Moroni Feed Co., owner of the Norbest Turkey brand, is scheduled to shut down for three months, starting in late November. The idling will bring a 40 percent cut in production into 2009 and a layoff of 500 workers.

The shutdown is blamed on government subsidies for ethanol, which have helped fuel a price increase in the past year that has tripled the cost of corn (from $2 a bushel to more than $6). And as more corn is diverted from livestock feed into automobile tanks, consumers will be the next casualty, said plant spokesman Kent Barton.

"I don't believe consumers understand what's going to hit them next year. We haven't even begun to see the impact on the cost of food."

Beyond grocery store shelves, the effects already are being felt throughout central Utah.

Grower Tim Blackham said many farmers upgraded buildings and installed heaters when the plant launched plans five years ago to stay open year-round rather than operating on the traditional nine-month schedule.

"I'll have to do what a lot of others are doing," said Blackham, whose upgrades cost more than $100,000. "I'm going to my bank to renegotiate my loans."

Blackham is confident his bank will work with him, but like other farmers, he won't be in a financial position to give laid-off employees work while the plant is idled. The plant, with its $16 million payroll, makes it the largest private employer in Sanpete County, a small rural area with a population of less than 26,000. The population for Moroni, headquarters for the company, is 1,300.

As for employees, some are putting money aside to ride out the shutdown, but others face bigger challenges. About half the company's work force is Latino, and some are undocumented. Although a few have only recently been hired, many are longtime employees.

Some of the Latinos are moving on to find work elsewhere.

Alvaro Orozco is staying on to do maintenance and repair work during the shutdown, but he knows of others who are leaving the area.

"I have heard that some workers are going together in groups of three or four to rent a temporary place in Provo and Salt Lake City," said Orozco, 35, a Mexican national who has worked at the plant for six years. "Others will return to Mexico."

Pedro Gasca, 28, is leaving for the U.S.-Mexico border with his wife and 1-year-old son.

"We don't have any material belongings except a little car to get to work," he said. "I plan to stay in Mexico for about a year. I'll see what there is to do in my hometown, and anyway, I haven't seen my parents in eight years."

Plant worker Dave Ramsey said his "savings gives me some financial peace."

"It'll be nice having the time off without having any big worries," said employee Kori Hales, who also has a savings account. "I'll do some Christmas shopping and be ready for the holidays."

Moroni Mayor Ron Pipher said many of the laid-off workers will be getting unemployment benefits so he anticipates, no drain on services during the shutdown.

And Sanpete County Commissioner Claudia Jarrett said the closure will not affect the county budget because "the plant had operated for nine months in the past, so we're accustomed to the financial impact of a shorter work schedule."

Accustomed or not, this shutdown is being driven by forces outside Sanpete County, namely the going demand for corn.

Corn goes into 60 percent of the Moroni plant's feed ingredients. Pressures on prices have come from ethanol that gobbles up nearly one-third of the U.S. corn stocks, as well as spring flooding in the Midwest, which produces the bulk of the U.S. corn crop.

Utah, considered a grain-deprived state because of its arid climate, is particularly dependent on Midwestern corn for livestock and poultry.

"The price of corn will remain high because more ethanol plants are going into production," said the plant's processing division manager, George Dyches. "I don't even want to think about what could happen if there's any more flooding in the Midwest or a drought."

This month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its forecast for this year's corn harvest because of drier weather, potentially leading to higher commodity prices. U.S. corn production will be 12.1 billion bushels, down from its 12.3 billion estimate last month.

Although the predicted corn crop will be 8 percent below last year's, it would still be the second-largest on record.

dawn@sltrib.com

alule@ahorautah.com