Forage and Grazinglands Article Types

All articles are subject to peer-review, except Perspectives, Forage and Grazinglands News, and Letters, which are published at the discretion of the editors. Forage and Grazinglands accepts Variety Trial results subject to review for consistency of format and results. All authors are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts critically reviewed by colleagues prior to submission. Forage and Grazinglands Guides and Forage and Grazinglands Reviews often are solicited by Forage and Grazinglands and authors should contact the editors before preparing them.

Below are the general instructions for individual categories of articles published in Forage and Grazinglands. The more exacting instructions for units, citations, etc., are presented below in the "General Style Manual." Please read both sections carefully. Following the guidelines they provide is a condition of publication in Forage and Grazinglands. Authors submitting Variety Trial results should follow guidelines and examples provided in the Variety Trials section.

Manuscripts from symposia at professional society or industry-sponsored meetings may be submitted for publication. Symposium organizers must make arrangements with the Editor for submissions before the symposium is presented. Manuscripts from symposia are subject to the same peer-review process applied to other articles.

Forage and Grazinglands Research

All manuscripts submitted for publication in Forage and Grazinglands will be peer-reviewed by an editorial board. Each manuscript should provide insight into a particular issue that leads to practical solutions to existing problems. All work must be original and possess appropriate statistical analysis and scientific methods. Contributors are strongly encouraged to combine data from related experiments in similar regions or environments in order to broaden the inference space for the work. All manuscripts must be scientifically valid and readable by scientists and educated professionals. Authors should consider the target audience and desired inference space and write articles that are technically precise and accurate, but still easily readable by the non-specialist in the field. Technical jargon should be avoided where possible and technical terminology should be defined at its first occurrence in the text. Research articles are limited to 3,000 words including tables and figures. All tables and figures should be cited in numerical order.

Research articles should contain the following parts:

Abstract: The abstract should consist of three to six sentences that provide an informal summary of the main points of the article and why the research results should be viewed as important.

Introduction: One to three paragraphs that describe the problem and the reasons for conducting the research and the hypothesis or hypotheses that were tested in the research. Authors should discuss the significance of their findings to forage and grazinglands management, livestock production, or conservation of natural resources.

Body: This section should describe specific experiments, how they were conducted, and the results of these experiments. Articles should be subdivided using short clauses describing the particular experiment or series of experiments rather than the more formal journal style of "Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, and Discussion." Examples of appropriate subheadings used in presenting results and discussion might include "Field Studies With Two Hay Storage Methods" and "Relationship of Leaf Area Index and Yield."

Conclusions and recommendations resulting from the work should be discussed together in the final section of the article. This section should interpret results in terms of practical recommendations for forage and grazinglands practitioners.

Methods should be described in sufficient detail that the reader can understand and evaluate the results and conclusions and duplicate the work if so desired. If the experiment includes two or more trials in the form of random locations or environments, then the trials should be discussed separately only if the statistical analysis indicates that separate analyses are appropriate.

Authors of Forage and Grazinglands Research articles should also prepare a 4 to 5 sentence (200 word maximum) summary of the article and present it in the email message or cover letter at the time of submission. The summary should describe the contents of the article and the ways in which its publication would benefit the readership of Forage and Grazinglands.

Forage and Grazinglands Reviews

Forage and Grazinglands Reviews are peer-reviewed articles that summarize and analyze a topic of importance to forage and grazinglands management for those who are not specialists in the subject matter area. Topics for reviews may include analysis of issues that impact forage production, grazinglands management, the forage industry, the environment, or society -- including public policy debate, legislation, research or technology transfer efforts and priorities, or cultural practices (or principles) related to forage and grazinglands. Forage and Grazinglands Reviews may also include "success stories" that describe the successful implementation of new knowledge to forage and grazinglands management, livestock production, or natural resource conservation with forage and range plants. Readers should be able to learn what is known and what questions remain unresolved about the subject. Forage and Grazinglands Reviews should be documented with appropriate references and be no longer than 3,000 words in length.

Forage and Grazinglands Reviews should include an introduction to the problem or issue including why the topic is of interest to those involved with forage and grazinglands and a discussion of the issues or new information as it relates to forage and grazinglands. The body of the review may be subdivided using short clauses that describe the major idea or ideas being discussed. Forage and Grazinglands Reviews should cite suitable references to document statements that are not considered general knowledge and also provide a list of printed and/or electronic resources for further information. Authors are encouraged to include figures, concise tables, and color photographs to document or substantiate statements and increase reader interest.

