USDA's master solicitation (MSCP-D) sets the delivery terms for its domestic food awards. Here are the parts that matter when you pitch a vendor's freight, each quoted word for word with its clause number and a link to the page.
Not legal advice. We quote USDA's text so you can read it yourself. Each award's own solicitation can add to these terms.
These are public records. USDA posts its award notices, Bid Arrays and solicitations on its public procurement portal, and FMCSA publishes broker records on data.transportation.gov. Works of the U.S. government have no copyright in the U.S. (17 U.S.C. §105). This is not legal advice.
Source: USDA procurement portal · FMCSA data · 17 U.S.C. §105
The vendor is a private company, and USDA's master solicitation leaves the choice of truck or rail to it: “Delivery by either trucks or railcars is at the option of the Contractor.” Contacting it about freight is an ordinary sales call, and the usual rules for sales outreach apply, such as the CAN-SPAM Act for email. We don't contact USDA or the vendor for you.
When the award is f.o.b. destination, the vendor does: FAR 52.247-34, part of USDA's master solicitation, has the contractor “Pay and bear all charges to the specified point of delivery.” We say f.o.b. destination on a lane only when its award notice says so for that commodity: 5,674 of 8,355 findings as of Nov 7, 2026.
Source: MSCP-D, page 34 · FAR 52.247-34
No. An award is USDA's contract with the vendor, not a tender. The vendor may already have a carrier, and USDA “reserves the right to terminate this contract, or any part hereof, for its sole convenience” (MSCP-D 52.212-4 (l)).
Source: MSCP-D, page 9
An unloading appointment booked at least 72 hours ahead (452.211-75); numbered, tamper-evident seals on every cargo door, resealed after each stop (4A52.247-70); multi-stop loads braced in reverse order of delivery (4A52.247-80); no co-loading with non-food or malodorous freight (4A52.247-84); and liquidated damages for each day of late delivery (52.211-11). Each clause is quoted below.
Source: MSCP-D
No. It quotes USDA's master solicitation (MSCP-D, effective Sep 18, 2025) so you can read the clauses yourself. Each award's own solicitation can add to or change these terms, so check the award before you quote a job, and ask a lawyer for legal questions.
Source: MSCP-D, page 6
From MSCP-D, effective Sep 18, 2025, the version on USDA's site when we checked it on Nov 7, 2026.
“Delivery by either trucks or railcars is at the option of the Contractor except for those destinations which specify the method of delivery.”
For a broker: The vendor that won the award decides how to ship it. That is why a broker can pitch the vendor, and also why the vendor may already have a carrier.
“Supplies shall be delivered to the destination consignee’s wharf (if destination is a port city and supplies are for export), warehouse unloading platform, or receiving dock, at the expense of the Contractor.
… (5) Furnish a delivery schedule and designate the mode of delivering carrier; and (6) Pay and bear all charges to the specified point of delivery.”
For a broker: When an award is bought f.o.b. destination, the freight bill is the vendor's. We print “f.o.b. destination” on a lane only when that award notice says it for that commodity.
“Creating the ASN does not exempt the Contractor or subcontractor from securing an unloading appointment, which is mandatory for all deliveries.
… Delivery appointments shall be scheduled as far in advance of expected delivery as possible, but not less than 72 hours prior to delivery
… The contractor is fully responsible for any issues caused by failing to schedule or being late for appointments.”
For a broker: The receiving site expects a booked appointment at least 72 hours ahead, and the clause makes the vendor answer for a missed or late one.
“contractors will be required to use traceable, tamper-evident commercial seals
… Seals shall be sequentially numbered.
… ensure that the trailer is sealed after each delivery location (when destined for multiple recipients).
… Deliveries will be rejected, in which seals have not been used to secure all cargo doors, if:
• the seal listed on the Bill of Lading does not match the seal number recorded on the Bill of Lading;
• the seal is broken;
• the seal is missing, or
• the seal has been removed prior to the transportation conveyance reaching its unloading point.”
For a broker: Seal numbers travel on the bill of lading. A broken, missing or mismatched seal gets the delivery rejected, including at each stop of a multi-stop load.
“Contractor shall ensure before shipment is made that the commercial shipping documents are annotated with the following notations, as appropriate:
… 7. Statement: “For USDA FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS”
8. Manufacturer’s Lot Code/Lot Identification Number
9. Serial Number(s) of Tamper Evident Seals Applied”
For a broker: The paperwork carries USDA-specific lines, including the seal serial numbers.
“When a shipment has multiple delivery points (drops), contractor must load and brace the conveyance for accurate and economical unloading, e.g. load and brace truck trailers in reverse order of delivery.”
For a broker: On a multi-stop LOT, the last drop is loaded first.
“Items purchased as a result of this solicitation shall not be transported near non-human consumption products, malodorous products or other types of harmful items that could contaminate commodities.”
For a broker: Don't put USDA food on a trailer with non-food, strong-smelling or harmful freight.
“If the Contractor fails to deliver the supplies or perform the services within the time specified in this contract, the Contractor shall, in place of actual damages, pay to the Government liquidated damages per calendar day of delay, not to exceed 45 days of delay”
For a broker: On-time delivery inside the window matters to the vendor in money, not only in goodwill.
“The Government reserves the right to terminate this contract, or any part hereof, for its sole convenience.”
For a broker: An award is a contract between USDA and the vendor, not a tender to you. Quantities can shrink after award.
“The IFB will specify the commodity; delivery periods; destinations; quantities; the closing time for receipt of bids; acceptance date”
For a broker: Each lane's delivery window comes from the solicitation (IFB) that USDA issued for that award.
Where the data comes from: each source, how often we read it, and what it does and doesn't prove.
Page checked against these sources on Nov 8, 2026.