Plastic & Metal Ear Tags for Goats & Sheep

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services Division (VS), is seeking a contractor(s) to provide plastic tamper evident and metal tamper evident or resistant premises and alphanumeric serial identification eartags for sheep and goats. Deliveries will be required nationwide. The Contractor(s) shall furnish all the needed supplies, shipping, and equipment, to provide the eartags in accordance with the specifications listed in the solicitation. Award of Firm-Fixed Price Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity commercial supply contract(s) contract are anticipated for these eartags. The anticipated effective period of the contract shall be on or about October 1, 2014, or date of award, whichever is later. The contract will include a one year base period with the option to extend the contract for an additional four (4) years. Offerors must be approved scrapie program tag manufacturers and the tags and applicators (devices) offered must be approved scrapie program devices, or the offerors must have submitted an acceptable application for approval prior to award. See the attached Company Agreement and Application Form for further information on this process. This solicitation will require that offerors submit sample ear tags, applicators and supporting data in order to evaluate the tags. Tags will be evaluated for durability, retention, tag closure, legibility, injury to the ear, utility in the field, and absence of toxic or irritating substances in the composition of the tags. Tags shall have excellent retention and legibility rates in sheep and goats throughout their lives and must minimize injury to the ear. Data meeting the following requirements is desirable for evaluating tag retention, durability and legibility: - At least 100 lambs and/or kids tagged at 8 weeks or less of age with the test tag and the current plastic tag provided free by APHIS in the opposite ear should be evaluated at least 90 days after application. - An accredited veterinarian or other third party acceptable to APHIS should observe the application of the tags with the type of applicator provided for use with the tags and record the type of tags and applicator used, the ages and types of animals used, the numbers on the tags applied to each animal, and any problems with the application of the tags including any difficulties in applying the tags, using the applicator or if there is an unusual amount of discomfort to the animal during or after application. - The accredited veterinarian or other third party acceptable to APHIS should observe the tags at least 90 days after application and record any tags that are lost or damaged, the number of ears disfigured or infected and the severity, the legibility of the tags including fading, and any other issues observed that may affect the utility of the tags or applicator. - This data must be provided with the application and must be signed by the accredited veterinarian or other acceptable third party. If such data is not available other types of retention data and/or evidence of long term successful use in sheep/goats may be considered in evaluating retention; however, to be considered responsive it must provide evidence of an acceptable level of retention as determined by APHIS. Please contact Diane Sutton at +1 (555) 000-0000 for questions regarding becoming an approved scrapie program tag manufacturer or the supporting data requirement. All other questions and inquiries must be directed to the contract specialist Corinne Nygren at +1 (555) 000-0000. This notice is only a synopsis. The solicitation will provide information on the specifications as well as the where to submit samples. The solicitation, AG-6395-S-14-0014, will be released at www.fedbizopps.gov on or about January 7, 2014. After release, one may download a copy of the solicitation at www.fedbizopps.gov. NOTIFICATIONS WILL NOT BE SENT TO OFFERER'S REGARDING THE ISSUANCE OF THE SOLICITATION NOR ANY OF ITS AMENDMENTS. IT IS THE OFFERER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THIS WEB SITE PERIODICALLY FOR AMENDMENTS. Proposals shall be submitted to the contracting activity by the date and time indicated in the request for proposal.