Corn futures fall below $4 a bushel as ethanol production slips

In Illinois, Chicago corn futures have fallen below $4 a bushel after the Energy Information Agency reported that ethanol production fell by 25,000 barrels per day last week on shrinking crush margins. Some ethanol plants are already running in the red with margins at just 21 cents per gallon, but increasing DDGS demand has lifted prices to that point that the equivalent is 62 cents per gallon of ethanol, up from 40 cents a month ago.