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VeraSun Energy Corp. will postpone the opening of two new Midwestern ethanol plants because of the rising cost of corn and less-than-attractive ethanol prices.

The company had planned to open plants in Welcome, Minn., and Hartley, Iowa, this month. The Welcome facility — which would be served by the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad Corp. (IC&E) and Union Pacific Railroad — is designed to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol and process 39 million bushels of corn annually, making the plant the one of the nation's largest ethanol-producing facilities. The Hartley plant would be served by the IC&E.

The facilities will open when market conditions improve, VeraSun Energy said. No specific timetable was released.

Last year, VeraSun Energy opened an IC&E-served ethanol plant in Charles City, Iowa. The company operates other IC&E-served plants in Aurora, S.D., and Fort Dodge, Iowa.