean meal (protein anchor)
- DDGS
About this data
- Source
- USDA AMS feedstuffs board; corn and soybean meal benchmarks
- Series
- Feedstuffs ranked by cost per pound of energy (TDN)
- Basis
- Dry-matter basis
- Geography
- National
- Unit
- $/ton
- Calculation
- Weekly board
- Last observation
- Aug 17, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly
Lowest cost per pound of TDN this week is Hominy feed at $0.076 per lb of TDN, 72% of corn's cost. This is a price screen on a single nutrient, not a feeding recommendation. Data week of Aug 17, 2026, USDA feedstuffs board.
Hominy feed prices at $0.076 per pound of TDN this week, 72 percent of corn's cost. Wheat middlings and soybean hulls follow at 91 and 94 percent of the benchmark. Corn prices the energy anchor at $163 per ton. Data through Aug 17, 2026 from the USDA feedstuffs board.
| Ingredient | $/ton | $/lb TDN | vs corn | $/lb protein | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hominy feed | $123 | $0.076 | 72% | $0.592 | Grain co-product |
| Wheat middlings | $135 | $0.096 | 91% | $0.417 | Grain co-product |
| Soybean hulls | $137 | $0.099 | 94% | $0.614 | Fiber and forage |
| Corn (US #2 yellow) | $163 | $0.105 | 100% | $0.973 | Benchmark grain |
| Distillers dried grains (DDGS) | $169 | $0.107 | 102% | $0.318 | Grain co-product |
| Rice bran | $138 | $0.110 | 105% | $0.519 | Grain co-product |
| Wheat millrun | $153 | $0.113 | 108% | $0.498 | Grain co-product |
| Corn gluten feed | $203 | $0.144 | 137% | $0.473 | Grain co-product |
| Sunflower meal | $155 | $0.149 | 142% | $0.266 | Plant protein meal |
| Safflower meal | $165 | $0.162 | 154% | $0.378 | Plant protein meal |
| Linseed meal | $242 | $0.174 | 166% | $0.353 | Plant protein meal |
| Whole cottonseed | $375 | $0.217 | 206% | $0.886 | Plant protein meal |
| Soybean meal | $338 | $0.231 | 220% | $0.355 | Plant protein meal |
| Cottonseed meal | $300 | $0.231 | 220% | $0.365 | Plant protein meal |
| Canola meal | $345 | $0.259 | 247% | $0.485 | Plant protein meal |
| Corn gluten meal | $490 | $0.302 | 288% | $0.406 | Plant protein meal |
| Feather meal | $435 | $0.333 | 317% | $0.269 | Animal by-product |
| Meat and bone meal | $460 | $0.345 | 328% | $0.445 | Animal by-product |
| Alfalfa meal | $410 | $0.373 | 355% | $1.231 | Fiber and forage |
| Cottonseed hulls | $475 | $0.621 | 592% | $3.895 | Fiber and forage |
| Blood meal | $1250 | $0.944 | 898% | $0.723 | Animal by-product |
Previous weeks
Week of Aug 10, 2026
Hominy feed offers the lowest energy cost this week at $0.076 per pound of TDN, 76 percent of corn's cost. Wheat middlings and soybean hulls price at 93 and 94 percent of corn respectively. Corn trades at $154 per ton.
An earlier week
This leaderboard screens feedstuffs by cost per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis against the corn benchmark. Hominy feed is the cheapest energy source this week at $0.076 per pound of TDN, 76 percent of corn's cost, per USDA feedstuffs data for the week of August 3.
An earlier week
Hominy feed is the lowest-cost energy ingredient this week at $0.076 per pound of TDN, 76 percent of corn, from the USDA feedstuffs board for the week of July 20, 2026.
About Lowest cost per pound of TDN (energy)
This is the calculation a dairy or feedlot nutritionist does by hand. Each ingredient's board price is converted to a cost per pound of crude protein and per pound of TDN on a dry-matter basis, then ranked against corn (the energy benchmark) and soybean meal (the protein benchmark). A feedstuff below 100% of soybean meal on protein, or below 100% of corn on energy, is delivering that nutrient cheaper than the benchmark this week. Nutrient coefficients are verified against named extension and NRC feed-composition tables (see methodology); an ingredient without a verified coefficient is priced but not scored, never given a guessed number. This ranks the board; it does not tell you what to feed. Effective fiber, palatability, handling and inclusion limits are the nutritionist's call, not a price table's.