Brent D, Ternes

Brent D. Ternes serves as a procurement specialist within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) at the Minneapolis, MN office, supporting critical biosecurity and infrastructure initiatives aligned with USDA’s mission to protect U.S. agricultural resources. He manages the acquisition of specialized equipment and facility-related solutions essential to diagnostic laboratories, quarantine facilities, and pest containment operations. His portfolio focuses on high-integrity, mission-critical procurements that enable rapid response to invasive species and zoonotic threats, ensuring compliance with federal acquisition regulations and scientific operational standards. Ternes maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of contractors, including Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC; Thorobred Aviation Maintenance, Inc.; Trace First Limited; and AR6 Construction & Engineering, LLC. These partnerships reflect a pattern of engaging niche vendors capable of delivering customized engineering, aviation support, and specialized construction services tailored to APHIS’s unique biocontainment requirements. His procurement approach prioritizes vendors with proven expertise in regulated environments, often requiring adherence to USDA biosafety protocols and facility certification standards. Ternes demonstrates a strong and exclusive commitment to small business participation, with 100% of his acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate strategy to foster innovation and capacity-building among small, agile contractors who can respond nimbly to urgent biosecurity needs. His contracting patterns consistently prioritize socioeconomic programs that empower small businesses, reinforcing APHIS’s broader goals of equitable opportunity and resilient supply chains. His primary procurement focus centers on NAICS 337215—Showcase, Partition, Shelving, and Locker Manufacturing—indicating specialized demand for custom-built, biosecure storage and containment systems used in laboratory and field operations. These systems must meet stringent pathogen isolation, decontamination, and environmental control specifications, requiring technical expertise in materials science, airflow engineering, and regulatory compliance. Ternes’s domain expertise lies in translating complex biological safety requirements into precise, compliant procurement specifications.