Highlights

1. The transition from Dave Beede to Bill Weiss has gone relatively smoothly. Timeliness, although acceptable, will improve as I continue to learn the procedures.
2. The impact factor stayed constant at 1.5, and because of the special editions, this likely will increase next year.
3. Elsevier/ScienceDirect CiteScore has decreased from 3.0 to 2.5. This may increase with the special issues and by going to 100% open access. We are also considering increasing the number of papers from international authors, which may increase the audience outside of typical ARPAS members.
4. A special issue titled Previous Management and Health Affect Finishing Performance of Beef Cows was published as the August 2025 issue. It was headed by Associate Editor Daniel Rivera with assistance from Dave Beede.
5. A potential topic for a special issue for 2026 is water (from the symposium at ASAS this year).
6. After the ASAS meetings, we will send out an email to ARPAS members asking for suggestions for ideas for potential invited reviews.

Journal Statistics (2025 through June)

Table 1 has publication information including publication times and pages and papers published. Table 2 contains a breakdown on types of papers published. Total time to publication is higher than the four-year average, but this is mostly because some papers had to be on hold during the August special issue. Overall time to publication is good and is a testament to the work of volunteer reviewers, associate editors, technical editors, and production staff. However, finding good reviewers is becoming increasingly difficult, and this may eventually negatively affect time to publication. We are expanding our efforts to obtain new reviewers, and we continue to remind authors that they have an obligation to review.

Number of papers and pages published thus far in 2025 is lower than the four-year average (272 vs. 320 pages and 24 vs. 31 papers). Some of this is because of the special issue (papers were held for that issue). Rejection rate is in line with the historical average. The number of papers in the pipeline (accepted but not in print and those in the review process) indicates that paper numbers will be closer to the four-year average next year. In addition, AAS open access publication fees are among the lowest in agricultural journals, and this may increase submission rate, leading to increased papers published.

Paper type (research article, review, and so on) distribution is similar to the four-year average. We are planning to publish an invited review on vitamins for beef cattle in 2026 and are taking suggestions on other potential review topics. Because page charge waivers are limited, we need to be judicious in choosing invited review topics.

Other Activities in 2025, thus far

• Journal Press Releases

One or two press releases are made after each issue is released. The press releases highlight articles that likely will attract a broad audience (reviews are often highlighted) and articles that address particularly novel subjects. These press releases are distributed widely including to all ARPAS members. The press releases thus far for 2025 are as follows:

1. Achievable management practices unlock smaller environmental footprints for dairy farms of any size. February 10, 2025
2. Chromium and performance: What we know about supplementation to the diets of cattle, horses, swine, and poultry. March 31, 2025
3. Refined model delivers improved precision in predicting cattle growth on bermudagrass pasture systems. April 7, 2025
4. Evidence-based management practices for healthier and less stressed dairy calves during the weaning transition. June 16, 2025
5. Make the most of your frost-affected summer annuals by delaying harvest to the afternoon. June 23, 2025
6. Prefeedlot respiratory vaccination improves cattle health and growth outcomes. July 28, 2025
7. Bovine respiratory disease has long-term effects on all stages of beef production. August 4, 2025
8. Whole-system research can help optimize beef production efficiency and profitability into the future. August 11, 2025
9. Connecting the beef sector: A new Applied Animal Science special issue highlights the interconnected effects of early calf and stocker management on feedlot performance. August 18, 2025
10. Feeding byproducts to grazing beef cattle is a successful finishing method. October 13, 2025
11. Feeding calves from nipple buckets can boost welfare without affecting performance. October 20, 2025

• Associate editors for 2025 are  Eric van Heugten (North Carolina State University; nonruminants and some other topics);  Kristin Hales (Texas Tech University; beef feedlot and meats);  Daniel Rivera (University of Arkansas; grazing cattle and other ruminants, forages);  Bill Weiss (The Ohio State University; dairy, feed composition, most reviews, and other topics).
• Laura Esterman is the managing editor and FASS director of publications. Other FASS staff members working with AAS are Christine Horger (lead technical editor), Shauna Miller (ScholarOne Manuscripts administrator and support), Ron Keller (production), and Jess Townsend (marketing and communications). 

Applied Animal Science Data (June 2025)

Table 1. Journal Submissions, Review, and Publication Data (compiled by Laura Esterman, FASS)

Table 2. Published Articles by Manuscript Type* (compiled by Laura Esterman, FASS)

*Does not include errata.