Projected corn, soybean prices signal lower swine feed costs ahead

Indiana corn prices averaged $4.27 per bushel in 2024, before increasing to an average price per bushel of $4.58 in the first quarter of this year. The most recent WASDE report projected that corn price per bushel would average $4.20 for the marketing year that starts in September. Based on historical prices, the actual corn price could easily be 10% above or below estimates made at this time of the year. How do these projections impact feed costs in the second half of this year? To address that question, this article examines trends in feed costs as well as the impact of corn and soybean meal prices on feed costs for farrow-to-finish and swine finishing operations.

It is important to note that the swine finishing enterprise represented in this article assumes the finishing of an early-weaned pig. The rations for the farrow-to-finish and swine finishing enterprises consist of corn, soybean meal, dry distillers’ grain and supplements. Corn prices represent averages for Indiana as reported by USDA-NASS. Soybean meal and distillers’ grain prices are obtained from Feed Outlook, published monthly by USDA-ERS. Information from Agricultural Prices, a monthly USDA-NASS publication, was used to compute supplement prices. Early June futures prices for corn and soybean meal were used to project feed indices for the rest of 2025. Feed cost indices are reported on a closeout month rather than a placement month basis.

Corn and soybean meal prices

Figures 1 and 2 report monthly corn and soybean meal prices from January 2007 to April 2025. Corn price averaged $4.72 per bushel from 2007 to the current month. Soybean meal price averaged $362 per ton from 2007 to the current month. Current corn and soybean meal prices are below the long-run averages. Futures prices suggest that corn and soybean meal prices are likely to remain below their long-run averages well into next year. The impact of these corn and soybean meal projections on feed costs are discussed below.