USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (AHPIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), Phoenix Rearing Facility (PRF) in Phoenix, AZ anticipates a sole source service contract for a base and four option years under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 (see attached justification) for the following requirement:

This request is for the procurement of an air carrier to provide transportation of up to 2 million sterile navel orangeworm (NOW) moths in shipping containers from Phoenix, AZ, to Bakersfield, CA, up to 7 days per week.

USDA, APHIS, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), Phoenix Rearing Facility (PRF) has agreed to participate in a cooperative area-wide trial and developmental project to assist the nut industry in California in evaluation of sterile insect technique (SIT) as a tool to combat the significant damage caused by the navel orangeworm. Without this means of transportation the multimillion dollar project would fail.

The PRF mass-rears NOW on artificial diet to the adult stage, which requires 30 – 40 days. The moths are collected and inactivated in a walk-in refrigerator held at ~38 degrees F,and placed in canisters for sterilization of the moths through breakage of chromosomes. Following sterilization the moths are placed in a shipping box called a Drop Box Shipping Container (DBSC). The capacity of this box is around 750,000 sterile insects. The box is fitted with a passive cooling system composed of plastic cylinders filled with blue ice that keeps moth temperatures in the box at ~38 degrees F. Once the moths and cooling tubes are loaded in the box it is ready for commercial shipping. A full box will weigh about 48 lbs. Daily, as many as 2 shipping boxes may be sent to Bakersfield, dependent upon the level of production attained on any particular day.

Once the moths are packaged for shipment it is critical that they be delivered to their destinations and the box be opened in a cold room within 5 hours or less, to allow oxygen levels to return to ambient. At times longer than 5 hours, the air in the containers becomes depleted of oxygen, and carbon dioxide proportionately increases. The resulting anoxia detrimentally impacts the quality of the moth by significantly reducing the frequency of mating. It is for this reason that airline schedules, in effect, must fit into our schedule and it is critical that deliveries be timely and without delays. Delivery is to the destination airport cargo or baggage area where the shipment is picked up by our cooperators.

This is expected to be a base and four option-year contract with an estimated value of $240,000.

Submit any inquiries regarding this notice to Larry Nelson at Larry.D.Nelson@usda.gov. Verbal inquiries will not be honored. Closing date for inquiries is 10:00 AM CT on February 21, 2023. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 481112.