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 Oct 12, 2026 · source last checked Oct 17, 2026 · page revised Oct 17, 2026

Cite

Lowest cost per pound of TDN (energy): rice bran at $0.111 for energy (per lb of TDN) on a dry-matter basis, as of Oct 12, 2026 (USDA feedstuffs board). The Ration. https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-energy

$/ton

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  <img src="https://the-ration.com/charts/leaderboard/cheapest-energy/chart.png" alt="The anchors and DDGS ($/ton, as-fed) — Oct 12, 2026" width="720" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border:0"/>
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<p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-energy?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=credit">The Ration</a> · updates automatically</p>
<p style="font-size:11px;color:#6b6b6b;margin:2px 0 0">About this data: USDA AMS feedstuffs board; corn and soybean meal benchmarks · Feedstuffs ranked by cost per pound of energy (TDN) · Dry-matter basis · National · $/ton · Weekly board · through Oct 12, 2026</p>

Free to republish with attribution. The chart updates automatically as new data lands.

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: Oct 12, 2026
Update frequency: Weekly

Lowest cost per pound of TDN in the Oct 12, 2026 USDA report week is Rice bran at $0.111 per lb of TDN. This is a price screen on a single nutrient, not a feeding recommendation. Data week of Oct 12, 2026, USDA feedstuffs board.

Rice bran is the lowest-cost energy feedstuff on the board, at $0.111 per pound of TDN, in the Oct 12, 2026 USDA feedstuffs report week.

A nutrient-cost screening board. It ranks price per pound of a single nutrient (crude protein or TDN) on a dry-matter basis, not what to feed. The Category column separates plant protein meals, grain co-products and rendered animal proteins, which are not interchangeable on crude protein alone: an animal protein's amino-acid profile and digestibility do not match an oilseed meal's. Effective fiber, palatability and inclusion limits are the nutritionist's call.
Ingredient	$/ton	$/lb TDN	vs corn	$/lb protein	Category
Rice bran	$140	$0.111	n/a	$0.526	Grain co-product
Wheat middlings	$160	$0.114	n/a	$0.494	Grain co-product
Wheat millrun	$155	$0.115	n/a	$0.507	Grain co-product
Distillers dried grains (DDGS)	$193	$0.122	n/a	$0.364	Grain co-product
Soybean hulls (loose)	$174	$0.126	n/a	$0.780	Fiber and forage
Corn gluten feed	$205	$0.146	n/a	$0.479	Grain co-product
Sunflower meal	$160	$0.154	n/a	$0.275	Plant protein meal
Linseed meal	$250	$0.180	n/a	$0.365	Plant protein meal
Safflower meal	$205	$0.201	n/a	$0.469	Plant protein meal
Canola meal	$322	$0.242	n/a	$0.453	Plant protein meal
Cottonseed meal	$323	$0.249	n/a	$0.393	Plant protein meal
Soybean meal	$382	$0.261	n/a	$0.401	Plant protein meal
Whole cottonseed (fuzzy)	$460	$0.266	n/a	$1.087	Plant protein meal
Meat and bone meal (ruminant)	$380	$0.285	n/a	$0.368	Animal protein
Corn gluten meal	$522	$0.323	n/a	$0.433	Plant protein meal
Feather meal	$500	$0.383	n/a	$0.309	Animal protein
Alfalfa meal	$435	$0.396	n/a	$1.306	Fiber and forage
Cottonseed hulls	$503	$0.657	n/a	$4.121	Fiber and forage
Blood meal (ruminant)	$1500	$1.132	n/a	$0.867	Animal protein

Previous weeks

Week of Sep 28, 2026

No new energy prices have been published since the previous issue. Corn holds the benchmark at $0.109 per pound of TDN, plant input cost, dry-matter basis, per USDA AMS. Rice bran is at $0.110/lb TDN (101% of corn) and wheat millrun at $0.115/lb TDN (105%). DDGS is at 113% of corn's cost per pound of TDN at about $195/ton per USDA AMS, dry-matter basis.

Week of Sep 14, 2026

Hominy feed holds the energy leaderboard at $0.076 per pound of TDN, 67% of corn's cost on a dry-matter basis (FOB plant, USDA). Rice bran is just above corn parity at $0.113/lb TDN (101% of corn), FOB plant per USDA. No new USDA feedstuffs readings have been published since the prior issue. All figures carry forward from last week.

Week of Aug 17, 2026

No new USDA feedstuff prices have been published since the previous issue. Hominy feed holds the energy lead at $0.076/lb of TDN on a dry-matter basis, 66% of corn's cost per pound of TDN (corn at approximately $179/ton, plant input cost). Soybean hulls follow at $0.109/lb TDN (95% of corn). Wheat millrun is third at $0.113/lb TDN (98% of corn). DDGS prices energy at 100% of corn.

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.

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 in that report 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.