Spreads
Corn gluten meal vs soybean meal spread
Corn gluten meal versus Soybean meal: the raw $/ton spread, on a dry-matter basis, and on cost per pound of protein and energy
Data through Aug 17, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026
Cite
- Corn gluten meal
- Soybean meal
About this data
- Source
- Derived from USDA AMS feedstuffs board prices
- Series
- Corn gluten meal vs soybean meal
- Basis
- Two feeds differenced, as-fed $/ton
- Geography
- National
- Unit
- $/ton
- Calculation
- Weekly
- Last observation
- Aug 17, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly
Corn gluten meal is $152/ton over Soybean meal on a raw as-fed basis, but on the nutrient that matters here Soybean meal is the cheaper source of a pound of crude protein this week. A price screen, not a feeding recommendation.
Corn gluten meal is $152 per ton over soybean meal as-fed, but soybean meal is the cheaper source of crude protein this week at $0.355 per pound versus $0.406.
| Measure | Corn gluten meal | Soybean meal | Difference (Corn gluten meal − Soybean meal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price, $/ton as-fed | $490 | $338 | +$152 |
| Price, $/ton dry matter | $538 | $379 | +$159 |
| Cost per lb crude protein | $0.406 | $0.355 | +$0.051 |
| Cost per lb TDN (energy) | $0.302 | $0.231 | +$0.071 |
Previous weeks
Week of Aug 10, 2026
Soybean meal is the cheaper source of crude protein at $0.341 per pound against corn gluten meal's $0.403, and also cheaper on energy at $0.223 per pound of TDN versus $0.301.
An earlier week
Soybean meal is the cheaper protein source this week at $0.342 per pound of crude protein versus $0.392 for corn gluten meal. The same advantage holds on energy at $0.223 per pound of TDN against $0.292. Corn gluten meal trades $147 per ton over soybean meal as-fed, but on a dry-matter basis soybean meal is the cheaper feed.
An earlier week
Soybean meal is the cheaper source of crude protein this week at $0.362 per pound against corn gluten meal's $0.403. The energy spread is wider: soybean meal costs $0.236 per pound of TDN versus $0.300 for corn gluten meal. On a dry-matter basis, the raw spread between them is $147 per ton.
About Corn gluten meal vs soybean meal spread
A raw $/ton spread is the starting point, not the answer. Two feeds at the same $/ton can deliver very different amounts of protein and energy per ton of dry matter, so the table above also shows each feed on a dry-matter basis and as a cost per pound of crude protein and per pound of TDN, the same math the nutrient-cost screening board runs.
Basis: both are quoted fob plant, so the raw $/ton gap is a like-for-like comparison before freight.
Nutritional limits. Corn gluten meal is a bypass (rumen-undegradable) protein, roughly 57 to 60 percent of its protein escaping the rumen versus about 25 percent for soybean meal, so the two feed different protein fractions. Feedipedia notes corn gluten meal is low in lysine, so it complements rather than replaces soybean meal. This is a price screen on one or two nutrients, not a feeding recommendation: inclusion rates, amino-acid balance, effective fiber and palatability are the nutritionist's call, not a price table's.