Drought cited in Mo. ethanol production suspension

Friday, January 25, 2013

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A central Missouri ethanol plant is suspending production effective Feb. 1, saying the extended drought has made it virtually impossible to get enough corn to make the fuel.

POET Biorefining said Friday that its plant in Macon, Mo., will remain open and all 44 employees will keep working, spending their time doing maintenance-related work.

Spokesman Matt Merritt says there is simply not enough local corn to keep making ethanol at the plant, and shipping in corn from elsewhere is too expensive. Missouri has been hit hard by the drought that has dragged on for months.

Merritt says POET will continue to purchase corn for future use when it becomes available. There is no timetable for resuming production.

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based POET operates 27 plants in seven states.

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JCLifer 3 months, 4 weeks ago

Burning our food is quite foolish.

JCsleeper 3 months, 4 weeks ago

Wonder if the will drop the 10% ethanaol requirement so that we can have decent fuel once again ?

linoge 3 months, 4 weeks ago

Let's throw the whole ethanol thing out the window. It has never been self-supporting in a free market system and the only reason it became law is because our then Republican Governor wanted to increase his family's fortune at taxpayer's expense. Well wait a minute, that wasn't the only reason. We were also fighting terrorism. Remember? We had to cut our dependence on foreign oil and if we failed to do so, Osama bin Laden would soon be marching down Main Street USA. Ethanol production would solve a big part of our energy problem and prevent "those Arabs" from forcing our children to learn Arabic in kindergarten. Now that the United States is ahead in crude oil production, let's change the law and let the ethanol producers sink or swim. If they can spin straw into gold without a taxpayer subsidy, then by all means let them have at it. Otherwise, if I have to spend over $3.00 per gallon for gasoline, at least let me buy real gas.

connor 3 months, 4 weeks ago

The subsidy for ethanol is a Federal mandate enforced by the EPA it had little to do with a Republican Governor even if he thought it was a good idea and benefited from it. Recently due tot he drought several energy companies have asked for the mandate to be removed or lessened and the Democrat Obama regime running the EPA says no.

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