2017 INDUSTRY MEETING 

FOR 

USDA FOODS CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS

OCTOBER 24-25, 2017 

ARLINGTON, VA
Outline

• The Contracting Team for Livestock, Poultry & Fish

• FAR Overview

• 2-Day Requirement for NLT Waiver Submissions

• Bidding to Port vs Final Destination

• Language Changes (GovDelivery) FY2018

• Other Upcoming Changes for FY2018 
Contracting Team for Livestock, Poultry & Fish

Christine Gouger Section Supervisor (Acting) 

Greta Samuel Contracting Officer;

Beef: Coarse-Chub & Fine Ground 

Chanel Robinson Boneless Beef; Canned Meats; Diced Beef Roast; Beef-Special 

Trim; Catfish; Pork Products 

Chyra Lewis Bison; Pork Ham; Pollock; Salmon; Turkey and Turkey ProductsDeli, Smoked, Sliced Breast, Hams, & Roasts 

Glenn Reid Chicken-Whole Bagged Birds, Cut-Up, & Oven Roasted; Chicken 

and Chicken Products; Diced Chicken 

James Akhnana Chicken Strips; Cooked Products (Beef and Pork Crumbles; 

Pulled Pork; Patties); Shelf Stable Chicken – RFP; Tuna; ChickenConsumer Split Breast 

Reedema Rock Chicken-Canned Boned & Fajita Strips; Eggs and Egg Products; 

Eggs-Whole & Tankers; Turkey; Turkey Taco 

Endrea White Procurement Technician 

Marcus Peebles Procurement Technician 
Greta

Samuel

Chanel

Robinson

Chyra

Lewis

Glenn

Reid

Endrea

White

Marcus

Peebles

Reedema

Rock

James

Akhnana
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

• 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 Overview

• AMS Mission presents unique challenges

– Not buying materials for our use, but for USDA Food 

Distribution Program recipients

• Children

• Needy families

– Food safety and health concerns are paramount with these 

(often vulnerable) populations & because of the trust 

placed in the USDA

– Nutrition requirements can be unique
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
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

• Two Step Sealed Bidding instead of RFPs (FAR 14.5)

– Step One: Request for technical proposals (RFTP)

• The objective is to determine the acceptability of the 

supplies offered prior to issuing the IFB (no pricing).

• Go/no go to step two based on sensory evaluation 

panel results.

– Step Two: Involves IFB solicitation & WBSCM 

submission of sealed bids by vendors who 

submitted acceptable technical proposals in Step 

One. 
Possible Changes

Your thoughts?!

• Two step sealed bid process?

• Abstract of Bids via GovDelivery (more emails)

• Procurement Schedule

• Excel format?

• A more set schedule for monthly/quarterly 

purchases?