Vickie A. Lutes

Vickie A. Lutes serves as a Purchasing Agent within the Agricultural Research Service’s Procurement and Workforce Administration office (Agency Code: 12905B), where she plays a critical role in securing the specialized goods and services essential to advancing U.S. agricultural science. Her responsibilities include managing the full lifecycle of procurement actions—from market research and solicitation to contract award and administration—for laboratory equipment, research infrastructure, and field operational support. She ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning acquisitions with the agency’s mission to modernize research environments and sustain cutting-edge scientific capabilities. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Lutes maintains consistent working relationships with vendors specializing in high-precision scientific instrumentation, biological manufacturing, and agricultural logistics. Her procurement patterns reflect a preference for established suppliers with proven technical expertise in niche domains, including laboratory automation, specialized freight services, and agricultural machinery. She collaborates closely with technical stakeholders to define performance-based requirements and evaluates proposals through competitive sealed bidding and negotiated procedures. Lutes demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic goals, with 96.3% of her acquisitions conducted as non-set-aside actions under full and open competition, while 3.7% are structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides in accordance with FAR 19.5. This reflects a balanced approach that prioritizes market efficiency while ensuring opportunities for qualified small businesses to participate in mission-critical procurements. Her primary procurement focus centers on NAICS codes 621511 (Medical Laboratories), 325414 (Biological Product Manufacturing), 311119 (Other Animal Food Manufacturing), 484230 (Specialized Freight Trucking), and 333111 (Farm Machinery Manufacturing). These reflect her expertise in acquiring analytical lab systems, bio-based research inputs, animal feed production equipment, cold-chain logistics, and precision agricultural machinery—all vital to sustaining the ARS’s national research network.