Contract Structure and Design in Identity Preserved Soybean Production

This paper provides a survey of contract design structures in identity-preserved soybean production. We document the allocation of value and decision rights associated with the transaction and the resulting allocation of risk associated with various sources of uncertainty for a sample of contracts for identity preserved (or segregated) G O-free soybeans. We also list several hypotheses and avenues for future research suggested by the contract terms discussed in the paper. This paper represents a necessary first step in developing a taxonomy of contract structures that will enable more systematic research on determinants of contract structure and their implication for economic performance at both the production and processing levels of the agri-food system