All entities entering into contracts to provide goods and services to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) are being required to register with a government-wide Central Contractor Registration service by May 1.
In a notice issued March 29, USDA Kansas City Commodity Office (KCCO) Director Steven Sanders noted that all current and potential federal government vendors are being required to register with the government-wide database. KCCO officials told the NGFA today (April 8) that the requirement affects all warehouses operating under the Uniform Grain and Rice Storage Agreement (UGRSA) contract, regardless of whether they are storing CCC-owned or CCC-interest commodities (pledged by producers as collateral for marketing assistance loans). Also required to register will be transporters, private vendors, volunteer organizations and others that provide a wide range of goods and services to CCC, such as food aid, products for the school lunch program and other functions.
KCCO officials told the NGFA that commodity vendors to CCC have been required to register previously, and that the Central Contractor Registration system allows entities to enter their own information in a secure format, without revealing such sensitive personal identity information as social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers or other confidential data.
Affected entities will be required to complete a one-time registration providing basic information relevant to CCC's procurement of goods and services, as well as financial transactions associated with such procurement. Registrants are to update or renew their registrations annually, CCC said, to maintain an active status. There is no cost to register.
KCCO officials said entities will need to have a data universal numbering system (DUNS) number to begin the registration process. To obtain the free nine-digit identification number, if one is not already assigned, entities should visit www.ccr.gov. KCCO said new registrations usually take one to two business days to process once completed by the registrant.
Members receiving the NGFA Newsletter electronically may click here to access the USDA notice.