# Chicago, IL feed prices USDA feedstuffs board prices for Chicago, IL, by ingredient and basis _Data through Aug 17, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026_ > 2 ingredients quoted in Chicago, IL as of Aug 17, 2026, up 0% on the week. USDA feedstuffs board. Chicago quoted choice white grease at 72.0¢/lb delivered and wheat middlings at $130/ton FOB plant as of Aug 17, with no change on the week per the USDA feedstuffs board. ## The numbers | Ingredient | Price | Range | Basis | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Choice white grease | 72.0¢/lb | 72.0¢/lb | Delivered | | Wheat middlings | $130/ton | $130/ton | FOB plant | ## About Chicago, IL feed prices This page lists every feedstuff USDA quotes for the Chicago, IL 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 Chicago, IL prices.** USDA's feedstuffs board carries 2 feedstuffs for this region: Choice white grease, Wheat middlings. 1 of them are quoted FOB at the plant and 1 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 Choice white grease at the low end to Wheat middlings 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. ## Common questions ### What feed ingredients does USDA price in Chicago, IL? 2 feedstuffs on the current board: Choice white grease, Wheat middlings. 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 Chicago, IL 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: Chicago, IL - Unit: $/ton - Calculation period: Weekly - Last observation: Aug 17, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: Chicago, IL feed prices from the USDA feedstuffs board, as of Aug 17, 2026. The Ration. https://the-ration.com/region/chicago Canonical URL: https://the-ration.com/region/chicago