Purchase and Delivery of a (Brand Name) High-Volume Seed Counter

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service seeks purchase and delivery of one Ball-Coleman brand high-volume seed counter with quotations due September 18, 2026, and questions due September 14. This is a Total Small Business set-aside, though an amendment has revised the requirement from brand-name sole to "brand name or equal" to enable full and open competition among small business concerns.

Place of performance is Ames, Iowa. The seed counter must count corn seeds at 75 seeds per second with 99.9% accuracy, process batches up to 5,000 grams with a 1,500-gram hopper capacity, generate individual-seed data on area, length, and width exportable in CSV or Excel format, feature a touchscreen interface for calibration and counting management, integrate with barcode scanners for sample identification, and include software capability to connect to a balance for simultaneous mass capture with counting data. The equipment must be designed for benchtop use. NAICS code is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. Delivery is required within 120 days of award to 716 Farmhouse Lane, Ames, Iowa 50011-1051.

This is a firm-fixed-price purchase order with F.O.B. destination shipping terms. Offerors must hold prices firm for 90 calendar days from the offer receipt date. Evaluation follows FAR 12.204 fair and reasonable pricing standard, with the lowest-priced, technically acceptable offer receiving award. If the lowest-priced offer is technically unacceptable, evaluation proceeds to the next lowest-priced offer. Past performance will be rated as acceptable, neutral, or unacceptable. Offers proposing an equal product must clearly identify the product, manufacturer, brand name, model or part number, and provide sufficient descriptive literature demonstrating equivalence to stated characteristics.