Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source contract in accordance with RFO FAR 6. 103-1
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Solicitation number
- 12639526Q0080
- Agency
-
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Department of Agriculture
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 334517 Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing
- Place of performance
- McAllen, Texas, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a Special Notice on March 27, 2026, regarding a sole-source contract award in accordance with FAR 6.103-1. The notice pertains to the procurement of J.L. Shepherd 484C-P, Sub-Model 484R-2D dual-chambered, self-shielded Cobalt-60 irradiators and associated services for a New World Screwworm sterilization facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. J.L. Shepherd and Associates, a woman-owned small business based in San Fernando, California, has been identified as the sole contractor capable of fulfilling this requirement. The sole-source justification is based on J.L. Shepherd's status as the original and only manufacturer of the specific irradiator model proven and tested for New World Screwworm pupae sterilization. This procurement is critical to protecting Texas's cattle industry, valued at approximately $10 billion annually with 12.2 million head of cattle.
The primary objective of this contract is to establish operational capability to sterilize New World Screwworm pupae at the facility, with target milestones of 100 million pupae per week by November 2027 and 300 million pupae per week by December 2028. The contract includes four base items—two irradiators and Year 1 preventive maintenance plans—with twenty optional items extending maintenance coverage through Year 4 and four Cobalt-60 reloads. The deadline for responses to this Special Notice is April 27, 2026, allowing potential contractors a one-month notice period before anticipated award. The contract is executed under FAR Part 12 commercial item procedures, and J.L. Shepherd is registered in SAM.gov as a woman-owned small business. Delay in contract award could jeopardize USDA's ability to meet the Secretary of Agriculture's Readiness and Response Policy Initiative, which requires the facility to be operational within 20 months to serve as a front-line defense against New World Screwworm infestation entering the United States.
Notice text
J.L. Shepherd is the original manufacturer of self-shielded irradiators. They provide a complete solution to the irradiator requirement, offering irradiator manufacturing, installation, relocation, maintenance, source reloading, and disposal. J.L. Shepherd is the sole manufacturer of the identical model e.g., model 484C-P, Sub-Model 484R-2D, of NWS irradiators in use at the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm Infestation in Livestock (COPEG) facility located in Panama. This model is currently the only proven and tested model for sterilizing NWS by USDA and thus is the model that will need to be used at the new MAB site’s design and operational plan. The specifications and supporting materials and supplies for this
specific model is what has been incorporated into the new MAB site’s procurement requirements.
Utilizing this model achieves two major objectives:
- Utilizes irradiators that have been tested and utilized for the precise purpose of NWS pupae sterilization, in the volume and quantity required. This is in compliance with the Secretary of Agriculture’s strategy “use of proven sterile insect technology” and supported but USDA’s Office of Homeland Security, Radiation Safety Division; and
- Incorporates a system accounted for in the design and operation of the building being designed at MAB in Edinburg, TX.
Delay in the award of this contract will seriously impact the ability of USDA to meet the Secretary of Agriculture’s Readiness and Response Policy Initiative, requiring this facility, and these irradiators, to be operational in 20 months. This facility will be a front-line defense, keeping the NWS from moving to the United States and infecting the Texas cattle overall agricultural industry.
As of January 2025, Texas is estimated to have approximately 12.2 million head of cattle, the leading state in beef production in the U.S. The industry contributes approximately $10 billion in revenues annually. The next potential impact, New Mexico, has an estimated 9,000 beef cattle ranches and contributes over 16,000 jobs, generating $1.68 billion in output.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Irradiator JOFOC_03232026_Redacted.pdf |
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