Amendment to Alfalfa Hay, 600 Tons

This Special Notice is an amendment to a Request for Quotation (RFQ) issued by the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) for the procurement of alfalfa hay. Solicitation number 1232SA26Q0016 seeks 600 tons of round, net-wrapped alfalfa hay to be delivered to Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Montana, for use in cattle research projects. The amendment extends the response due date to January 30, 2026, allowing potential sources to submit new or revised quotations. This is a total small business set-aside opportunity, limiting eligibility to small businesses with 1,000 or fewer employees as defined under NAICS code 311119 (Other Animal Food Manufacturing). The procurement is structured as a firm-fixed price contract for one year, with award made to the offeror representing the best value based on lowest price technically acceptable criteria.

The primary purpose of this amendment is to extend the deadline for submission of quotations to allow additional time for interested vendors to prepare and submit responses. Contractors must deliver 582 tons of alfalfa hay across ten business days from February 2-13, 2026, at a rate of approximately 62 tons per day (with the final delivery of 42 tons on February 13), with deliveries occurring Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. All hay must meet strict quality specifications, including sourcing from 2025 crops, crude protein levels between 15-22%, and compliance with various purity and condition requirements; bales must weigh between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds, though larger bales up to 1,700 pounds may be accommodated. Quotations must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format to winston.buchanan@usda.gov and must include company letterhead with the solicitation number, SAM Unique Entity ID, and a statement of agreement with all terms and conditions. Award will be based on price evaluation, with only the lowest-priced technically acceptable offer initially reviewed; if that offer fails evaluation, the process continues with successively higher-priced offers until an acceptable offer is identified.