Successful Farming reports on the year in ethanol, part of a stretch that saw 13 plants close or temporarily idle since November 2018. Controversy had surrounded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to exempt five small refineries from the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2017, which requires refineries to use a certain amount of ethanol. That brought the total loss of demand to 2.6 billion gallons for the 2016-2017 years, with the total number of applications filed at 37. Two more were exempted in 2018. Since taking office, the Trump administration has granted 85 refineries exemptions amounting to 4 billion gallons of renewable fuel, killing demand for 1.4 billion bushels of U.S. corn. On the plus side, there was added demand for E15, and the promise of new international markets.