Custom Raising of Dairy Heifers for Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Quebec

Invitation to tender 01B46-21-075Request for Proposal – Custom Raising of Dairy Heifers for Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, QCTenders for the project indicated above, addressed to the attention of the Contract Officer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will be accepted by email only, at the following address, up to the tender closing date and time indicated below:aafc.escprocurement-cseapprovisionnement.aac@agc.gc.caScope of Work:The Research Centre maintains a herd of 130 dairy cows for research purposes. The Centre is seeking a private company to raise Holstein replacement heifers on a fee-for-service basis.The company’s mandate is to raise the Centre’s heifers starting from the age of approximately twenty-two (22) weeks until eight (8) weeks before the expected calving date.The breeder herd consists of 100 purebred Holstein dairy cows. No herd increases are expected over the next 5 years.The estimated replacement rate of the herd is 35% per year. The number of heifers that must enter the herd annually will therefore be around 35 head. The calvings are spread throughout the year.The estimated length of time to raise a dairy heifer is 22 to 28 months. Consequently, each heifer will have to be boarded at the company’s farm for 14 to 21 months.Therefore, to be able to accommodate the maximum number of heifers at one time, the company’s minimum housing capacity must be approximately 70 head (35 heifers per year × 2 years).Tender Period Closing Date and Time: October 7, 2021 at 02:00 pm (Eastern Daylight Time).Information requests and inquiries related to this tender process are to be directed, in writing, ONLY to the AAFC Contract Officer identified below. Bidders who contact anyone other than the AAFC Contract Officer to obtain such information during the solicitation period may, for that reason alone, be disqualified.It is MANDATORY for the Firms intending to submit tenders on this project to obtain the related specifications, plans and drawings, and all other tender documents through the BuyandSell service provider. Addenda, when issued, will be available from the BuyandSell service provider.AAFC reserves the right to accept any Proposal in whole or in part, without prior negotiation and reject any or all Proposalsreceived.AAFC Contract Officer:Claudia LauzierAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)Corporate Management BranchAssets Management, Eastern Service Centre2001, Robert-Bourassa Street, suite 671-TENMontreal, QC, H3A 3N2Email: claudia.lauzier@agr.gc.ca