NIGP 94454: Miscellaneous Farming Services

NIGP 94454 Miscellaneous Farming Services, an Item code, covers agricultural land leasing, hay harvesting, habitat restoration through native plantings, field operations management, and associated maintenance services that state and local governments procure to steward open space, wildlife areas, and conservation easement properties. Issuing bodies include county parks and open space departments, state environmental and wildlife agencies, city parks and recreation departments, economic development authorities, and special-purpose districts managing agricultural conservation land. The scope ranges from multi-year agricultural leases with sustainability and soil health requirements (Boulder County Parks & Open Space, Colorado; City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation, New Mexico) to custom field services including mowing, baling, plowing, seeding, and herbicide application (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife Bureau), hay cutting operations (Botetourt County Economic Development Authority, Virginia), and ecosystem restoration projects combining plant procurement and multi-year maintenance (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife). Evaluation criteria across these procurements typically weigh sustainability alignment, operational experience, financial viability, and equipment capability alongside cost, with many jurisdictions requiring proof of insurance, prevailing wage compliance where applicable, and adherence to conservation practices or FAA restrictions as conditions of award.

Recent activity concentrates in the Mountain West and Mid-Atlantic regions. Washington and Colorado dominate the current pipeline, with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issuing an RFQQ (due July 13, 2026) for native tree and shrub planting at the Samish River Unit across five counties—an estimated $227,000 contract over three years with mandatory bidder walk-through on May 26, 2026, and 70-point cost / 30-point experience evaluation—and Boulder County Parks & Open Space posting four consecutive RFPs for agricultural leases (AHI Agricultural Lease posting March 27, 2026, due April 21; Wilkie Miller lease posting April 2, 2026, due April 24; James Construction lease posting April 10, 2026, due May 8). New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection solicited custom farm services across 102 price lines (bid T2931, posted February 26, 2026, due June 12) covering reclamation, soil prep, planting, haying, and herbicide operations across northern, central, and southern regions. Additional recent activity includes the City of Albuquerque's Alamo Field farming RFP (posted March 17, 2026, due April 15, mandatory pre-proposal March 25) requiring regenerative agriculture and wildlife habitat management on 10 acres, Botetourt County EDA's hay-cutting IFB (posted March 10, 2026, due April 7), and Ventura County's Oxnard Airport commercial development RFP (posted March 20, 2026, due April 30) that, while airport-adjacent, does not align with the farming code's core scope.