Patricia Cohen

Patricia Cohen supports the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Cotton Division in managing critical logistics and infrastructure contracts essential to the national cotton supply chain. Though her official title is not listed, her procurement activities center on securing specialized freight services and maintaining bale pressing and conveying systems at regional facilities. She ensures the integrity of cotton sample transportation through compliant, high-reliability logistics solutions, directly advancing the agency’s mission of market transparency and quality assurance. Her acquisitions are narrowly focused on local specialized trucking services, aligning with operational needs for timely, regulated movement of cotton samples between gins, warehouses, and testing labs. Cohen’s contracting patterns reflect a disciplined approach to vendor engagement, with a consistent reliance on local and regional freight carriers capable of handling USDA-mandated sampling protocols. While no specific contractors are publicly identified, her portfolio demonstrates a preference for vendors with proven expertise in cotton-handling logistics, including those familiar with USDA-AMS sampling standards and secure chain-of-custody procedures. Her working relationships are characterized by long-term operational partnerships rather than transactional procurements, emphasizing reliability, compliance, and service consistency over competitive bidding alone. Cohen exhibits a strong commitment to socioeconomic contracting, with nearly 40% of her awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, and an additional 13.3% reserved for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Her contracting strategy prioritizes small business participation, reflecting USDA’s broader goals of equitable economic opportunity in rural and agricultural supply chains. She rarely utilizes other set-aside categories, indicating a focused preference for general small business and SDVOSB eligibility over 8(a) or HUBZone mechanisms. Her procurement domain is exclusively anchored in NAICS 484220—Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local—reflecting deep expertise in the unique requirements of cotton sample hauling. She procures only local, point-to-point freight services equipped for bale handling, climate-controlled transport where necessary, and compliance with USDA’s transportation and documentation standards, ensuring seamless integration with the national cotton grading and marketing infrastructure.