Notice of Intent to Sole Source Arbitrator Services

This is a notice of intent to award a sole source contract to a Small Business (SB) and is not a request for competitive quotes.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) intends to award a sole source purchase order for Arbitrator services per negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between Kansas City Farm Service Agency and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 264. The proposed contract action is for commercial services for which the Government intends to solicit in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) 13.106-1(b)(1), only one source reasonably available and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirement.

The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) for this acquisition is 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services. Current market research indicates that only one source is available. These services are required by Article 43-Arbitration, Section B to request a list of five impartial arbitrators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) by submitting a jointly executed form.

FMCS sends a list of arbitrators and then the parties will select from the list by striking one name from the list alternately and then repeat this procedure until only one name remains. This is not a solicitation for competitive quotes, however, if any other interested party believes that it can provide the required services, it may submit a statement of capabilities. Capability statements must display sufficient detail and evidence to determine if the party could provide the required services.

The statement of must be furnished in writing and emailed to crystal.baird@usda.gov by July 14, 2025, at 12:00 pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). The government will not pay for information received in response to this announcement. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

The information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future. This is a notice, and a solicitation will not be issued. Oral communications will not be accepted in response to this notice.