2017 INDUSTRY MEETING 

FOR 

USDA FOODS CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS

OCTOBER 24-25, 2017 

ARLINGTON, VA
Outline

• The Team for Dairy, Grain & Oilseed Products

• FAR Overview

• 2-Day Requirement for NLT Waiver Submissions

• Bidding to Port vs Final Destination

• Changes and Improvements 2017

• Language Changes (GovDelivery) FY2018

• Other Upcoming Changes for FY2018 
Dairy, Grain and Oilseeds Team
Dairy Grain and Oilseeds Team

Christine Gouger 816-926-3379 

Christine.Gouger@ams.usda.gov

• Section Supervisor 
Dairy Grain and Oilseeds Team 

Jeff Jackson 816-926-2530 

Jeffrey.Jackson@ams.usda.gov

• Contracting Officer

– Dairy, Grain & Oilseed Products

– Multifood Warehouses

• Contract Specialist for

– Pancakes & Tortillas 
Dairy, Grain and Oilseed Team

David C. Jackson 816-823-1142 

DavidC.Jackson@ams.usda.gov

• Contracting Officer

– Crackers; Pancakes; Tortillas;

• Contract Specialist for

– Pasta Products

– Cereal-Fortified Ready-to-Eat

– Macaroni & Cheese 
Dairy Grain and Oilseeds Team 

Trevor Wilson 816-926-1564 

Trevor.Wilson@ams.usda.gov

• Cheese-Process & Natural American

• Butter

Mary Mahoney 816-926-2501 

Mary.Mahoney@ams.usda.gov

• Cheese-Mozzarella

• String Cheese 
Dairy, Grain and Oilseeds

Mara Whitaker 816-926-6063 

Mara.Whitaker@ams.usda.gov

• Bakery Flour Mix & Instant Nonfat Dry Milk (AbilityOne)

• Cereal-Processed (Oatmeal, Farina)

• Corn Products (Cornmeal, Grits)

• Raw Shelled Peanuts

• Rice

• Wild rice (Traditional Native American Food-Farm Bill Initiative)
Dairy Grain and Oilseeds Team

Clyde King 816-926-2610 

Clyde.King@ams.usda.gov

• Flour-Bakery & Wheat

• Milk-Evaporated & UHT

Cheryl A. Davis 816-926-3377 

Cheryl.A.Davis@ams.usda.gov

• Peanut Products

• Sunflower Seed Butter

• Vegetable Oil

• Crackers
Dairy Grain and Oilseeds Team

Helen Rivera 816-926-6619 

Helen.Rivera@ams.usda.gov

Procurement Technician

• GovDelivery Notices

• Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) Notices 

• Domestic Invoices

• Other technical support
THE FAR – A Brief Overview
FAR Overview

• Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

– the principal set of rules in the Federal

Acquisition Regulation System. The FAR 

System governs the "acquisition process" by 

which executive agencies of the United 

States federal government acquire (i.e., 

purchase or lease) goods and services by 

contract with appropriated funds.
FAR Overview

• Basics:

– Divided into 53 parts

• The FAR ensures government purchasing 

procedures are conducted in a standard, 

consistent, fair, and impartial manner
FAR Overview

• US government contracts differ from commercial 

contracts, primarily due to federal mandates related to:

– Appropriations Law (funding)

– Small Business Requirements (set asides)

– Competition Requirements

– Prompt Pay

– Labor Laws

– FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

– Food Defense Audits

– Buy American (U.S. Origin)
FAR clauses in the Master Solicitation

• Quality Assurance

52.212-4(a) and 52-212-4(a)(1) Inspection and Acceptance

• “... the Government reserves the right to inspect in all cases.”

• FAR 46.102(d) [Agencies shall ensure that--] “No contract precludes 

the Government from performing inspection”.

• With commercial items terms, and we are encouraged to rely on 

the contractor’s QC systems. Because of the criticality of food to 

our mission, we also require Food Defense Audits and Higher Level 

Inspection Clause (with elements of ISO Quality Management).

• In the future we would look at adding the GFSI, BRC, and other 

widely accepted inspection regimes to this clause.
FAR Overview

• AMS Mission presents unique challenges

– Product availability are subject to unpredictable weather 

conditions, competing demand

• Timing is critical

• Funding always an issue

– Our recipients are unique

• Children

• Needy families

– Food Safety and Health concerns are paramount

• Nutrition 
2-Day Requirement for NLT Waiver Submissions

• Master Solicitation for Commodity 

Procurements, Section C. Additional Clauses, 

4A52.211-1 Compensation for Delays in 

Delivery (page 20)

– Sets a due date of 2 working days after the 

scheduled NLT delivery date for submission of 

waiver requests to extend the NLT delivery date 

for extensions that are outside of the control of 

the contractor
2-Day Requirement for NLT Waiver Submissions
2-Day Requirement for NLT Extension Requests

(aka NLT “Waiver” Submissions)

• First and foremost: Tell us if a shipment will be late!

• Send in any NLT date extension requests within 2 days 

of missed delivery due (only ask if circumstances causing the 

delay are outside of your control)

• If the new NLT delivery dates are unknown, send the 

request with “TBD” listed as the new delivery dates

– The request will be on-hold until you know the new delivery 

dates. 

• Do not invoice until the contract has been modified to 

reflect the new NLT date
Bidding to Port vs Final Destination

• Vendors are not required to bid to Final 

Destination for Offshore Shipments (e.g., Hawaii, 

Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)

– Each Offshore location has a Port of Export to bid to

• Instructions for bidding to port are available on 

the AMS Website at:

– www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food/wbscm
Bidding to Port vs Final Destination
Bidding to Port vs Final Destination
Bidding to Port vs Final Destination
Procurement Schedule (DGO)

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/AMSCPSKCProcurement

ScheduleOct2017Nov2018.pdf
Language Changes (GovDelivery) FY2018

• Changes will go into effect on November 6: 

– New terms (standardizing on FAR terms)

• Purchase Announcements become Presolicitation Notices

• Bid Awards/Bid Arrays become Abstract of Bids

• Solicitation numbers will include both the—

WBSCM # PIID

200001234 123J14-17-S-001

*WBSCM Public Procurements Page is organized by PIID
PIID (Procurement Instrument Identifier) Breakdown

 Government-wide mandated numbering system

 Each solicitation’s / contract action’s number must remain unique for 20 years
Language Changes (GovDelivery) FY2018

• Click the link to open the solicitation and view details:

– E.g., Where to find Set-Asides?

• In the solicitation (click the GovDelivery link to “View Solicitation”)

• Found in the “Tendering text – Header” section

• On our website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food
Possible Changes for DGO Group

Your thoughts?!

• Discontinue sending out Abstract of Bids via 

GovDelivery (fewer emails)

• Do you read them?!

• Longer Term Contracts?

• Timing of purchases?