As corn prices fall and oil prices rise, Iowa’s ethanol industry is showing signs of life after a difficult year, according to a report by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (www.wcfcourier.com).
Last October, VeraSun Energy Corp. (www.verasun.com), Iowa’s largest ethanol producer at the time, filed for bankruptcy. Pine Lake Corn Processors (www.pinelakecorn.com), the state’s smallest farmer-owned ethanol plant, followed VeraSun into bankruptcy court two months later, as a combination of record-high corn and low ethanol prices crippled the industry, reports the WCF Courier.
Today, the WCF Courier says the economics of ethanol production have improved significantly, and while plant officials say they”re not making money hand over fist, ethanol production can once again be performed profitably.
A bankruptcy court ruling is scheduled for Nov. 18 concerning Pine Lake”s reorganization plan, according to the WCF Courier. If approved, the plant will emerge from Chapter 11 with Prairie Land Cooperative of Hubbard, its largest creditor, as majority owner.
Officials say the ethanol business has stabilized. That”s good news for farmers supplying its chief ingredient, thousands of Iowans employed by the industry and the state”s economy, reports the WCF Courier.
To read the full WCF Courier report on this story, click here.
