S01 PWS DMC Decision Tool Maintenance FINAL.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

FOR THE FARM SERVICES AGENCY

(FSA)

DAIRY MARGIN COVERAGE (DMC)

DECISION TOOL MAINTENANCE

Revision 3

7/22/2024

1 INTRODUCTION

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is an agency under the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The agency administers and manages farm commodity, credit, conservation, disaster, and loan programs as laid out by Congress. FSA is structured with a National Office, located in Washington, D.C., State offices in all 50 States and Puerto Rico, and over 2,220 County Offices.

The Farm Service Agency administers the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) which provides risk management protection for participating dairy operations. The DMC Dairy Decision Tool is an online resource used by participating DMC dairy operations to assist with margin selection in the annual DMC enrollment in addition to providing information regarding milk price and feed cost trends.

1.1 Mission

The Farm Service Agency mission is to equitably serve all farmers, ranchers, and agricultural partners through the delivery of effective, efficient agricultural programs for all Americans.

1.2 Background

The Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) decision tool was developed in 2014. The tool margin information is updated every weekday with new data from the futures and options data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This data is used to estimate the future U.S. All Milk price, and a ration value comprised of corn, premium alfalfa hay, and soybean meal. The tool calculates point estimates and confidence intervals for the dairy margin between milk and feed ration costs. The decision tool helps to inform dairy producers about risk protection available from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in addition to being a vital resource for the dairy industry and FSA personnel.

While DMC has evolved over two consecutive Farm Bills, the decision tool has been modified to accommodate the changes made to the DMC program. Dairy producers and consultants regularly use the tool and are appreciative of the dairy margin forecast information provided.

In the summer of 2020, representatives of the University of Wisconsin-Madison upgraded the tool to improve focus on risk management aspects of the DMC program. The tool was used more than 25,000 times during the sign-up period for 2021, and overall enrollment in the program increased from 51.16 percent in 2020 to 72.45 percent of eligible operations enrolled for 2021. Since 2021, enrollment in DMC has remained consistent with the decision tool considered a valuable resource for participating DMC producers.

The previous agreement with USDA, transitioned the tool to a more modern software platform, with higher security standards, and number of new features requested by dairy producers. The performance required as detailed by this performance work statement is designed to cover the basic maintenance for the decision tool. In addition, because a new Farm Bill is probable in 2024, program changes are expected in DMC that may require decision tool updates and to be available for the 2025 DMC Coverage Election Period tentatively scheduled in the fall of 2024.

1.3 Scope

FSA requires to contract for maintenance services for the DMC Dairy Decision Tool. It is the responsibility of the contractor, to ensure the DMC Decision Tool is accessible and operational at all times. The maintenance responsibilities in the contract are in place to sustain the performance of the tool and provide accurate information to those that use the tool as an information resource.

The contractor will provide the following maintenance responsibilities during the period of performance for this project.

Monitoring daily performance of the DMC tool o Assure milk and feed price forecasts are updated daily o Confirm the website is available and operational o Secure forecasting models for milk, corn, premium alfalfa hay and soybean meal prices

Maintaining the code for the DMC tool to make sure the technology is current Keeping the decision tool current to reflect all potential DMC program changes due to a new Farm Bill that may include:

o Production history updates o Tier 1 and Tier 2 coverage limits o Lock-in premium discounts.

Due to the tool hosted by the University of Minnesota on dairymarkets.org, the contractor needs to create a new URL for participants to have direct access to the tool at all times. The contractor will ensure the decision tool is operational and working as intended for end users.

The period of performance for this activity is expected to be as follows:

Base year - September 1, 2024 – August 30, 2025 Option year 1 – September 1, 2025 – August 30, 2026 Option year 2 – September 1, 2026 – August 30, 2027 Option year 3 – September 1, 2027 – August 30, 2028 Option year 4 – September 1, 2028 – August 30, 2029

2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

This section describes the general requirements for this effort.

2.1 Non-Personal Services

The Government shall neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees, except for the site lead.

It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services. If the Contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the Contractor’s responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, immediately.

2.2 Location and Hours of Work

Work under this contract is performed at Contractor facilities. Normal agency workdays are Monday through Friday, except U.S. Federal Holidays. Agency employees typically work eight hours per day, 40 hours per week. Federal employee core hours of work are from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM daily. DMC tool site must me fully accessible during these core hours.

2.3 Travel

No travel will be performed under this award.

2.4 Invoicing

Invoices must be submitted electronically through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) system and in accordance with the payment clause(s) in the contract. Invoices will be submitted on a monthly basis after services are rendered.

3. CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE

This section describes the work that must be performed to achieve the required objectives, performance/delivery timing, and the associated performance standards (e.g., acceptable quality levels) that must be met in order for the service to be acceptable.

