Augusta Nursery General Labor

The Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Forestry is requesting bids for general labor and supervision at the Augusta Nursery in Crimora, Virginia, under IFB covering the lifting season, with sealed bids due October 6, 2026, and a mandatory pre-bid conference held at the site.

Award is restricted to DSBSD-certified small businesses, women-owned businesses, and minority-owned businesses.

The scope encompasses counting, processing, and packaging approximately 2–5 million conifer seedlings and 2–4 million hardwood seedlings, and lifting approximately 100,000–125,000 linear bed feet of hardwoods and 30,000–40,000 linear bed feet of conifer seedlings. Work begins on or around December 1, 2026, or within seven days of notification, with potential resumption around early January weather permitting. Contractors must maintain a minimum of 12–15 workers from December through January and 18 workers from February through job completion. All personal protective equipment, supervision, and worker hydration are contractor-provided. Contractors must demonstrate prior experience providing these services for the Virginia Department of Forestry or other state agencies.

The contract period runs from November 1, 2026, through October 30, 2027, with four optional one-year renewals. Award is made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder based on net pricing. The pricing schedule requires unit prices for counting, processing, and packaging (measured per 1,000-seedling package; quantity 9,000) and for lifting (measured per 100 linear bed feet; quantity 1,650).

Contractors must comply with federal immigration requirements, OSHA standards, and E-Verify program participation if employing an average of more than 50 employees. Minimum insurance includes workers' compensation (statutory), employer's liability ($100,000), commercial general liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate), and automobile liability ($1,000,000 combined single limit if applicable). Payment terms are net 15 days to the Department of Forestry's accounts payable department.