# 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 Aug 17, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026_ > Lowest cost per pound of crude protein this week is Sunflower meal at $0.266 per lb of crude protein, 75% of soybean meal's cost. This is a price screen on a single nutrient, not a feeding recommendation. Data week of Aug 17, 2026, USDA feedstuffs board. Sunflower meal is the lowest-cost protein source this week at $0.266 per pound of crude protein, 75 percent of soybean meal's cost. Feather meal ranks second at $0.269 per pound, 76 percent of the benchmark, with DDGS third at $0.318 per pound, 90 percent of soybean meal. Data through Aug 17, 2026, from the USDA feedstuffs board. ## 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 animal by-products, which are not interchangeable on crude protein alone: an animal by-product'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 | $155 | $0.266 | 75% | $0.149 | Plant protein meal | | Feather meal | $435 | $0.269 | 76% | $0.333 | Animal by-product | | Distillers dried grains (DDGS) | $169 | $0.318 | 90% | $0.107 | Grain co-product | | Linseed meal | $242 | $0.353 | 100% | $0.174 | Plant protein meal | | Soybean meal | $338 | $0.355 | 100% | $0.231 | Plant protein meal | | Cottonseed meal | $300 | $0.365 | 103% | $0.231 | Plant protein meal | | Safflower meal | $165 | $0.378 | 107% | $0.162 | Plant protein meal | | Corn gluten meal | $490 | $0.406 | 114% | $0.302 | Plant protein meal | | Wheat middlings | $135 | $0.417 | 118% | $0.096 | Grain co-product | | Meat and bone meal | $460 | $0.445 | 125% | $0.345 | Animal by-product | | Corn gluten feed | $203 | $0.473 | 133% | $0.144 | Grain co-product | | Canola meal | $345 | $0.485 | 137% | $0.259 | Plant protein meal | | Wheat millrun | $153 | $0.498 | 141% | $0.113 | Grain co-product | | Rice bran | $138 | $0.519 | 146% | $0.110 | Grain co-product | | Hominy feed | $123 | $0.592 | 167% | $0.076 | Grain co-product | | Soybean hulls | $137 | $0.614 | 173% | $0.099 | Fiber and forage | | Blood meal | $1250 | $0.723 | 204% | $0.944 | Animal by-product | | Whole cottonseed | $375 | $0.886 | 250% | $0.217 | Plant protein meal | | Corn (US #2 yellow) | $163 | $0.973 | 274% | $0.105 | Benchmark grain | | Alfalfa meal | $410 | $1.231 | 347% | $0.373 | Fiber and forage | | Cottonseed hulls | $475 | $3.895 | 1098% | $0.621 | Fiber and forage | ## 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 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. ## 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 period: Weekly board - Last observation: Aug 17, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: Lowest cost per pound of crude protein: sunflower meal at $0.266 for protein (per lb of crude protein) on a dry-matter basis, as of Aug 17, 2026 (USDA feedstuffs board). The Ration. https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-protein Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/leaderboard/cheapest-protein