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This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 12505B23Q0129 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-04 dated June 2, 2023. This solicitation will be a Total Small Business set aside. The associated NAICS code is 333111 (Farm Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing), with a small business size standard of 1,250 employees.

This acquisition is for the following item as identified in the Line Items:

0001)Fully Integrated Phenotyping field Rover

Description of Work: The USDA has a requirement for a field phenotyping rover/robot that can be driven through corn fields with row spacing of 25-30 inches and record video/images of the corn plants from the front, both sides, and the top of the rover looking upward. The rover must also be capable of recording LIDAR data that captures the plants on both sides of the rover starting from the ground to the height of the plants. The rover must be programed to be driven by someone walking behind, but not attached to it, as well as to drive itself semi-autonomously for a single pass in the field (with someone following it and stopping it in case of emergency). The rover must have onboard integrated GPS with RTK compatibility, and this data must be recorded to tag the imagery and LIDAR data taken. The rover must have 4-wheel drive and the wheels, as well as the whole rover, must be rugged enough to withstand the conditions of a crop field (crop residue, dust, mud, bumps, high temperatures and humidity, sunlight). The software for running the rover and uploading data from the rover to the cloud must be included and fully functional. Support services and warranty for at least one year must be included. The company must also be able to demonstrate that comparable data from the rover can be processed to extract meaningful results, although the actual costs of processing of the data do not have to be included in the purchase. The field phenotyping rover/robot for agricultural row crops needs to be manufactured by EarthSense, Inc and be the 2023 TerraSentia Robot in order to be compatible with another TerraSentia robot that has already been purchased.

The Contractor shall provide all items F.O.B. destination. Location of the Government site is 269 Ag Engineering Bldg 1406 E Rollins St. Columbia MO 65211 and will also be identified in the contract. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract.

Offerors responding to this announcement shall submit their quote in accordance with FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial Services and include a copy of 52.212-3 Offeror Representations-Commercial Products and Commercial Services. Submission of quote shall include the following: (1) Technical and (2) Price.

All responses shall be submitted electronically to joel.maas@usda.gov

The basis for award is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). LPTA means the best value is expected to result from selection of the technically acceptable quote with the lowest evaluated price. Pursuant to FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Products and Commercial Services, the criteria for evaluation are: (1) Technical and (2) Price and must also have satisfactory Past Performance. The lowest priced quote will first be evaluated for technical acceptability in accordance with the minimum specifications identified. If determined not technically acceptable, it will be removed from competition and the next lowest priced quote will be evaluated for technical acceptability. This will continue until the lowest price quote is determined technically acceptable. Once the lowest priced quote is determined technically acceptable, then a determination of responsibility will be completed. If found responsible, evaluations will be closed and award will be made.

INSPECTON AND ACCEPTANCE TERMS: Services will be inspected by Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and accepted at destination. Delivery must be made by 8/3/2023.

To be eligible for an award, all contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the time the quote is submitted. A contractor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. A SAM UEI number is required in order to register. All invoices shall be submitted electronically.

Quotes must be received no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on June 28, 2023.

Questions in regard to this combined synopsis/solicitation are due no later than 2:00 PM Eastern on June 26, 2023. Answers to any questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to this combined synopsis/solicitation.

DISCLAIMER: The official contract documents are located on the government webpage and the Government is not liable for information furnished by any other source. Amendments, if/when issued will be posted to Contract Opportunities for electronic downloading. This will normally be the only method of distributing amendments prior to closing; therefore, it is the offeror's responsibility to check the website periodically for any amendments to this solicitation. Websites are occasionally inaccessible, due to various reasons. The Government is not responsible for any loss of internet connectivity or for an offeror's inability to access the documents posted on the referenced web pages. The Government will not issue paper copies.

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