solesource latest Bilyeu winter nursery2022 with 5 year.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

MANDATORY TEMPLATE FOR FEDERAL PROCUREMENTS UNDER THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

1. Estimated Dollar Value:

$46,000.00

2. Anticipated Period of Performance:

Project period of performance is approximately 02/15/2022 – 02/14/2027

3. Does the anticipated Period of Performance include option years? If no, explain.

Yes

4. Sources Sought Notice posted to Contract Opportunities and attached to this document?

X Yes No

5. Market Research conducted and attached to this document? If not, explain.

Yes, Market Research was conducted before the location/vendor was chosen for the initial winter nursery research project began a few years ago. Moving to a new location would jeopardize the validity of the over-all research project based on ongoing results in the Costa Rica Seeds environment. Such a drastic change would negatively affect the project. Costa Rica Seeds has been the only company able to meet all project requirements.

6. Is this a new requirement or a follow-on to an expiring award?

☐ New requirement ☒ Follow-on to an expiring award 12505B21P0278

7. Describe the requirement. Please note that the requirement is the minimum acceptable specification or capability, and is not necessarily the best in the industry. Please note whether any additional follow-on work is anticipated in response to the current proposed effort.

The requirement is for multiple soybean winter nursery projects that take place around the same time every year in Costa Rica. These projects are performed during the fall, winter, and spring months in Missouri. The project entails the winter nursery receiving seeds that we ship to them. They plant and transplant the seeds/ seedlings into pots or the field as needed. They harvest leaf tissue samples onto special DNA collecting cards and ship those back to us. Then they discard unwanted plants after we analyze the DNA samples by genotype. The plants are maintained by sample number through flowering and harvest, and they harvest the seeds. For some projects, they then plant the harvested seeds and assist with the plant tissue sampling during the next generation. Then they harvest seeds from selected plants and ship the seeds back to us after the second cycle in time for planting here in the US. For other projects, they perform cross pollinations under lights in the field, also after sampling and shipping the leaf tissue for DNA analysis back in the US. For other projects, they note the flowering time of the plants and the harvesting dates. Other projects require slightly different procedures, and they work with us to carry out the experiment instructions, such as bulk harvesting rows or threshing single plants from rows or individual plantings.

They photo document the experiments and communicate any issues by email. The projects involve evaluating soybeans and seed composition experiments through customized services. The results are influenced by the growing environment of the projects. For some of the projects, specific environments similar to latitudes in targeted countries in Africa are required. Costa Rica Seeds is able to provide these latitudes.

KRISTIN BILYEU Digitally signed by KRISTIN BILYEU Date: 2022.01.25 13:14:34 -06'00'

8. List the proposed vendor and contact information.

The proposed vendor to carry out this service is Costa Rica Seeds, Dyanne Ulloa, (506) 317-5341

9. Describe why the proposed vendor is the only vendor from which the requirement can be obtained. Examples of acceptable justifications include but are not limited to: sole manufacturer and seller, adherence to warranty provisions, urgency, etc. If other vendors can provide similar products or services, describe why they cannot meet our particular requirement.

It is very important to have a consistent environment to conduct all of the winter nursery projects and experiments in order to minimize variations that can interfere with the results. Costa Rica Seeds has provided the growing environment for the winter nursery projects since the project began.

Costa Rica Seeds has been the only company able to provide the correct latitudes and services for these projects. In the past, estimates have been requested from other companies located in other states and countries, but none have been able to carry out all of the requested projects due to lack of ability and/or physical location. Furthermore, being that the soybean winter nursery project has been conducted through Costa Rica Seeds for so many years now, there is a major concern of inconsistent results if the project was moved to another country, state, or environment. In addition, seeds developed in the environment are returned to the US where testing can be done to determine selections. Moving to a new location would jeopardize the validity of those selections based on ongoing results in the Costa Rica Seeds environment. Such a drastic change would negatively affect the project. Costa Rica Seeds has been the only company able to meet all project requirements. A huge part of this is because of the company’s physical location. No other companies have been able to provide the correct latitudes and custom services for projects requested in previous years. Costa Rica Seeds has continuously provided the best value to the government for the soybean winter nursery projects.

10. Certification:

I hereby certify that the information provided above is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Technical Representative Date

11. CO Certification:

I hereby determine that the circumstances of this procurement action deem only one source reasonably available. Also, the quoted price is determined to be fair and reasonable as documented on the SAP e-File Checklist and Award Summary.

Contracting Officer Date

12. Level Above the CO Approval:

I hereby determine that the circumstances of this procurement action deem only one source reasonably available. Also, the quoted price is determined to be fair and reasonable as documented on the SAP e-File Checklist and Award Summary.

Supervisory Contracting Officer Date

01/31/2022

01/31/2022

Joshua J. Dobereiner Acting Acquisitions and Property Section Head, Midwest Area Acting Chief of the Contracting Office, Midwest Area

Joshua J. Dobereiner