Form QID 248010 QID 248010 ARS Residue & Biomass Field Survey - May Permission Form

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ARS RESIDUE & BIOMASS FIELD SURVEY – 2012 PILOT May, 2012 Field Sample Permission Form
			OMB No. 0535-0248 Approval Expires: 8/31/2014 Project Code: 516 QID: 248010
					NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE

National Agricultural Statistics Service U.S Department of Agriculture Iowa Field Office 210 Walnut St., Room 833 Des Moines, IA 50309 Phone: 1-800-772-0825 Fax: 1-800-719-1794 Email: [email protected]

We are collecting information on cost and returns and need your help to make the information as accurate as possible. Under Title 7 of the U.S. Code and CIPSEA (Public Law 107-347), facts about your operation are kept confidential and used only for statistical purposes. Response is voluntary. You may skip any question(s) you prefer not to answer. Thank you for your help.

Dear Operator,

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Services’ Iowa Field Office is working on a joint project with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to estimate the level of plant residue at specific points in particular fields. One or more points of interest lie in a field you operate.

The project involves taking pictures of the soil surface to measure corn and soybean residue. The pictures and measurements will then be used by ARS personnel along with satellite images to estimate soil carbon sequestration, or how much carbon is retained in the soil.

Granting permission means 2-4 people will walk into your field the week of May ??, 2012 and take pictures of the residue with a digital camera, as well as use transect lines to measure residue. For a few selected sites, we will also collect small soil and crop residue samples. As always, your name and any identifying information will be kept confidential.

If you would like the results that pertain to your field, you will be mailed information once it is available.

Yes, I give permission_____________________________________________(signed name)

Yes, I would like results mailed to me ________________________________(printed name)

___________________________________(address)

____________________________________

Please feel free to call my office at 1-800-772-0825 if you have any questions.

S

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0535-0218. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

incerely,

Greg Thessen

Director , USDA NASS, Iowa Field Office