Highlights

1. Elsevier ScienceDirect CiteScore (essentially the average number of citations per paper) increased from 2.5 to 2.8.
2. The current impact factor increased to 1.8 from 1.5. The five-year impact factor is now 1.9.
3. A special issue for 2026 on water (from a symposium at ASAS held in 2025) is planned for late 2026 or early 2027.
4. A special edition on transition dairy cows is planned for late 2026 or early 2027 based on the ARPAS symposium presented at ADSA this year.
5. For the size of our journal, we have a very large editorial board. We are in the process of reducing the size and instituting a three-year rotation system (with the possibility of serving two terms).
6. We are trying to identify a new associate editor to work on nonruminant papers because Dr. Eric van Heugten (North Carolina State University) has requested to leave the position at the end of 2026. We will then institute a three-year rotation for associate editors (with the possibility of serving two terms).
7. We initiated a new artificial intelligence policy. The improper use of AI is becoming an issue to all scientific publications and will likely become a bigger challenge every year.

Journal Statistics (2026 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, which was caused almost completely by an increase in time in peer review. Overall time to publication is acceptable, but we continually try to improve. However, peer review is a voluntary activity, and we are limited on what we can do to reduce time in review. I am encouraging associate editors to increase the use of Editorial Board members in the review process because we can apply more pressure on them to be timely. An ARPAS newsletter included a call for reviewers, and it was very successful in increasing the reviewer pool. Production time was nine days less than it was last year and essentially equal to our four-year average. 

Number of pages published thus far in 2026 is higher than the four-year average (313 vs. 298 pages), and number of papers published is equal to our four-year average (27). The number of papers in the pipeline (accepted but not in print and those in the review process) is in line with previous years, indicating that the number of papers published next year will be similar to this year. I am making a concerted effort to reduce the number of pages but increase the number of papers. We are continuing to promote our open access publication fees, which are among the lowest for agricultural journals. As Patrick mentioned in his letter here, please note that our fees are modestly increasing as of the February 2027 issue to $1,950 for nonmember authors and $1,560 for our member authors. Rejection rate was lower this year than in the past, but, in my opinion, this is because better papers are being submitted and not because of reduced standards.  

Paper type (research article, review, and so on) distribution is similar to the four-year average except for short communications. We expect short communications to have the same scientific quality as full-length papers, with just a much more limited scope. This will likely result in even fewer short papers and more full-length papers. We have published an invited review on vitamins for beef cattle and an invited perspective and commentary paper on the development of monensin as a feed additive. We published reviews on dairy cow bedding practices and precision technology in swine production and a perspective and commentary paper on the effects of climate change on beef cattle production. Because publication charge waivers are limited, we need to be judicious in choosing invited review topics.

The quality of our journal is a testament to the work of volunteer reviewers, associate editors, technical editors, and production staff. 

Other Activities in 2026, Thus Far

• A two-webinar series was presented and is available for download. One webinar was titled “Figures, tables, formatting, and Applied Animal Science submission standards,” and the other one was titled “Author tips for crafting a compelling Applied Animal Science article.” A total of 216 registered, with 131 attending.
• Journal Press Releases. One or two press releases are distributed after each issue is released. The press releases highlight articles that likely will attract a broad audience (reviews are often highlighted) or an audience we are trying to develop (e.g., an article on horse management was highlighted). For the press releases, we try to maintain diversity among disciplines and animal types to broaden interest. These press releases are distributed widely including to all ARPAS members.
• Associate editors for 2026 are Dr. Eric van Heugten (North Carolina State University; nonruminants and some other topics), Dr. Kristi 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). As mentioned previously, Dr. van Heugten will be stepping down at the end of 2026.
• 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 2026)

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

¹Data period is based on submission date from January through May.
²Data period is based on February, April, and June issues. Note that editorial production time is measured by time of acceptance to time of appearance in an issue; this means this period is artificially high due to the wait time of two months between issues as well as holding papers for special issues.
³Data period is based on February, April, and June issues.

Table 2. Published Articles by Manuscript Type¹ (compiled by Laura Esterman, FASS)

¹Does not include errata.
²Data period is based on February, April, and June issues.