Tree Seedling Bags

The Commonwealth of Kentucky's Finance and Administration Cabinet, on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, issued Request for Bid (RFB) 758 2600000134 on September 12, 2025, to procure forestry tree seedling bags for delivery to two nursery locations in Kentucky. The solicitation encompasses eight line items totaling 12,225 bags across five distinct size specifications, ranging from 15"x3"x35" to 40.5"x11"x25", all requiring 3-ply construction manufactured to GCMI 90P specifications with bottom-sewn construction and gusset tape over sewing, and featuring green printing with the required logo design. Deliveries must be made to John P Rhody Nursery in Gilbertsville, Kentucky (five line items totaling 6,225 bags) and Morgan County Nursery in West Liberty, Kentucky (three line items totaling 6,000 bags), with all deliveries due by December 1, 2025, though earlier delivery will receive scoring preference. The procurement is divided into two groups allowing vendors to bid on one group, all groups, or any combination thereof, with vendors permitted a 10% quantity overrun allowance on all orders and required to include all shipping costs in their pricing on an F.O.B. Destination Freight Prepaid and Allowed basis. The bid closing date is September 26, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. ET, with a bid reading scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET the same day via conference line, and written vendor questions must be submitted by September 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Award will be made on a best value basis using a weighted evaluation approach of 90 points for price and 10 points for delivery, with vendors required to maintain commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate prior to contract award.

Kentucky resident bidders are eligible for reciprocal preference equal to the preferences given by nonresident bidders' states of origin, and qualified bidders receive preference designations including Kentucky Correctional Industries, Kentucky Industries for the Blind, and nonprofit organizations serving individuals with severe disabilities, which receive preference bonuses of 20 percent and 15 percent respectively of maximum available points. All bidders must submit required affidavits under Kentucky Revised Statutes 45A.110 and 45A.115, including a general attestation regarding compliance with campaign finance laws, and those claiming resident bidder or qualified bidder status must provide corresponding attestations supported by documentation of Kentucky business authorization, corporate income tax filings, unemployment insurance fund payments, and workers' compensation insurance maintained for one year prior to the advertisement date. Vendors must register in the Commonwealth eProcurement System prior to submission and provide only electronic bids in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PDF format. The solicitation is a re-solicitation of RFB 758 2600000098, which closed on September 10, 2025, without an award, and the Commonwealth reserves the right to cancel the RFB if all responses exceed available funding. No specific contract award value or budget range is disclosed in the procurement documents; the total contract value will be dependent on the pricing provided by successful bidders for the specified quantities across the eight line items.