Authors of Forage and Grazinglands Reviews should also prepare a 4 to 5 sentence (200 word maximum) summary of the article and present it in the email message or cover letter at the time of submission. The summary should describe the contents of the article and the ways in which its publication would benefit the readership of Forage and Grazinglands.

Forage and Grazinglands Guides

Forage and Grazinglands accepts (subject to editorial and/or peer review) new and unique Forage and Grazinglands Guides for practicing professionals. The guides are intended to expand and update the knowledge base of forage producers, grazingland managers, conservationists, industry representatives, Extension specialists, county agents, consultants, and other adult educators.

Submissions should include a thorough consideration of current research findings and contain the most recent recommendations and best management practices available. Authors should provide an explanation of the science and logic behind recommendations or best management practices. Guides should also include background information so that readers unfamiliar with the information are able to understand the topic. Guides should be written in lay language but using the style guidelines for other Forage and Grazinglands articles. Guides should be relevant to large geographical areas and be of interest to crop professionals across the United States.

Forage and Grazinglands Briefs

Forage and Grazinglands Briefs are short peer-reviewed scientific reports. They report new findings and recommendations relevant to any aspect of Forage and Grazinglands. These include any topics appropriate to other areas of the journal except that they are shorter by nature. Briefs provide a repository of science-based findings that are important to advisers, growers, researchers, regulatory officials, other practitioners, and the public. Forage and Grazinglands Briefs are intended to stand alone and do not include preliminary reports of work that will later be presented in full-length papers. Forage and Grazinglands Briefs are not abstracts and must not duplicate abstracts published or submitted elsewhere. Briefs are limited to 700 words including title, author names, and affiliations.

The title of a brief should clearly identify the topic presented, the common name of the plant involved, if well known (otherwise the scientific name), and relevant geographic location information. When appropriate, scientific names of organisms should be given in the body if not already given in the title. Briefs should include observations and general methods but should omit tables, footnotes, and acknowledgments. The significance of the report should be clearly stated and a brief interpretation, prognostication, or statement of implications is desirable. Up to three high-quality color photographs may be included to illustrate relevant aspects of the brief. Briefs should have no more than four references. References must be published journal articles or material from books (not proceedings or "in press" material).

Forage and Grazinglands Perspectives

Forage and Grazinglands Perspectives discuss problems of general interest to our readers, such as recent developments in research, legislation, and public policy, or express opinions concerning the impact of recent developments on forage and grazinglands. Perspectives representing alternative or opposing points of view will frequently be solicited and presented simultaneously. The editors reserve the right to reject or accept Perspectives for publication and to edit them for clarity and conciseness. The opinions published in Forage and Grazinglands Perspectives reflect the views of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the Forage and Grazinglands editorial board, the partners of The Plant Management Network, or the publisher. Forage and Grazinglands Perspectives should be no longer than 1000 words.

Forage and Grazinglands News

Forage and Grazinglands News articles are brief announcements of new products, label revisions, etc., and may be accompanied by a photograph, company logo, and/or a link to a company website. Forage and Grazinglands News articles are usually contributed by private companies involved in the Forage and Grazinglands industry and are not intended to be product reviews. Although Forage and Grazinglands News articles are evaluated for importance, balance, and appropriateness for Forage and Grazinglands, their publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products or companies by the Forage and Grazinglands editorial board, the partners of The Plant Management Network, or the publisher. Forage and Grazinglands News articles should be no longer than 800 words.

Letters

Letters to the Editor pertain to material published in Forage and Grazinglands. Letters may correct errors, provide supporting or differing points of view, clarification, or information to supplement material published in Forage and Grazinglands. In cases where numerous responses are received on a particular topic, letters will be selected to reflect a range of opinions. Authors of articles addressed by a Letter to the Editor usually will be given an opportunity to reply. The reply should be concise and respond directly to the issues raised. Letters are typically no longer than 300 words in length and are evaluated for appropriateness before publication. The editors reserve the right to reject or accept letters for publication and to edit letters for clarity and conciseness.