Draft Cover Letter

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Arkansas Field Office

Cooperating with the University of Arkansas – Division of Agriculture

DRAFT Letter

Survey Code:

05-30XXXXXXX – PW2XXX

December XX, 2014

Dear Arkansas Catfish Producer,

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Arkansas Field Office, is currently conducting its January Catfish Growers Survey. Measuring the catfish industry has been a part of the USDA-NASS program since 1988. The gathering of this information was initiated at the request of catfish producers and processors and has widespread industry support. As a leading catfish producing state, it is very important that Arkansas producers be well represented in the national estimates.

In addition to water acreage and fish inventory, the January Catfish Growers Survey also measures the value of catfish production in the state. As the industry continues to meet new challenges, these data are extremely important to producers and industry representatives when they describe the economic impact of the industry in our regional economy.

You may submit your report on the internet by using the Survey Code in the upper right hand corner of this page. Complete instructions for accessing our website can be found on the back of this letter. Please do not reveal your secure Survey Code to others. You may also complete the questionnaire on the enclosed form and mail it back to our office. If you prefer to speak with one of our representatives, we will begin phone and personal interviews in approximately 10 days from now.

Your individual report is guaranteed complete confidentiality under federal law and is used only in combination with other reports to set state and U.S. estimates.

On January XX, 2015, the results from the survey will be available free of charge on our Web site at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ar. You may receive a free printed copy of the results by checking the box on the questionnaire or by confirming when asked by our representative.

If you have any questions, please contact the Arkansas Regional Office at (800) 327-2970 or (501) 228-9926. Thank you for your cooperation on this important work for Arkansas farmers.

Sincerely,

Regional Field Director

10800 Financial Centre Parkway, Suite 110 · Little Rock, Arkansas 72211

(501) 228-9926 · (501) 224-5630 FAX · www.nass.usda.gov

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.