Monique Murrell

Monique Murrell serves as a key procurement lead within the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Agricultural Research Facility Management and Procurement Division, where she facilitates the acquisition of specialized laboratory instrumentation, precision maintenance services, and mission-critical research support systems essential to advancing agricultural science and food security. Her role centers on ensuring that high-throughput biological and environmental research facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art analytical tools, including mass spectrometers, automated biosampling systems, and controlled-environment infrastructure. She manages a diverse portfolio of contracts spanning technical services, facility upgrades, and custom software solutions, aligning acquisitions with the agency’s mission to sustain innovation in sustainable farming and agricultural resilience. Murrell maintains consistent working relationships with a select group of specialized vendors, including Germfree Laboratories, LLC for sterile environmental systems, J’s Associates, LLC for technical consulting, and Millennium Enterprise Corp. for precision equipment integration. Her procurement approach emphasizes long-term vendor partnerships with firms possessing niche expertise in research facility operations, laboratory automation, and agricultural-specific compliance standards. These relationships are cultivated through structured solicitation processes that prioritize technical capability, past performance, and operational reliability over broad market competition. A strong advocate for socioeconomic inclusion, Murrell consistently directs 60% of her acquisitions toward small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a deliberate commitment to empowering small and emerging vendors in the scientific services sector. While no single socioeconomically designated category dominates, her portfolio regularly includes awards to small businesses with demonstrated capability in laboratory infrastructure and agricultural technology domains. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 111940 (Hay Farming), supporting research on forage systems and sustainable feed production, followed by 311119 (Other Animal Food Manufacturing) for nutritional science initiatives and 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services) for data-driven agricultural modeling tools. This blend of biological, manufacturing, and IT-focused acquisitions underscores her technical fluency across interdisciplinary research ecosystems.