Cover Letter

Dear Producer,

Enclosed is your Feral Swine survey form. To evaluate the impact that feral swine or wild hogs have across the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is conducting this national survey in cooperation with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

NASS and APHIS are working together to collect information from farm operators to document the amount of damage that feral pigs cause to pastures, crops, lawns, landscaping and natural areas due to their feeding, wallowing, grazing, and trampling activities. Feral swine can also act as hosts to parasites and can negatively impact livestock animals, especially domestic swine. This survey will help us assess the extent of the impact that feral swine have on all sectors of agriculture. I hope you will take a few minutes to fill out this survey. As a key agricultural producer, your input in this assessment is extremely important.

Please respond to the survey in either of the following ways:

• Online at www.agcounts.usda.gov beginning DATE. Responding online is the easiest, fastest and safest way to complete your survey and it saves taxpayer dollars too. All you need is the identification number on the enclosed form to begin.

• By mail or fax. Complete the enclosed questionnaire and mail it back in the return envelope provided or fax it to (855) 415-3687.

If you do not respond by Month XX, 2015, we will contact you to arrange a telephone or personal interview.

As required by Federal law, your responses are completely confidential. We safeguard the privacy of all respondents, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.

APHIS will publish the survey results in the XXXXXXX report, to be released on Month Date, 2015.

Thank you in advance for responding to the survey and for your support of U.S. agriculture.

Sincerely,

Joseph T. Reilly

Administrator

U.S. Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Enclosures

An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer