A05 Checchi-Magli Brand Name JandA Redacted.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Competitive Award of Items Peculiar to One Manufacturer

Identification Number:

Rev. 3/3/26

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4 and General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) 538.7104-4 (b) (2)(i), the following justification documents the decision to restrict competition for this acquisition.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

Requisition Number:

Requesting Activity Agency: Agricultural Research Service

Contracting Activity: Purchase of Checchi and Magli transplanter

(2) Estimated Value.

(3) A description of the item.

Item Name/Model: Checchi and Magli two-row FoxDrive Plus transplanter is a two-row, central-drive, high-precision sweetpotato transplanter capable of accurately gripping bare-root vine cuttings (slips) and placing them with controlled spacing and depth. Features include roller-chain gripper planting chains, positive sprocket engagement, rigid toolbar, irrigation tanks, disc kits, and Category II three-point hitch.

Manufacturer: Checchi and Magli

(4) Basis for restriction.

The identified item is peculiar to one manufacturer. This brand/feature is essential to the Government’s requirements because:

Checchi and Magli is the only manufacturer of a transplanter designed to grip bare-root sweetpotato vine cuttings (slips), with central drive, roller chains, and precise control of in-row plant spacing and depth. Other manufacturers of transplanters use square link chains, plastic sprockets, and carousel type transplanting wheels that result in free-fall of the plant and inconsistent depth, orientation, and inaccurate plant spacing. There are only three U.S.

distributors of the Checchi and Magli FoxDrive Plus sweetpotato transplanter.

appears to be the only distributor that has this transplanter in stock with irrigation tanks ready to deliver.

Using a different transplanter would result in inconsistent plant spacing and depth, which would directly compromise the precision required for research trials, especially those evaluating yield, plant performance, and treatment effects. Sweetpotato yield is highly sensitive to planting depth and spacing uniformity; therefore, variability introduced by alternative transplanter mechanisms (such as free-fall carousel wheels or square-link chains) would create unacceptable experimental noise, reduce statistical power, and undermine the reliability of research outcomes. Additionally, only the Checchi & Magli roller-chain gripper system maintains consistent orientation and placement of bare-root slips, which is essential for reproducible research conditions. Furthermore, the precise slip-handling mechanism substantially reduces labor requirements by eliminating the need for manual correction of mis-spaced or improperly set plants. Competing models require frequent adjustment or replanting due to inconsistent depth and slip release, increasing labor costs and slowing field operations. The FoxDrive Plus system enables efficient, uniform, and labor-saving transplanting, supporting both research integrity and operational efficiency.

(5) A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason Market Research was not conducted.

Extensive market research was conducted on transplanters. We consulted with collaborators at other sweetpotato specific research programs, including NCSU, consulted with our farm manager, and spoke to technical respresentatives from agricultural equipment suppliers, and searched the internet for transplanters. There appear to only be three manufacturers of transplanters, and only one, Checchi and Magli, makes a transplanter that specifically works with bare-root plants such as sweetpotato to grip the plant and ensure proper in-row spacing and depth control. The other two manufactuers, and have more generic transplanters that work with a wide range of crops, but do not provide the precision required for proper spacing and depth control in a research program.

(6) Competition plan.

Solicitation Approach: Issue a restricted competitive solicitation among authorized U.S.

We contacted the manufacturer of the transplanter, Checchi and Magli; they do not sell directly to the end user, so they provided contact information for two U.S. distributors of the transplanter.

Number of Schedule Holders that will be solicited:

Certifications & Approvals

Technical / Requirements Personnel Certification I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.

8/30/26 Date

Contracting Officer’s Certification I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Name Date Contracting Officer