SWMRU Harvesting Contract - SOW.docx

Statement of Work Project: Harvesting Corn, Soybean, and Cotton for Sustainable Water Management Research

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.0 Scope of Work: Scientists of the USDA-ARS Sustainable Water Management Research Unit (SWMRU) in Stoneville, MS conduct research projects to develop technologies improving water use efficiency to promote the sustainable use of water resources. Field experiments are necessary in their research. SWMRU personnel prepared, planted, and managed experimental corn, soybean, and cotton crops, however support is needed to assist the scientists in achieving research goals. Support is needed to harvest the fiber and grain, deliver the grain to Farmers Grain in Greenville, Mississippi, and provide yield data by experimental plot unit to scientists. Seed cotton will be delivered to the Cotton Ginning Research Unit in Stoneville, Mississippi.

Harvesting of corn and soybean will need to be conducted with contractor-provided equipment callable of providing yield monitor data to the scientists. Cotton harvest will be conducted using USDA-owned equipment, but the contractor must be qualified to operate the spindle picker.

Approximately 45 acres of soybean, 55 acres of corn, and 120 acres of cotton need to be harvested. It is estimated that there will be 3,250 bushels of soybean and 11,000 bushes of corn in need of harvesting and hauling to Farmers Grain in Greenville, Mississippi. All fields are located in Washington County, MS. All grain harvesting and all, but 20 acres of cotton harvest, will be conducted at 4006 Old Leland Rd, Leland MS. The other 20 acres of cotton harvest will be conducted at Cumbaa farm (approx. 33.441015, -90.889228).

2.0 Background: SWMRU scientists operate large-scale research plots (20+ acres) and therefore have a need for large-scale harvesting equipment. The nature of the research necessitates precision agriculture data, such as spatial-yield information, be collected during harvest. As research develops, the ability to conduct this harvest in-house will be developed, but at this time contractor support is needed to gather the data.

CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

3.0 Technical Requirements:

· Grain harvest must be performed with a contractor-provided harvester equipped with yield monitors.

· Yield monitor should be calibrated for each grain crop. The calibration loads should be between 3,000 and 8,000 lbs.

· Specific plots have been designated for the calibration grain to be collected from. Contractor will coordinate with SWMRU farm manager at time of harvest.

· ARS staff should be kept informed regarding the harvesting plan so research equipment can be protected against possible damage.

· Contractor will not use ARS equipment and fuel to perform the grain harvest as listed above.

· Contractor will be responsible for any cost for the equipment used to perform the grain harvest as listed above.

· Cotton harvesting will be conducted utilizing USDA furnished equipment.

· Cotton harvest will either be conducted using a basket-style spindle picker in which case harvested cotton will be transferred by the contractor from the harvester to USDA-provided cotton trailers, or a John Deere CP770 round module baler in which case the modules will be wrapped in USDA-provided wrap and staged at the direction of USDA personnel. USDA personnel will relocate trailers or staged modules as needed.