McDaniel Farms

The ability to secure more than a dozen government contracts since first contacting the Nebraska Business Development Center PTAC for advice and assistance has enabled Amber McDaniel to significantly grow her livestock and hay brokerage business in 2018.

McDaniel Farms, Inc., is situated near Sargent, Neb. In August 2017, McDaniel was referred by the Small Business Administration district office in Omaha to Chuck Beck, a Procurement Technical Assistance program specialist in the NBDC office at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. “As a service disabled veteran, Amber was interested in contracting goat grazing services to federal agencies and knew that she would need market research to help guide her efforts,” Beck recalls.

Beck reviewed McDaniel farms’ System for Award Management (SAM) registration and noted that it was limited to “Federal Assistance Awards Only.” He also identified other potential issues when reviewing the SAM registration and brought them to McDaniel’s attention.

“Chuck helped change my SAM registration to include contracting, and he helped set up a BidMatch profile to receive notifications of contracts suited to my business,” McDaniel says.

Within two weeks of the initial request for assistance, McDaniel asked Beck to review sections of a solicitation that McDaniel Farms was planning to bid on. Beck provided feedback regarding the proposal, and helped guide McDaniel through updating her SAM Registration so that she was registered to do business with federal agencies.

Since May 2018, McDaniel has won a total of 13 contracts with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. “One of my most recent successes is a five-year goat grazing contract with the National Forest Service,” she says.

McDaniel says Beck’s knowledge and experience, and the NBDC PTAC services, have made a positive impact by identifying opportunities for her small business. “If I didn’t have Chuck’s advice, I doubt I would have any federal contracts,” she says. “He helped align my business and capabilities into the federal system.”

Beck continues to check on McDaniel and her progress. “He still mentors me and is always looking for different opportunities, locally and regionally,” McDaniel says. “He is very responsive, too. Whether I send him an email or leave him a voicemail, he always gets right back to me. I would have been lost without his help.”