Notice of Intent to Sole Source

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) intends to issue a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract to Vence Corp (16855 W Bernardo Dr, Ste 100, San Diego, CA 92127).

The regulatory authority for this non-competitive commercial acquisition is FAR Subpart 12.2 (Streamlined Procedures for Commercial Products) and FAR 12.102 (Brand Name/Single Source Restrictions for Commercial Products). This procurement is for proprietary Vence Solar 24V US Base Stations to support the agency's Grazing Action Plan across western states.

The USFS requires Virtual Fence (VF) base station towers to establish invisible containment barriers for domestic livestock grazing. This equipment minimizes physical boundaries, directly improving native wildlife habitat and migration corridors.

• Brand Name: Vence
• Model: Base Station, Solar, 24V, US (Self-Install and Assisted-Install Models

Market research confirms that Vence is the only commercial provider capable of meeting the agency's strict technical and regional operational mandates:

• Proprietary Software Lock-in: Vence is the sole proprietor of the closed-source software required to communicate with and control the active livestock collar fleet deployed across the region. Alternative hardware cannot run this software.
• Regional Infrastructure Continuity: The USFS maintains a substantial capital investment in active Vence base station towers across multiple western districts. Introducing a non-Vence brand would fragment the grid, as competing architectures cannot interoperate with existing infrastructure.
• Avoidance of Duplication of Costs: Procuring an alternative system would require a total, cost-prohibitive infrastructure teardown and replacement of all active field assets and collars to maintain a single management interface.
• Zero Cellular Reliance: Vence hardware functions entirely via long-range radio frequencies, eliminating dependency on commercial cellular coverage in remote Forest Service lands.
• Data-Cost Shifting: The Vence commercial framework allows a hardware-only purchase, successfully shifting long-term recurring data subscription costs to external grazing permittees or partner non-profit

This is not a request for competitive proposals, and no solicitation package is available. in accordance with FAR Part 12 streamlined commercial procedures, interested parties who believe they can fully meet the exact requirements listed above may submit a capability statement. Submissions must provide verifiable proof of seamless, out-of-the-box software and hardware compatibility with the agency's existing regional Vence infrastructure network. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.