Corn Prices Drive Up Swine Finishing Feed Costs

The cost of swine finishing feed has been on the rise due to increasing corn prices. As of early September, corn futures prices for the December 2026 contract were $4.97 per bushel at the 25th percentile, $5.33 per bushel at the 50th percentile, and $5.70 per bushel at the 75th percentile.

Using these projections, feed costs for swine finishing operations are expected to increase by 5.4% to 8.4% in the remainder of 2026 compared to the first eight months of the year. By 2027, average feed costs are projected to be around 10% higher than those experienced in 2026.

A regression analysis found that each $0.10 per bushel increase in corn prices results in a $0.43 per cwt increase in feed cost, while each $10 per ton increase in soybean meal prices leads to a $0.37 per cwt increase in feed cost.