Justification and Approval Decision to Restrict Competition Under SAT Solicitation 1232SA26Q0668_Redacted.pdf

This is a Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold filed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Sugarcane Field Station in Canal Point, Florida (Requisition Number 1167932) is restricting competition for the development and design of a mid-density Single Nucleotide Polymorphic (SNP) marker panel containing 5,000 SNPs for sugarcane genomic research. The acquisition involves updating an existing custom-made sugarcane SNP panel previously developed by Sugarcane Research Unit USDA ARS Houma, Louisiana. The updated panel will be used in sugarcane breeding for subsequent genotyping and genomic selection in the CP sugarcane breeding program. The suggested source is Covariance Biosciences dba Agriplex Genomics, located at 10969 Cedar Ave FL 5, Cleveland, OH 44106-3004 (UEI SAM: RUHMT8X2JD23).

The market research conducted by MD Islam, Research Molecular Biologist/Geneticist at USDA ARS, Sea, Sugarcane Field Station confirmed that no other companies identified are capable of meeting the required compatibility and performance criteria. The rationale for restricting competition centers on maintaining scientific integrity and avoiding technical variance, replication issues, and inconsistent data trends that would result from transitioning to a new vendor at this stage of the research program.