clipped from: www.bloomberg.com   
The Agriculture Department is in discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency about raising the amount of ethanol blended into the U.S. gasoline supply, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
About 21 percent of the U.S. capacity for ethanol production is idle,
as an industrywide expansion of production facilities outpaced demand.

The EPA in November said it would require gasoline to contain a 10.2 percent blend of biofuels this year.

Mark McMinimy, an analyst with Stanford Group Co. in Washington, said

“I’m not sure how much difference it could make to profits margins in the short term,” he said.

Ethanol producers have faced declining margins from a competitive market, coupled with low oil prices and relatively high prices for corn, used to make ethanol, said McMinimy.

“That dynamic has to be changed,” he said.