PreSurvey Letter

Animal and Plant

Health Inspection

Service

National Agricultural Statistics Service

June XX, 2022

Dear Sir or Madam,

I’m writing to encourage you to participate in an important new study being conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In July 2022, the USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), in conjunction with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will launch the Bison 2022 study, its second national study of the U.S. bison industry.

NAHMS conducts surveys of the U.S. bison industry once every 8 to 10 years. This study will provide an updated description of U.S. bison operations, including operation characteristics, production practices, marketing, producer-reported disease occurrence, and health management and biosecurity practices. Further, information collected in this survey will help researchers better understand diseases affecting bison and obtain more funding to study bison and guide research needs, and it will help the U.S. bison industry to better know their producers.

Your participation in the study is voluntary and we are required by law to keep your answers confidential. Your responses on the questionnaire will be used only in combination with other responses, for example at the regional level or at the overall U.S. level.

Enclosed is information that describes this study in more detail. In about one week, you will receive the study questionnaire, along with a postage-paid return envelope. There will also be instructions for filling out the survey electronically. If you are unable to complete the paper or web-based survey, a NASS representative will reach out to you to complete the survey over the phone. Your participation is vital to the success of the study. Please complete the questionnaire and return it within 2 weeks.

Operations that complete the questionnaire will be eligible to have the following free biologic testing: pre- and post-deworming fecal egg count reduction tests, enteric microbe testing (Salmonella, E. coli, Enterococcus, and Campylobacter), and pasture forage quality testing.

If you are interested in the pre- and post- deworming fecal egg count reduction tests,
please do not deworm your bison until after the pre-deworming fecal samples are collected.

Your voluntary participation is essential to the success of this important study. By taking part in the study, you will help provide valuable information on bison health and management practices. Thank you in advance for your participation and for all of your contributions to the success of the U.S. bison industry.

Sincerely,

Amy Delgado, MS DVM PhD Associate Director, Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, USDA-APHIS-VS	Gerald Tillman Chief, Survey Administration Branch Census & Survey Division, USDA-NASS

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