USDA Sole Source Notification for an Interim Purchase Order of Ground Corn Cob

USDA Sole Source Notification for an Interim Purchase Order of Ground Corn Cob

1. Sole Source Notification
2. Authority FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) Contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name or industrial mobilization).
3. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection Quarantine (PPQ) Mexican Fruit Fly (MexFly) Rearing Facility located at Moore Air Base, 22675 North Moorefield Road, Edinburg, TX 78541 intends to award a sole source purchase order (NTE $31,860.00) to Fairview Grain LLC, 604 Nemaha Street, Seneca, KS. This is an interim purchase order until a new contract or contracts can be established to supply ongoing needs. A new solicitation is anticipated to be posted at www.FBO.gov within the next few weeks.
4. The purpose of this interim purchase order is to purchase ground corn cob used as a diet ingredient to grow Mexican fruit flies that are sterilized and released into the wild in order to control agricultural infestations. Specifications are 80 mesh and/or finer. Moisture not to exceed 10%. Packaged in 50 pound bags. Free of harmful microbial contaminants including parasitic worms or nematodes and fungi, bacteria, and yeast documented as harmful to insect rearing or associated with human diseases. No pesticide/chemical residues levels that negatively affect fruit fly production.
5. Fairfield Mills is currently a subcontractor providing contaminant-free ground corn cob processed to APHIS specifications in order to fulfill an open order issued to The Andersons, Inc. of Maumee, OH under Blanket Agreement AG-6395-B-15-0026. The Andersons recently closed a manufacturing plant and is no longer able to supply the required product.
6. A determination by the Government not to compete with this interim purchase based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Simplified procurement procedures per FAR 13 will be used as well as commercial item acquisition regulations per FAR 12. Any inquiries regarding this ground corn cob acquisition must be submitted by email to michael.j.chiodi@aphis.usda.gov by Tuesday, May 9, 2017, 3:00pm central time for consideration.