Reply to Geoff Cooper's Comment

United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Census and Survey Division
Survey Administration Branch

June 1, 2011
TO:

FROM:

Geoff Cooper
Vice President, Research and Analysis
Renewable Fuels Association

Jim Johnson
Agricultural Statistician
Room 5322A, Mail Stop 2024-S
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-2024

RE: Docket Number 0535-0247, Distiller’s By-Product Survey

On behalf of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), I would like to thank you and
those you represent for your correspondence and suggestions regarding our upcoming
Distiller’s Co-Products Survey.
Many of your suggestions have already been adopted and I can assure you that all of them are
being considered. Your input will no doubt improve the quality of data collected and we
especially want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with us in person.
Pretesting of the survey instrument is currently being conducted in four states. Lessons learned
from pretesting, coupled with valuable input from stakeholders such as yourself, will help shape
a valuable product that is useful to diverse groups within the agricultural sector.
Significant changes from the 2006 survey conducted in conjunction with the Nebraska Corn
Board include an expansion of states that will be surveyed and the addition of poultry as a
category. Current plans are to survey livestock and poultry producers every five years as part of
a new Energy Program here at NASS.
We look forward to working with you on this project and other energy related projects in the
future. Please give me a call at (202)720-7216 with any concerns or suggestions you may have
regarding the 2011 Distiller’s Co-Products Survey. I can also be reached by email at
[email protected].
Thank you for your time and participation.

1400 Independence Avenue, SW · Washington, D.C. 20250-2001 · Room 5305-South Building ·
Phone: (202) 720-2248 · Fax: (202) 720-6396 · www.nass.usda.gov
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