A market survey is being conducted to determine if there are adequate Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), Women-Owned, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contractors available for a proposed project who meet the specific criteria outlined below. This is not a solicitation Announcement or Request for Proposal. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will not award a contract on the basis of responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, Women-Owned, or other small business firms, or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition. Department of Agriculture (ARS) requests responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for these services. The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following service: Define Minimum Requirements 18 Holstein Calves - Either bull calves or heifer calves but all 18 must be of the same gender. CD calves given electrolytes for first 48h then can be transitioned to milk replacer. Must be BVDB Ab and Ag negative. Colostrum deprived calves reduces the variability in immunological studies. Isolation of individual calves in hutches, and limiting physical contact between calves. Due to the nature of colostrum deprived calves, transport duration to NADC should not exceed 3 hours. Strict dietary, treatment and intervention protocols are required for these studies as well. These requirements include calves must be housed individually without physical contact with other calves, calves must receive electrolytes rather than milk replacer for the first 48 h after birth, and all calves must be at least a month of age. Calves will be raised by the vendor and delivered to NADC at the specified age of 3-4 weeks. Calves will be delivered the week of June 1st, 2020 .Colostrum deprived calves reduces the variability in immunological studies. Isolation of individual calves in hutches, and limiting physical contact between calves. Due to the nature of colostrum deprived calves, transport duration to NADC should not exceed 3 hours. Strict dietary, treatment and intervention protocols are required for these studies as well. These requirements include calves must be housed individually without physical contact with other calves, calves must receive electrolytes rather than milk replacer for the first 48 h after birth, and all calves must be at least a month of age. Calves will be raised by the vendor and delivered to NADC at the specified age of 3-4 weeks. Receiving all calves from the same vendor decreases the variability among individual animals because they will have all been exposed to the same environment. This is very important because we are using these animals in immunological studies which are very sensitive to animal to animal variation. To be eligible, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A vendor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register in SAM. Vendor must include their DUNS# on their capability statements. The NAICS code for the expected acquisition is 112111 , with a Size Standard of $1 MIL dollars and the PSC Code is 8820. Any subsequent procurement will be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and as a Simplified Acquisition Procedure in accordance with FAR Part 13. Companies who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with ARS, should submit a Capabilities Statement which, for this notice, is not expected to be a proposal, but rather short statements regarding the company’s ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. Companies should also indicate whether they are a Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), SDVOSB, or Women-Owned Small Business. Responses should be submitted by (5/08/2020 @5:00PM central time) to the attention of ( Randall Reinertson ) at the address above. Questions should be directed to Randall Reinertson,
[email protected]