To prevent inadvertent commingling with enhanced grains that are now so pervasive throughout U.S. agricultural areas, planters have to be thoroughly cleaned between fields. Farmers need to pay attention to field location and wind conditions to prevent cross-pollination. Harvesting equipment and storage bins need to be thoroughly cleaned, and farmers may need additional storage to identity preserve non-genetically enhanced crops. Farmers need to be compensated for those additional costs. Similar steps need to be taken at the country elevator or terminal.
Separate bins have to be prepared and cleaned.
Trucks need to be dumped in the right pit. Pits, conveyers and loading equipment need to be cleaned as do trucks, railcars or barges at every stage in the supply chain. These extra steps reduce efficiency and raise handling costs. Finally, transportation costs are volume driven and rise quickly for small, irregular shipments that cannot be commingled with other grain. Some customers are prepared to pay the additional costs for identity-preserved conventional grains and oilseeds, but many are not.