Corn Winter Nurseries

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service seeks a corn winter nursery operation for the 2026–2027 season, with quotations due September 3, 2026, at 2:00 PM Central Time. This is a 100% small business set-aside with a small business size standard of $2.5 million under NAICS 111150, Corn Farming.

Place of performance is on Maui, Oahu, or Kauai, Hawaii, with delivery to the Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo. The contractor must operate a complete short-day corn nursery from September 30, 2026, through April 30, 2027, managing 420 rows of planted corn across four categories: 120 self-pollinated rows (15-foot length, 25 kernels per row, early October) with individually packaged ears; 150 paired rows for cross-pollination (15-foot length, 25 kernels per row, mid-October) with bulk-shelled seed in 16-ounce envelopes; 50 sib-pollinated rows (15-foot length, 25 kernels per row, early October) with bulk-shelled seed in 12-ounce envelopes; and 120 self-pollinated rows (10-foot length, 15 kernels per row, mid-November) with individually packaged ears. The contractor must perform field activities including land preparation, planting, monitoring, weed and pest control, pollination, irrigation, fertilization, harvest, drying, shelling, fumigation, phytosanitary documentation, and shipment. Service Contract Labor Standards apply, with prevailing wage rates for gardeners at $29.45/hour. The contract is firm-fixed-price. Evaluation uses three criteria: technical capability demonstrating sound, compliant approach meeting all Performance Work Statement requirements; past performance (recency, relevancy, and quality from at least three relevant contracts within the preceding three years); and price (fair and reasonableness). Quotations must include completed SF1449 forms with all line-item pricing, supporting documentation of technical capability, acknowledgment of any amendments, and active SAM.gov registration. Pricing must be held firm through September 30, 2026. No questions will be addressed due to tight timeline; questions must be submitted 72 hours prior to close if submitted at all.