A research project was conducted to determine which type of fabric swatch was best suited for on-site sampling of odor intensity at open-lot beef cattle feeding operations. Five different types of fabric were tested: cotton flannel, cotton muslin, acetate, polyester and polyester felt. Square swatches (20 × 20 cm) were suspended 1 m above the ground surface downwind of cattle pens for 24 hours. The swatches were placed in glass jars and presented to 8-10 human panelists who were asked to rank the swatches based on relative odor intensity. Five trials were conducted at 3 feedyards. Sums of ranks and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the degree of closeness of association between panelists. Muslin had the highest sum of ranks in 3 of 5 trials. When the wind had been blowing and dust was visible on the swatches, the polyester felt had the most detectable odor. The wide variation in Spearman rank correlation coefficients, with about half of the correlation coefficients negative, indicates little consistency between panelists in ranking of fabric swatches. Experiments are currently being conducted to determine sources of uncertainties associated with odor assessment using fabric swatches.