Haylage

SUNY Morrisville is soliciting bids for custom haylage chopping services for approximately 150-200 acres per cutting across multiple harvests occurring between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027. The procurement involves comprehensive harvesting services including mowing, merging, chopping, hauling, and packing of forage for the college's dairy operation. The contractor must demonstrate the capability to respond within 48 hours of harvest notification to ensure forage quality is maintained for the college's high-producing dairy herd, with timeliness being critical due to narrow weather-dependent harvest windows. Required equipment includes a large-capacity self-propelled chopper capable of applying inoculant (supplied by the college), large-capacity hay mowing machinery, a tractor with a minimum 30-foot-width merger, a minimum of four 10-wheel trucks with high-capacity silage boxes, and a large weighted blade/packing tractor. Bidding is conducted on a per-hour basis for the chopper, merger, packing tractor, and trucks with fuel costs included in the bid price, and transportation charges are limited to one-way equipment travel from the contractor's home station to the farm and return. The contractor must provide yield maps upon completion of each harvest. The bid submission deadline is April 17, 2026, and interested parties should contact deyocm@morrisville.edu to obtain the complete bid documents.

This procurement does not establish any set-asides, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) goals, Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) goals, Women Business Enterprise (WBE) goals, or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals, meaning all qualified contractors are eligible to bid. Dairy Support Services Co. Inc. is identified as the previous awardee for substantially similar services. No specific budget range or award value is provided in the solicitation materials. SUNY Morrisville reserves the right to engage additional equipment or contractors if the primary contractor cannot meet the 48-hour response requirement, which underscores the critical nature of contractor reliability and responsiveness to support the dairy operation's operational needs.