UPDATE 1-VeraSun delays 220 mln gpy of U.S. ethanol output

(Adds details about Midwest floods, VeraSun's other plants)

NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - VeraSun Energy Corp VSE.N said on Monday it is delaying the opening of two Midwest ethanol distilleries until market conditions improve.

The plants, each scheduled to produce 110 million gallons per year, were to be built in Welcome, Minnesota, and Hartley, Iowa.

VeraSun spokesman Michael Lockrem said record corn prices and comparatively low ethanol prices, compared to spikes in gasoline prices, have made making ethanol difficult.

"The combination of those two things just don't warrant the start-up of those two facilities at this time," he said.

The decision had nothing to do with floods that have ravaged the corn crop across the Midwest, spiking corn prices above $7 a bushel, Lockrem said.

The plants had been scheduled to come on line during the second quarter of the year. Lockrem could not say if they would start this year.

"We will monitor the market on a daily basis and are very optimistic that we will open these plants as soon as possible," he said.

Lockrem said the flooding has not hit production at VeraSun's current fleet of distilleries. "They've been operating at full capacity," he said.

The company still plans to open three other ethanol distilleries by the end of this year in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Christian Wiessner)