Native Seeds

The State of Minnesota is requesting proposals for native seeds and native seed mixes to support conservation, restoration, and other projects for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Department of Transportation, University of Minnesota, Minnesota State, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and members of the State's Cooperative Purchasing Venture program, with proposals due September 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM CDT through the SWIFT Supplier Portal.

The contract will be awarded to one or more contractors on an as-needed, non-exclusive basis without guaranteed minimum or maximum order volumes. Contractors must hold a valid Category A or Category C Seed Permit from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture prior to contract execution and demonstrate a minimum of three years of experience providing comparable goods and services. All seeds and mixes must comply with seed zone frameworks, ecotype requirements, invasive species prohibitions, and geographic sourcing requirements established by the DNR and BWSR. Responders must submit detailed quality assurance protocols addressing prevention, detection, and response to contamination, along with customer notification and corrective action procedures. Yellow Tag-certified seed must be identified on ordering documents.

The contract term runs from November 1, 2026 through October 31, 2028, with an option to extend up to an additional 36 months in increments determined by the State. Pricing is set on a per-pound basis for individual species and standard seed mixes, with custom mix pricing calculated by multiplying per-pound species prices by the number of pounds in the mix. All prices are quoted in U.S. dollars, FOB Destination with freight prepaid. The State will pay invoices within 30 days of receipt.

Responders must complete Exhibit D Price Schedule and are not required to submit offers for every item; blank line items may be populated by the State with the highest price received from all responders. Required insurance includes Commercial General Liability of $2 million per occurrence and Commercial Automobile Liability of $2 million combined single limit. Questions are due September 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM CDT to Molly Gunderson at molly.gunderson@state.mn.us or 651-201-3171. The solicitation encourages small businesses and businesses meeting diversity and inclusion criteria to apply; eligibility information is available through the Office of Equity in Procurement.