Documentation

Scope/Coverage of Data

This database covers four major U.S. feed grains crops (corn, grain sorghum, barley, and oats), foreign coarse grains (feed grains plus rye, millet, and mixed grains), hay, animal unit indexes of grain and roughage, rail rate indexes, and grain shipments. This database includes data published in the monthly Feed Outlook and the Feed Grains Yearbook tables, WASDE report, Production, Supply and Distribution (PSD) database, and various Agricultural Marketing Service reports. However, the Feed Grains Yearbook Tables – All Years data set generally covers a longer time period (1866–present).

More specific data queries can be made through the Feed Grains Custom Query.

Data Items

Below are additional details about the items in the database, including which data are preliminary and specific changes to data series over time.

Corn

  • Annual values for the 2 most recent years are preliminary and/or forecasts. Privately owned ending stocks include government quantity under loan and farmer-owned reserve.
  • Total U.S. corn trade (exports and imports) includes grain (white, yellow, seed, and relief), dry-process products (cornmeal for relief, as grain, and grits), and wet-process products (cornstarch, sugar dextrose, glucose, and high-fructose corn syrup).

Sorghum

  • Annual values for the 2 most recent years are preliminary and/or forecasts.
  • Privately owned ending stocks include government quantity under loan and farmer-owned reserve.
  • U.S. exports include seed and unmilled sorghum.
  • U.S. imports are grain only.

Barley

  • Annual values for the 2 most recent years are preliminary and/or forecasts. Privately owned ending stocks include government quantity under loan and farmer-owned reserve.
  • Barley cash price, No. 2, Feed, Golden Triangle, MT and Barley, No. 3, Malting, Golden Triangle, MT. Prior to June 1977, the price was reported as barley, No. 3 or better. Prior to March 1987, the reporting point was Minneapolis.
  • U.S. exports include grain (grain for malting purposes, other) and barley malt.
  • U.S. imports include grain (barley for malting, other), pearl barley, milled barley, and malted barley.

Oats

  • Annual values for the 2 most recent years are preliminary and/or forecasts. Privately owned ending stocks include government quantity under loan and farmer-owned reserve.
  • U.S. exports include grain and oatmeal (bulk and packaged).
  • U.S. imports include grain (hulled or unhulled), unhulled oats fit and unfit for human consumption, and oatmeal fit for human consumption.
  • Data on world trade for oats are available from USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service Production, Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) Database.

Feed Grains

  • Annual values for the 2 most recent years are preliminary and/or forecasts. Privately owned ending stocks include total government loans (original and reseal).

Coarse Grains

  • Annual values for the 2 most recent years are preliminary and/or forecasts.
  • Imports are adjusted to an October-September trade year and exclude intra-European Union trade

Hay

  • Beginning December 1, 1986, hay stocks survey reference data were changed from January 1 to December 1.

Farm Prices

  • Average prices received by farmers for corn, sorghum, barley, and oats do not include an allowance for loans outstanding and government purchases.
  • The most recent month reported is preliminary.
  • The annual season-average price for corn, sorghum, barley, oats, and hay is based on monthly prices weighted by monthly marketings.
  • The annual season-average price for the current marketing year is published—in USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report—as a projected price range and reported in the database as a projected high and low value of the range, as well as a midpoint estimate.

Byproduct Feed Prices

  • Meat and bone meal, Central United States. Before December 1991, reported as Kansas City.
  • Soybean meal, 44-percent solvent, Central Illinois. Prior to January 1999, reported as Decatur.

Processed Corn Product Prices

  • Data are reported for cornmeal, brewers grits, corn syrup, dextrose sugar, and cornstarch.
  • The most recent monthly price reported is preliminary.

Index of Animal Units

  • A standard unit is used to compare to actual animal numbers for all types of livestock and poultry. An animal unit is based on the dry-weight quantity of feed consumed by the average milk cow during the base period. A set of factors is developed for each type of livestock and poultry by relating feed consumption for each type of livestock to the feed consumed by the average milk cow.
  • The index is reported in million pounds of feed units. A feed unit is equivalent to the feeding value of a pound of corn with 78.6 percent total digestible nutrients.

Processed Feeds, Quantity Fed

  • Quantity is adjusted for stocks, production, foreign trade, and nonfeed uses where applicable.
  • Soybean meal includes use in edible soy products and shipments to U.S. territories.
  • Total grain protein feeds excludes brewers dried grains and distillers' dried grains.
  • Miscellaneous byproduct feeds is an allowance for hominy feed, oat millfeed, and screenings.
  • Total other processed feeds excludes dried and molasses beet pulp and inedible molasses.