3.1 Performance Objectives/Tasks

The specific performance objectives required include the following:

3.1.1 Conduct Post-Award Conference.

This meeting shall provide an introduction between the Contractor and Government personnel who will be involved with the contract. The meeting shall provide the opportunity to discuss technical, management, and security issues. The Post-Award Conference will aid both the Government and Contractor in achieving a clear and mutual understanding of all requirements, and, identify any potential issues. The Contractor shall provide a written summary of the Post- Award Conference. The Contractor is responsible for scheduling and leading the meeting.

3.1.2 Develop Implementation Plan for Farm Bill Changes

The meeting will occur between the Contractor and Government Personnel after a new Farm Bill is approved that may requires change to the tool due to DMC program changes. Contractor will present the structural and functionality changes to the tool including timelines for completion.

3.1.3 Conduct Annual Review.

The Contractor will coordinate with Government Personnel to conduct an annual review to discuss decision tool performance and potential improvements.

3.2 Deliverables/Schedule

Timely completion of deliverables is essential to a successful outcome. Below are the required due dates for each performance objective.

Item No.

Deliverable Performance Objective/Task

Due

1 Conduct Post-Award Conference

Conduct Post-Award Conference between Government and Contractor personnel. PWS Section 3.1.1.

Within 10 calendar days of contract award.

2 Develop Implementation Plan due to DMC Farm Bill Changes

To ensure the DMC Decision Tool is changed to correspond to any DMC program changes due to a new Farm Bill. PWS Section 3.1.2.

Within 30 days of Farm Bill approval

3 Conduct Annual Review

Discussion of decision tool performance and potential enhancements. PWS Section 3.1.3.

During the 12th month of contract (December)

3.3 Performance Requirements Summary

The Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) establishes a minimum performance standard for each performance objective/task that must be met for the work to be considered acceptable.

Contractor performance not meeting these standards is considered nonconforming. At its discretion, the Government may require reperformance of nonconforming services at no increase in contract price. If reperformance will not correct the defects or is not possible, the Government is entitled to an equitable price reduction or adequate consideration for acceptance of nonconforming services and/or supplies. The absence of any contract requirement from this PRS shall not detract from its enforceability nor limit the rights or remedies of the Government under any other provision of the contract for noncompliance.

PWS

Section

Performance Objectives/Tasks Performance Standards and Acceptable Quality Levels

3.1.1 Conduct Post Award Conference. Within 10 calendar days of contract award.

3.1.2 Develop Implementation Plan due to

DMC Farm Bill Changes

Plan addresses any requirements to deploy website and data service as defined in 3.1.2.

3.1.3 Conduct Annual Review Review will be a coordinated effort with the contractor and government personnel to review and discuss the decision tool performance. During the 12th month of contract (December)

4. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

This section describes the special requirements that apply to this contract. The following sub-sections provide additional detail for each requirement.

4.2 Restrictions Against Disclosure

The Contractor agrees, in the performance of this contract, to keep all information contained in source documents or other media furnished by the Government in the strictest confidence. The Contractor also agrees not to publish or otherwise divulge such information in whole or in part, in any manner or form, nor to authorize or permit others to do so, taking such reasonable measures as are necessary to restrict access to such information while in the Contractor’s possession, to those employees needing such information to perform the work provided herein (e.g., on a "need to know" basis). The Contractor shall to immediately notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, in the event that the Contractor determines or has reason to suspect a breach of this requirement.

The Contractor agrees not to disclose any information concerning work under this contract to any persons or individual unless prior written approval is obtained from the Contracting Officer. The Contractor agrees to insert the substance of this clause in any consultant agreement or subcontract hereunder.

Performance of work may involve access to potentially sensitive information about governmental and landowner issues. All Contractor personnel shall comply with the terms of AGAR clause 452.224-70 (Confidentiality of Information), as well as provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) Additionally, the Contractor’s personnel shall comply with privacy of personal information relating to agency programs in accordance with Section 1244 of Title II of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171) and Section 1619 of Title I of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The Contractor’s employees shall not disclose contents of agency case files and/or records to anyone other than authorized United States Department of Agriculture employees without the express written consent of the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Officer, through the Contracting Officer.

4.3 Organizational Conflicts of Interest

The Contractor acknowledges that it is familiar with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest, and agrees to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflicts of interest in accordance with the principles set forth in the FAR. If the performance would require the Contractor, including subcontractors, to provide services related to systems or projects with which the Contractor is already directly concerned, either by prime or subcontract, that would cause an organizational conflict of interest, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, and not perform the work until direction is provided by the Contacting Officer.