This came in handy in the spring of 2008 when corn shot to $7 a bushel.

The company, which produces over 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol each year, has the proper technology to lead the industry in ethanol output, Hudak said. “That’s one of the reasons that Poet is stronger than the rest of the industry. The technology is more efficient. We produce more ethanol out of each bushel of corn than any other company in the industry.”

Poet’s success, however, could be linked with the market’s version of natural selection.

“What you see in a recession is a shake-out of less efficient firms,” explained Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University.

“What we’re seeing in the ethanol industry, to a certain respect, is a natural business cycle,” said Mark Walters, a representative for farmers who promotes biofuels for the Indiana Soy Bean Alliance and Indiana Corn Marketing Council.

He agreed that the ebb and flow of the market tends to reveal the companies with staying power. “Whenever you have a boom business cycle for a new industry, you naturally have a pull back and, in many cases, a restructuring and you sort of separate the men from the boys.”

Poet, he said, is part of the first group. “What you see in Poet is a company that really knows what it’s doing. They’re very effective in controlling their costs. They make smart decisions. They make long-term decisions. They’re careful. They’re doing OK, even in a downturn.”

Though the industry is suffering now, Walters is confident about the future. “I’m not too concerned that we’re going to see this wholesale collapse of the ethanol industry. It brings jobs. It infuses capital into rural environments ... The long-term prospects for ethanol are still strong.”

The most recent crisis, Hicks said, could be remedied by another surge in gas prices.

Hicks said the ethanol industry hit a major snag when gas prices started falling in November. When gas prices are high, he said, ethanol is valuable. When they are low, it’s not as necessary. “At $6 a gallon of gas, there’s no doubt that ethanol is a competitor. At $3, there is some doubt.”