Highlights

1. The impact factor stayed constant at 1.5, but because of the special editions, this likely will increase.
2. The Elsevier ScienceDirect CiteScore has been constant at 2.5. This may increase with the special issues and by going to 100% open access. We are also considering increasing the number of articles from international authors, which may increase the audience outside of typical ARPAS members.
3. To keep pace with the changing needs of our community, we have updated our instructions for authors for the year ahead to include
   1. Refined science and application categories (Food Science, Genetics and Breeding, Health, Management and Sustainability, Nutrition and Forages, Physiology, and Welfare and Behavior) and
   2. An artificial intelligence disclosure policy asking that authors disclose whether or not they’ve used artificial intelligence technologies, as well as detail their purpose, any influence on key arguments or conclusions, and the methods used to personally review and verify all artificial intelligence–generated content.
4. A special issue titled Previous Management and Health Affect Finishing Performance of Beef Cows was published in the August 2025 issue. It was headed by Associate Editor Daniel Rivera with assistance from Dave Beede.
5. Two invited reviews are being prepared: one on vitamin nutrition of beef cattle (Hansen et al.) and the other on the history of monensin use in United States (Raun et al.). We anticipate these being published in 2026.
6. I’m working on getting a sponsor for a special issue for 2026 on water (from the symposium at the ASAS meeting this year).
7. We are developing a formal protocol for terms of editorial board members and associate editors. Starting at the end of 2026, one associate editor will rotate off, and then every year, another will rotate off (or be reappointed for a 3-year term). Editorial board members will also be appointed to a 3-year term (with the option of being reappointed once).

Journal Statistics for 2025
The following Table 1 has publication information including publication times and pages and articles published. Submissions are down from the average of the 4 previous years (110 vs. 122). The cause of this is unknown but may be related to APC fees, more competition from other journals, or fewer researchers. The rejection rate is slightly higher than the 4-year average (41% vs. 36%). This may partially reflect the change in the editor in chief, but it also may be caused by there being fewer withdrawn papers in 2025 (they may have been withdrawn rather rejected). Number of pages printed is about the same as the 4-year average (684 vs. 704), but the number of articles published is down substantially (49 vs. 68). This is probably mostly due to fewer submissions. Total time to publication is higher than the 4-year average because of increased days in production. This was likely caused by the holding of articles for the special edition and my initial method for checking proofs. Originally, I did this at the final proof stage (when the journal is ready to go to the printer). Several of the errors I found needed to be checked by authors (e.g., errors in tables), which added days to the production time. I am now checking for errors at the proof stage, so production days should go down.

Table 2, in the following, contains a breakdown on types of articles published. The general distribution is similar to historic averages. During the first 3 quarters of my tenure as editor in chief, I did not invite any reviews, but we have at least 2 lined up for 2026. However, because page charge waivers are limited, we need to be judicious in choosing invited review topics or seek sponsors (but with no input on the article).

Other Activities in 2025

• 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. In 2025 we had 12 press releases, including the following:

1. A case study on sustainable management practices for dairy farms
2. A review on chromium
3. A model to predict cattle growth on pasture
4. Review on management practices for healthier dairy calves during weaning
5. Value of frosted summer annuals
6. Value of respiratory vaccination in beef cattle
7. Long-term effects of respiratory disease in cattle
8. Systems research and beef profitability
9. Feeding byproducts to finishing beef cattle
10. Milk feeding method for dairy calves
11. Economics of different distiller grain supplementation methods
12.  Cover crop silage for beef cows

• Associate editors for 2025 were Dr. Eric van Heugten (North Carolina State University; nonruminants and some other topics); Dr. Kristin Hales (Texas Tech University; beef feedlot and meats); Dr. Daniel Rivera (University of Arkansas; grazing cattle and other ruminants, forages); and Dr. Bill Weiss (The Ohio State University; dairy, feed composition, most reviews and other topics).
• Laura Esterman is the managing editor and the 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). 

Table 1. Journal Submissions, Review, and Publication Data (compiled January 2026 by Laura Esterman, FASS)

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