Maize Winter Nursery- Country of Chile

The USDA Forest Service, on behalf of the Agricultural Research Service, seeks maize winter nursery services in Chile, with proposals due September 21 at 5:00 PM PT. The procurement is a 100% small business set-aside, restricting eligibility to firms meeting the NAICS 111150 size standard of $2.5 million.

Work is performed in Chile from October 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027. The contractor shall establish and operate a nursery of approximately 1,500 rows (totaling approximately 2,000 row-equivalents) and deliver all field activities including land acquisition and preparation, planting, monitoring, weed and pest control, pollination services, irrigation, fertilization, harvesting, drying, shelling, fumigation to meet U.S. import standards, phytosanitary certification support, and preparation of seed for return shipment via commercial carriers. The contractor must provide bi-weekly or monthly progress reports with photographs, collect and return agronomic data including stand counts and flowering information, and identify any variances from specified requirements in its quote.

The nursery composition includes approximately 920 self-pollinated rows with individually packaged shelled ears, 80 sib-pollinated rows shelled and packaged by row, and 250 paired rows for cross-pollination with bulk-shelled ears. Each row measures 4 meters with 22 kernels planted per row. Harvesting occurs when grain reaches 12%-14% moisture content.

This is a firm-fixed-price commercial services contract under FAR Part 12. The NAICS code is 111150, Corn Farming; PSC is F009. The contracting officer is Veronica L. Beck (951-405-4068), and the technical point of contact is Adam Mahan (adam.mahan@usda.gov, 515-460-2100). Offers submit to veronica.beck@usda.gov and must include all costs in the attached Schedule of Items format.