63 concrete questions about the scoring
Thought you might find this section of my appeal interesting:
63 Questions and Discrepancies
The following objections have been redacted - the names of the farms (apart from Jacob Springs Farm) have been replaced with generic labels to avoid making this a personal attack against the farms involved. We really value harmony between the farms in this area and we don’t have any ill will against any of them - our interest in in creating a great food system and a fair process.
Farm “A” received the highest score for their bid - even though they didn’t have the requirements needed by the published guidelines including the minimum “experience” and “equipment” guidelines. Farm “B” likewise.
The facts and discrepancies listed here do not have any plausible justification; a remedy is needed.
The questions
1. Why is Farm "B" given a higher “relevant experience” score than “6” when the guidelines explicitly define such a score only for farms with less than ten years of relevant experience? (They have four years in hay, one year with cattle, zero years with dairy)
2-5. Why is Farm "B" given a higher “relevant experience” score than Farm "D", Farm "F", Jacob Springs Farm, or Farm "E" when Farm "B" meets the threshold for the middle range of scores (4-6) and the others meet the threshold for scores in the range of (7-10) have far fewer years of relevant experience than any of those operators?
6. Why is Farm "B", in the same year, given a “relevant experience” score of only 7.5 on their Berman Brothers bid, but a score of 8.5 on their Baseline-Lewis proposal when the Berman proposal involves grazing sheep, which Farm "B" has experience in, but the Baseline-Lewis proposal involves grazing cattle and dairy which Farm "B" has virtually no experience in?
7. Why is Farm "B" given a level of “fit” higher than 3 when they objectively do not meet the published proximity criteria?
8. Why is Farm "B" given a level of “fit” higher than Jacob Springs Farm when they do not have specific dairy plans or feasibility studies, no cattle breeding stock, little experience with cattle, and no particular need for a cow milking barn?
9. Why is Farm "B" given a higher financial ability score than Jacob Springs Farm when Jacob Springs proposes a significantly higher annual rent for the Baseline-Lewis Complex and Farm "B"’s proposal contains a significantly higher demand for public resources (by approximately $30,000)?
10. Why is Farm "B" given a higher financial ability score than Jacob Springs Farm when Farm "B"’s proposal makes no mention of any cash reserves available for the management of the property
11. Why is Farm "B" given a higher financial ability score than Jacob Springs Farm when Farm "B"’s business model (as a restaurant) is highly risky, cyclical and has a high industry failure rate? (particularly with Covid-19.)
12 &13. Why is Farm "B" given a higher relevant equipment score than Jacob Springs and Farm "F" when their equipment lists are more comprehensive?
14 &15. Why is Farm "B"’s corresponding equipment score equal to Farm "D", and Farm "E", farms that have more, newer and higher capacity haying equipment?
16. Why is Farm "A" given a higher relevant experience score than “6” when the guidelines explicitly reserve such a score for farms with more than ten years in Boulder county?
17. Why is Farm "A" given a higher relevant experience score than “6” contrary to the guidelines when they have less than 10 years of experience with irrigation or cutting hay?
18. Why is Farm "A" given such a high relevant experience score when they have not demonstrated an ability to bale hay at all (since they do not own a baler)?
19. Why is Farm "A" given such a high relevant experience score given the obvious deterioration of the infrastructure of the OSMP Hunter-Kolb farm, the proliferation of noxious weeds, the destruction of perennial grasses and overgrazing apparent there after only two years of their tenure?
20. Why is Farm "A" given a higher relevant experience score than Jacob Springs Farm,
21-23 Why is Farm "A" given a comparable score on "relevant experience" to Farm "D", Farm "F", or Farm "E"?
24. Why is Farm "A" given the highest “fit” score, when they already have one of three possible dairy BOA leases and the Ag plan calls for increasing the number of such operations?
25. Why is Farm "A" given the highest “fit” score, when they have so recently been granted dramatically more land than they have ever had in the past to the point where they have even abandoned 40 acres of OSMP land leases saying it was ““too difficult and time consuming to manage.”?
26. Why is Farm "A" given the highest “fit” score, and a higher score than Jacob Springs Farm when their bid only satisfactorily addresses two of the six “Primary Goals” identified for the Baseline-Lewis Property by the Invitation for Proposals?
