BSE Sample Collection

USDA APHIS Veterinary Services Cattle Health program has an ongoing need for vendors with access to fallen stock and Central Nervous System Impaired (CNSI) suspect bovine across the United States. These animals typically enter a secondary rendering market once identified. Vendors will be required to collect and submit obex tissue samples extracted from the animal carcass brain stem. The samples are tested by a network of laboratories for the presence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). This solicitation will be used to award multiple 5 year IDIQ contracts to vendors with access to cattle populations across the United States. Contracts will be set aside for small business. The NAICS code and resulting size standard for this requirement are 311612 with a size standard of 1000 employees or less. Due to the constant changing demographic of our country's cattle population, the geographical areas we target are constantly changing. It is the Government's goal to have a minimum of two sources for each geographical area, however the Government reserves the right to award as many IDIQ contracts as it deems fit to meet its complex requirements. As an ongoing requirement, the Government reserves the right to award IDIQ contracts against this solicitation for a period of one year from date of posting. The minimum order requirement will be set at a quantity which equals $3,000.00 or less for all contracts. Maximum order limitations will vary based on the targeted area and whether a vendor has access to multiple geographical areas but shall not exceed $10 million. No contract awarded as a result of this solicitation will have any obligation to order beyond the initial minimum. As a multiple award solicitation. All resulting contract awards will be posted in an attachment to this solicitation titled "Awards List." Please review the attached documents for further details. Please contact the contracting officer by email at Robert.J.Zeglin@aphis.usda.gov if you are interested in the requirement or have any questions not answered in the supporting documents. To be considered for award, please submit the following to the contracting officer at Robert.J.Zeglin@aphis.usda.gov: 1. A copy of the RFQ document page 1 and 2 with the following: a. block 17a completed also include your vendor DUNS number b. block 30a signature c. block 30b name and title of signer d. block 30c Date signed e. Complete the schedule of supplies/services (block 20) by listing the pricing for each of 5 years for a type A and type B sample collection. (See section 2.0 Price Schedule in the statement of work for an example of the schedule structure.) f. Provide a statement indicating: i. the U.S. states for which you have access to target cattle samples ii. your businesses size (greater than 1000 employees = large, 1000 or less employees = small) iii. indicate any of the targeted plants you may have access to if applicable. The targeted plants are selected based on the quantity of animals they process and the average age of the cattle they process. The USDA APHIS places a priority on accessing animals with a higher average age as CNS impairment usually does not exhibit itself in younger animals. (A listing of the targeted plants is included in the attachment titled "Targeted Plants.")