Animal Product/Feed Price Ratios

  • Annual values are simple averages of monthly ratios for the marketing year.
  • Hog/corn ratio is the number of bushels of corn equal in value to 100 pounds of all hogs, live weight.
  • Steer and heifer/corn ratio is the number of bushels of corn equal in value to 100 pounds of steers and heifers, live weight.
  • Milk/feed ratio is the number of pounds of 16-percent protein mixed dairy feed equal in value to 1 pound of whole milk. The methodology utilizes major raw feed component prices from the Agricultural Prices report, published by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The major feed components of corn and soybeans account for 83–91 percent of the total ingredients in the rations.
  • Broiler/feed ratio is the number of pounds of broiler grower feed equal in value to 1 pound of broiler, live weight. The methodology utilizes major raw feed component prices from the Agricultural Prices report, published by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The major feed components of corn and soybeans account for 83–91 percent of the total ingredients in the rations.
  • Egg/feed ratio is the number of pounds of laying feed equal in value to 1 dozen market eggs. The methodology utilizes major raw feed component prices from Agricultural Prices, published by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The major feed components of corn and soybeans account for 83–91 percent of the total ingredients in the rations.
  • Turkey/feed ratio is the number of pounds of turkey grower feed equal in value to 1 pound of turkey, live weight. The methodology utilizes major raw feed component prices from Agricultural Prices, published by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The major feed components of corn and soybeans account for 83–91 percent of the total ingredients in the rations.

Methods

The Feed Grains Database allows users to select one or more specific data points across different fields, by Group or Commodity, by specific Data Attribute or by Item category. Most data are updated/revised monthly. White corn and processed feeds are updated annually.

The database is a compilation of data from multiple sources, including USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Agricultural Marketing Service; the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; the U.S. Department of Labor; the Association of American Railroads; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and data calculated by ERS.

The primary source of historical U.S. supply and use data are from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report and Foreign (world less U.S.) supply and use data are from USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Country-level data are available from FAS's Production, Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) Database.

Trade data are reported for both the United States and the world. U.S. trade data are calculated from U.S. Census Bureau data on a monthly basis, and then accumulated to an annual total annual while Foreign trade data come from USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service Production, Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) Database.

Marketing Years

Annual and quarterly supply-use statistics are on a marketing-year basis. Marketing years span calendar years and are often written to include both calendar years. For example, 1998/99 refers to the marketing year beginning September 1, 1998 and ending August 31, 1999. Marketing years differ by commodity and are as follows:

  • Corn begins September 1 and is comprised of four quarters (September-November, December-February, March-May, and June-August). Prior to 1986, the marketing year began October 1.
  • Sorghum begins September 1 and is comprised of four quarters (September-November, December-February, March-May, and June-August). Prior to 1986, the marketing year began October 1.
  • Barley begins June 1 and is comprised of four quarters (June-August, September-November, December-February, and March-May).
  • Oats begins June 1 and is comprised of four quarters (June-August, September-November, December-February, and March-May).
  • Foreign coarse grains are an aggregation on the basis of local (producing-country) marketing years, except adjusted imports, which are on an October/September year.
  • Hay begins May 1. Hay stocks are reported May 1 and December 1. Prior to 1987, stocks were reported on January 1.
  • Energy feeds, grain protein feeds, animal protein feed, wheat millfeeds, fats and oils, miscellaneous byproduct feeds, and grain-consuming animal units begin September 1.
  • Oilseed meals (soybean meal, cottonseed meal, rapeseed meal, and sunflower meal), rice millfeed, and milk products begin on October 1.

Conversion Factors

Several units of measure are used in this database. Here are a few useful conversion factors:

  • Corn, 1 bushel = 56 pounds
  • Sorghum, 1 bushel = 56 pounds
  • Barley, 1 bushel = 48 pounds
  • Oats, 1 bushel = 32 pounds
  • 1 metric ton = 2,204.622 pounds
  • 1 U.S. (short) ton = 2,000 pounds

Strengths and Limitations:

Strengths: The Feed Grains Database is an important and comprehensive component of USDA's data products. Menus on the custom query provide users an easy, customizable access to the data of their choice in one location with an option to export the data of interest into different format files.

Limitations: While we attempt to include major feedstuffs, we acknowledge that the database is not all encompassing and that there are variables left out due to the lack of reliable data sources.

Resources:

ERS:

Yearbook tables

Feed Grains Outlook Report

Feed Grains Sector at a Glance

U.S. Bioenergy Statistics

Other:

World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Report

PSD Data

Recommended Citation

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Feed Grains Database.