VeraSun says it is paying for corn deliveries

The Sioux Falls, S.D., company's statement did not say whether it was paying contracted or market prices for the grain deliveries.

"VeraSun Energy values the relationships with our corn suppliers and recognizes their vital role to our business," it said in a statement. "We continue to work with suppliers while we pursue long-term financing."

VeraSun filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 31 after it bet wrong in the commodities markets. The company this week reported a third-quarter net loss of $476.1 million, or $3.03 per share, compared to a profit of $7.8 million, or 9 cents per share, during the same period last year.

VeraSun said bankruptcy code precludes payment for any goods delivered before Oct. 11, affecting about 10 corn producers with balances totaling about $360,000. The company said it has paid more than $9 million this month for corn delivered prior to its bankruptcy filing.

VeraSun said it will need to reject some corn contracts for delivery through the end of the year at its Janesville, Minn., and Welcome, Minn., plants due to the delayed startups.

"Other contracts may need to be rejected or renegotiated as we continue to work through them on an individual basis," the statement read.

VeraSun said it has stopped receiving corn at certain plants while it looks for additional financing, but it did not name those facilities.

Roger McEowen, director of the Iowa State University Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, said Thursday that VeraSun's plant in Woodbury, Mich., is no longer accepting corn and would shut down after it uses its supply, and he also learned that two of VeraSun's Iowa plants would soon shut their doors.

VeraSun confirmed in a letter to farmers and elevator operators earlier this week that it was closing, indefinitely, at least one plant in Dyersville, Iowa.