Grand Osage Wildlife Area - Haying

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, through the Kansas Department of Administration Office of Procurement and Contracts, is soliciting competitive sealed bids for agricultural haying services on approximately 718 acres distributed across six tracts located at the Grand Osage Wildlife Area and Great Plains Industrial Park near Parsons, Kansas. The procurement requires furnishing of all machinery, equipment, materials, labor, and related services necessary to conduct one annual hay cutting and baling operation between July 1 and July 25, with complete hay removal required by August 15 each year. The contract period extends from the date of award through December 31, 2028, and bidders must submit pricing on a per-acre basis for each of the six individual tracts, which range from 50.26 to 188.5 acres. Qualified bidders must be established firms with a minimum of three years of continuous active participation in comparable agricultural services and must submit bids electronically to Procurement@ks.gov or hand-deliver them to the Kansas Department of Administration, Procurement and Contracts office at 900 SW Jackson, Room 1001, North Topeka, KS 66612-1286. The bid closing date is June 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM CST, with written questions due by June 5, 2026. Award will be determined by competitive bid selection based on the highest payment per acre offered, and all bid submissions must include bidder registration, signature sheet, immigration certification, sexual harassment policy acknowledgment, Israel boycott certification, telecommunications equipment certification, tax clearance certificate from the Kansas Department of Revenue, three references, and a completed cost sheet. Submission requirements also specify that the property will remain open to the public for hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing, and the permittee is responsible for maintaining noxious weed control compliance and managing soil erosion through approved conservation practices.

Bidders may claim applicable preferences including Disabled Veteran Owned Business, Certified Business, or State Use Purchases categories if supporting documentation is provided with their responses. The contract replaces previous agreements (contract numbers 54345, 38314, 43185, and 38320), indicating that current incumbent vendors from these prior contracts may be seeking re-award. No specific budget range or award value is published in the solicitation; rather, payment will be determined by the highest per-acre bids submitted and will be issued annually on or before August 31 each year via electronic funds transfer. The procurement officer for this opportunity is Bridget K. Martinez, reachable at 785-296-2375 or bridget.martinez@ks.gov. Failure to complete harvest operations within the specified timeline, timely removal of hay, or any conviction of game or fish law violations may result in permit revocation. The State of Kansas reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bid responses and to waive informalities or technicalities as deemed appropriate.