Part 3 series intro: A nearly finished plant in Valle Hermoso, Mexico — less than 40 minutes from Brownsville — was built to turn sorghum into clean fuel and give Tamaulipas farmers the stable market they’ve lost.

Instead, a federal rule that prevents ethanol from entering Mexico’s gasoline supply has left the $15 million project idle.

This final story in our three-part series examines how a stalled clean-energy plant is deepening the grain crisis across the Northern Mexico–South Texas border region.

Read Part 1, which documents falling sorghum prices and the rising costs squeezing the agricultural community.