By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
The ongoing U.S drought has made corn a scarce commodity, which has forced 20 ethanol plants in the United States to halt production. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, 20 out of 211 ethanol plants have had to halt production over the past year. Most of the plants will still remain open, as this will be an opportunity to perform maintenance related tasks. Despite this, it is expected that ethanol production won’t resume again until this year’s corn is harvested sometime in August or September. There is a growing concern that another season of drought during this year’s corn-growing season could mean bad news for the industry. Corn is expected to remain in short supply and expensive until the 2013 corn crop is harvested.