Grounds Maintenance Services for USDA, AMS, Cotton & Tobacco Program, Memphis, TN

The Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service seeks grounds maintenance services for its Agricultural Marketing Service Cotton & Tobacco Program facility in Memphis, Tennessee, with quotations due May 18, 2026 and questions due May 12, 2026. This procurement is set-aside for SBA-certified Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB), with a small business size standard of $9.5 million.

Place of performance is the USDA, AMS, Cotton & Tobacco Program facility at 3275 Appling Road, Memphis, Tennessee. The contract is a five-year firm-fixed-price IDIQ with five one-year ordering periods running June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2031, with an optional six-month extension. Standard grounds maintenance services include weekly lawn mowing (grass height not exceeding 3.5 inches), trimming, edging, fertilizer application (minimum three times annually), weed control, flowerbed and shrub maintenance (minimum 30 flats of seasonal plants quarterly for designated months), mulch application (2–3 inches depth, minimum two applications annually), tree pruning in November, watering system maintenance, bi-weekly to weekly leaf and trash removal, pest and disease control (estimated two applications per month May through September), and concrete drainage ditch maintenance (maximum twice yearly). Above-standard snow and ice removal services are ordered as-needed and priced hourly. The contractor must comply with Service Contract Labor Standards wage requirements ($17.30 per hour monetary wage plus $5.09 per hour fringe benefits for grounds maintenance laborers) and provide all personnel, equipment, materials, supplies, and supervision, including an on-site contractor representative.

Evaluation criteria weight technical approach highest, followed by price fairness and reasonableness and past performance (acceptable or neutral). Award is not necessarily made to the lowest-priced vendor. An optional site visit was held May 8, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CDT; attendance was not mandatory. The incumbent contractor, Harris Joseph D, performed services valued at $36,157 for September 13, 2024 through September 12, 2025. Vendors must possess a valid SAM.gov account and maintain current SBA-EDWOSB certification by the quotation due date. Quotations must include a technical approach narrative (maximum 10 pages), completed pricing, and a vendor experience sheet demonstrating prior contract experience.