Notice of Intent to Sole Source - 16 Heads of Colostrum Deprived Holstein or Holstein/Cross Calves

This special notice is in accordance with FAR 5.2, Synopses of Proposed Contract Action. This is a notice of intent to make a sole source award and is not a solicitation or request for competitive quotes.

This award will be made utilizing Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with: Federal Acquisition Regulation 13.106-1(b)(1) For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold. (i) Contracting Officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deems only one source reasonably available.

The USDA-ARS National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, IA has a need for 16 heads of colostrum deprived Holstein or Holstein/cross calves. Only one source has been found within the required travel distance from the NADC facility, that is able to guarantee the required supply, and has raised the calves to NADC specifications. The calves are also to be acquired from the same source in order to reduce variability between animals and preserve the integrity of the resulting data from the studies being run to ensure data across various studies can be compared. USDA-ARS MWA Procurement Office in Peoria, IL on behalf of the NADC Office in Ames, IA intends to make a firm fixed price sole source award under the authority of FAR 13.106-l(b)(l)(i), only one responsible source, to:

Superior Livestock, Inc.

3911 Cardinal Avenue,

Joice, IA 50446

The objective of this sole source award is to procure 16 heads of colostrum deprived calves which meet the following required specifications.

To maintain calf genetic needs and agreeable travel distance, purchase from Superior Livestock, Inc. has been determined to be required. This is critical because these animals are being used in immunological studies which are very sensitive to animal to animal variation. Calves were purchased from Superior Livestock, Inc. for previous studies and the calves must be from the same source for this study as continuity of animals is critical to be able to compare between studies. Receiving all calves from the same vendor (Superior Livestock, Inc.) decreases the variability among individual animals because they will have all been exposed to the same environment. Due to the nature of colostrum deprived calves, transport duration to NADC should not exceed 3 hours. Strict dietary, treatment and intervention protocols are required for these studies as well. These requirements include calves must be housed individually without physical contact with other calves, calves must receive electrolytes rather than milk replacer for the first 48 hours after birth, and all calves must be at least a month of age. Calves need to be raised by the vendor and delivered to NADC at the specified age of 6-7 weeks. Other vendor sources for calves are similar in cost but further in distance or cannot guarantee the supply of animals needed and will not raise the calves to the specifications provided by NADC:

• Calves must be BVD-negative for antibody and antigen
• Calves must be Colostrum Deprived
• Calves must be provided NO milk replacer for the first 48 hours
• Calves must be housed individually
• Calves must be dewormed
• Calves must be free of ringworm
• Calves must be sound of foot and body
• Calves must be 6-7 weeks old
• Calves must be available for delivery on or near 8/31/2022
• Calves must be transported directly to NADC with no other animals in the trailer.
• 16 calves must be available with comparable size across the group of the same breed (mixed dairy/beef breed)
• A Certificate of Veterinary Inspection is required for all animals.

Requirements are for Colostrum Deprived Calves from a single source that meets the following identified criteria: (1) the number of calves needed (16) will be available within the given time frame. (2) The calves all have an acceptable health status. (3) The vendor is located with an acceptable distance for delivery within the allotted time (under 3 hours from NADAC). (4) Calves were previously purchased from this vendor as we must have the same supplier to maintain consistency through the studies.

As such, purchase from Superior Livestock, Inc. has been determined to be required as they are the only vendor available that meets all of the requirements outlined above.

The NAICS code for this requirement is 112990 (All Other Animal Production) with a small business size standard of $1.0 Million. The PSC code for this requirement is 8820.

NO solicitation or solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is NOT a request for competitive quotations; however, interested vendors that regard themselves as capable of providing a product that can fulfill the requirements are invited to submit responses to the Government for consideration. Interested parties may identify their interests and capability to respond to this requirement by NO later than Thursday, August 4 (08/04/2022) at 5:00PM (CT) to Aaron Dimeo at aaron.dimeo@usda.gov. NO phone calls will be accepted. The e-mail subject line shall include: 12505B22Q0182NOITSS.

Any submission in response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence as well as be in sufficient enough detail to show that they can provide a product that would meet the Government’s need and that competition would be advantageous to the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement.

Again, this is NOT a request for competitive quotes. This notice is for informational purposes only. Responses received shall be considered by the agency; however, determination by the Government whether or not to compete this proposed award upon response to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. No reimbursement for any cost connected with providing capability information will be provided.