Leaderboard

Lowest cost per pound of crude protein

A nutrient-cost screening board: every feedstuff ranked by cost per pound of crude protein on a dry-matter basis, against the soybean-meal 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 crude protein: sunflower meal at $0.275 for protein (per lb of crude protein) on a dry-matter basis, as of Oct 12, 2026 (USDA feedstuffs board). The Ration. https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-protein

$/ton

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  <img src="https://the-ration.com/charts/leaderboard/cheapest-protein/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-protein?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 crude protein · 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 crude protein
Basis: Dry-matter basis
Geography: National
Unit: $/ton
Calculation: Weekly board
Last observation: Oct 12, 2026
Update frequency: Weekly

Lowest cost per pound of crude protein in the Oct 12, 2026 USDA report week is Sunflower meal at $0.275 per lb of crude protein, 69% of soybean meal's cost. This is a price screen on a single nutrient, not a feeding recommendation. Data week of Oct 12, 2026, USDA feedstuffs board.

Sunflower meal is the cheapest protein on the board this week at $0.275 per lb of crude protein, 69 percent of soybean meal's cost.

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 protein	vs soybean meal	$/lb TDN	Category
Sunflower meal	$160	$0.275	69%	$0.154	Plant protein meal
Feather meal	$500	$0.309	77%	$0.383	Animal protein
Distillers dried grains (DDGS)	$193	$0.364	91%	$0.122	Grain co-product
Linseed meal	$250	$0.365	91%	$0.180	Plant protein meal
Meat and bone meal (ruminant)	$380	$0.368	92%	$0.285	Animal protein
Cottonseed meal	$323	$0.393	98%	$0.249	Plant protein meal
Soybean meal	$382	$0.401	100%	$0.261	Plant protein meal
Corn gluten meal	$522	$0.433	108%	$0.323	Plant protein meal
Canola meal	$322	$0.453	113%	$0.242	Plant protein meal
Safflower meal	$205	$0.469	117%	$0.201	Plant protein meal
Corn gluten feed	$205	$0.479	119%	$0.146	Grain co-product
Wheat middlings	$160	$0.494	123%	$0.114	Grain co-product
Wheat millrun	$155	$0.507	126%	$0.115	Grain co-product
Rice bran	$140	$0.526	131%	$0.111	Grain co-product
Soybean hulls (loose)	$174	$0.780	195%	$0.126	Fiber and forage
Blood meal (ruminant)	$1500	$0.867	216%	$1.132	Animal protein
Whole cottonseed (fuzzy)	$460	$1.087	271%	$0.266	Plant protein meal
Alfalfa meal	$435	$1.306	326%	$0.396	Fiber and forage
Cottonseed hulls	$503	$4.121	1029%	$0.657	Fiber and forage

Previous weeks

Week of Sep 28, 2026

Sunflower meal holds the protein lead at $0.275 per pound of crude protein, 68% of soybean meal's cost per pound of crude protein, dry-matter basis, per USDA AMS. No new prices have been published since the previous issue. Feather meal is second at $0.301/lb crude protein (74% of soybean meal) and linseed meal third at $0.365/lb (90%). All nutrient coefficients are book values from published feed composition tables.

Week of Sep 14, 2026

Sunflower meal holds the protein leaderboard at $0.275 per pound of crude protein, 72% of soybean meal's cost on a dry-matter basis (FOB plant, USDA). Feather meal is second at $0.281/lb CP (74% of soybean meal), linseed meal third at $0.341/lb CP (89%). No new USDA readings have been published since the prior issue. Figures carry forward.

Week of Aug 17, 2026

No new USDA feedstuff prices have been published since the previous issue. Sunflower meal holds the protein lead at $0.266/lb of crude protein on a dry-matter basis, 70% of soybean meal (SBM approximately $360/ton FOB). Feather meal is second at $0.281/lb CP (74% of SBM). DDGS prices protein at 91% of SBM at approximately $184/ton.

Week of Aug 10, 2026

Sunflower meal is this week's cheapest protein at $0.240 per pound of crude protein, 70 percent of soybean meal. Feather meal follows at 77 percent of the benchmark. DDGS sits at 91 percent of soybean meal, per the USDA feedstuffs board.

About Lowest cost per pound of crude protein

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.