# California (San Joaquin Valley) feed prices USDA feedstuffs board prices for California (San Joaquin Valley), by ingredient and basis _Data through Aug 17, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026_ > 10 ingredients quoted in California (San Joaquin Valley) as of Aug 17, 2026, up 0% on the week. USDA feedstuffs board. Ten feedstuff ingredients quoted in California (San Joaquin Valley) held steady through Aug 17, with prices unchanged on the week. Yellow grease at 67.3¢/lb delivered and blood meal at $1,375/ton delivered marked the low and high ends of the board. ## The numbers | Ingredient | Price | Range | Basis | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Yellow grease | 67.3¢/lb | 66.00-69.0¢/lb | Delivered | | Almond hulls | $92/ton | 90-$95/ton | FOB plant | | Safflower meal | $165/ton | $165/ton | FOB plant | | Hominy feed | $219/ton | $219/ton | Delivered | | Meat and bone meal | $240/ton | $240/ton | FOB plant | | Cottonseed meal | $300/ton | $300/ton | FOB plant | | Canola meal | $345/ton | $345/ton | FOB plant | | Whole cottonseed | $428/ton | 420-$435/ton | FOB plant | | Cottonseed hulls | $475/ton | $475/ton | FOB plant | | Blood meal | $1,375/ton | $1,375/ton | Delivered | ## About California (San Joaquin Valley) feed prices This page lists every feedstuff USDA quotes for the California (San Joaquin Valley) trade region, cheapest first, with each price's FOB-vs-delivered basis. Compare an ingredient's cost per unit of protein or energy on the [leaderboard](/leaderboard/cheapest-protein) before reading across regions: the cheapest board price is not the cheapest fed price. **What California (San Joaquin Valley) prices.** USDA's feedstuffs board carries 10 feedstuffs for this region: Yellow grease, Almond hulls, Safflower meal, Hominy feed, Meat and bone meal, Cottonseed meal, Canola meal, Whole cottonseed, Cottonseed hulls, Blood meal. 7 of them are quoted FOB at the plant and 3 delivered, so two rows on the same table are not directly comparable until the freight is accounted for. Across the board the range runs from Yellow grease at the low end to Blood meal at the high end, which is a spread in dollars per ton and not a ranking by feeding value. **Why a regional price differs from the national one.** A feed ingredient's price at any point is the plant price where it was made plus the cost of getting it to where it is used, so the gap between two regions is mostly a freight story. Regions with processing capacity inside them tend to quote below the national reference because the ton has not travelled; regions that consume more than they produce quote above it by roughly the haul. That difference is the basis, and it widens when trucks tighten, when fuel runs up, or when a local demand source outbids the freight-out market for the same tons. It moves for reasons that have nothing to do with the ingredient itself, which is why a regional quote can rise in a week when the national board is flat. **This market.** The San Joaquin Valley holds the densest dairy concentration in the United States and no local supply of corn co-products, so this is the clearest delivered-basis market on the board and freight is the largest single variable in it. ## Common questions ### What feed ingredients does USDA price in California (San Joaquin Valley)? 10 feedstuffs on the current board: Yellow grease, Almond hulls, Safflower meal, Hominy feed, Meat and bone meal, Cottonseed meal, Canola meal, Whole cottonseed, Cottonseed hulls, Blood meal. The table above carries each one's price, USDA's published range and whether the quote is FOB at the plant or delivered. Which ingredients appear changes as trades are confirmed, so a feedstuff missing this week is usually a thin market rather than a gap in the reporting. ### Why are California (San Joaquin Valley) feed prices different from the national price? Freight, mostly. A feed ingredient costs the plant price plus the cost of moving it to where it is fed, so a region with processing inside it quotes below the national reference and a region that consumes more than it produces quotes above it by roughly the haul. That gap is the basis, and it moves on trucking capacity, fuel and local demand rather than on anything about the ingredient. ### Does the cheapest price on this board mean the cheapest feed? No, for two reasons. The rows are not all on the same basis, so an FOB plant price and a delivered price are different numbers before freight is settled. And a price per ton says nothing about what the ton delivers: the comparison that matters is cost per unit of protein or energy, which is what the [nutrient-cost leaderboard](/leaderboard/cheapest-protein) computes across the whole feedstuffs menu. ## About this data - Source: USDA AMS feedstuffs board - Series: Feedstuff board prices by ingredient - Basis: FOB plant and delivered, as-fed - Geography: California (San Joaquin Valley) - Unit: $/ton - Calculation period: Weekly - Last observation: Aug 17, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: California (San Joaquin Valley) feed prices from the USDA feedstuffs board, as of Aug 17, 2026. The Ration. https://the-ration.com/region/ca-san-joaquin Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/region/ca-san-joaquin