27. Why is Farm "A" given the highest “fit” score, and a higher score than Jacob Springs Farm when their bid does not satisfactorily addresses any of the seven “Secondary Goals” identified for the Baseline-Lewis Property by the Invitation for Proposals?
28. Why is Farm "A" given the highest “fit” score, and a higher score than Jacob Springs Farm when their bid does not satisfactorily address any of the twenty-one areas of the Agricultural Management Plan identified in the Jacob Springs Farm appeal under “Why was our “fit” score so low?”
29. Why is Farm "A" given a higher relevant equipment score than “3” when the guidelines explicitly define such a score for farms with incomplete equipment lists that have not demonstrated “reliable” access to all needed equipment?
30. Why is Farm "A" given a higher relevant equipment score than Farm "H" when Farm "A" does not own a tractor, baler, or wagon, and their total horsepower available is not sufficient to harvest even their current property?
31. Why is Farm "A" given a much higher equipment score than Farm "I" when Farm "I" Farm’s proposal objectively lists more relevant equipment than Farm "A", including multiple tractors vs. zero tractors (And received a score of 5.6 vs. 6.9?)
32. Why is Farm "A" given a similar relevant equipment score to Farm "G" when Farm "A" does not own a tractor or baler, wagons, and their total horsepower available is not sufficient to harvest their (already extensive) OSMP property leases?
33. Why is Farm "A" given a higher financial ability score than “3” when their hay management practices are high risk, and guidelines explicitly define a score of 1-3 for farms with high levels of risk?
34-36. Why is Farm "A" given a higher financial ability score than Jacob Springs Farm, Farm "G" or Farm "E" when they do not own property in Boulder County?
37-41 Why is Farm "A" given a higher financial ability score than Farm "H", Farm "I" Farm, Jacob Springs Farm, Farm "G", and the same score as Farm "E" when their proposal does not mention any availability of capital?
42. Why is Farm "A" given a higher financial ability score than Jacob Springs Farm when Jacob Springs proposes a significantly higher annual rent for the Baseline-Lewis Complex?
43. Why is Farm "A" awarded a score above zero as a “Disadvantaged Business” when they do not meet the criteria listed in “Part A” of the form and have an invalid and incomplete submission form?
44. Why is Farm "A" awarded two out of the total of three viable BOA’s for a micro-dairy when the Agricultural Resource Management Plan calls for a maximization of the number of micro-dairy operations on OSMP land?
45. Why is Jacob Springs Farm given a lower relevant experience score relative to Farm "A" in 2020, when they were given a higher level of experience compared to them in 2019?
46 & 47. Why is Jacob Springs Farm given a lower experience score relative to Farm "B" and Farm "A" since Jacob Springs Farm has more years of relevant experience and is the only one of the three to meet the published threshold of “in Boulder County full-time for ten or more years substantially like the proposed operation.”
48-52 Why is Jacob Springs Farm given a lower experience score relative to Farm "B", Farm "A" Farm "D", Farm "F", or Farm "E" since all these operators meet the threshold for a score of “7-10” but the Jacob Springs Farm bid demonstrates more “knowledge of agricultural best practices” than any of the others?
53. Why is Jacob Springs Farm given a lower level of “fit" in this bid than in the 2019 Hodgson-King bid when that RFP did not reference micro-dairy, diversified vegetable or pastured livestock (areas of JSF’s strength)?
54. Why is Jacob Springs Farm given a significantly lower level of fit in this bid than Farm "J" was given in their 2020 Biddle proposal? (8.1 vs. 9.8) What are the relevant differences between these two situations?
55. Why is Jacob Springs Farm given a significantly lower relevant equipment score in 2020 than the score of “9.1” they were awarded in their 2019 Hodgson-King bid, even though they have now have more equipment listed than in 2019 and more of their equipment, including dairy equipment, would be considered relevant in the more recent bid?
56-58. Why do Farm "D", and Farm "F", have lower experience scores in 2020 than they were awarded in 2019, but Farm "A"’s experience score has gone up?
59 & 60. Why do Farm "D", and Farm "F", have lower fit scores in 2020 than they did in 2019, but Farm "A"’s fit score has remained high?
61 & 62. Why do Farm "D", and Farm "F", have lower relevant equipment scores in 2020 than they did in 2019? but Farm "A"’s equipment score has remained higher than can be justified by the guidelines?
63. Why has Farm "A"’s financial ability score increased so dramatically since last year, from 5.5 to 8.0?