Brief History of the
Journal of Animal Science
In November 1940, the Society’s Editorial Committee,
chaired by Dr. R. M. Bethke, submitted a report at the Business
Meeting that was adopted by the Society. The report provided
1) that the Society publish a quarterly journal, starting in 1942;
2) that the Annual Proceedings for 1940 be published as in
former years; 3) that the Executive Committee be empowered
to appoint an Editorial Board composed of not less than 7 members,
an Editor and, if deemed necessary, a Business Manager;
4) that, because of the anticipated increased expense of issuing
a quarterly journal, the annual dues for 1941 be increased from
$2.50 to $3.00; 5) that the Editorial Board, subject to the approval
of the Executive Committee, set the price of the journal
for nonmembers, libraries, etc.; and 6) that the Executive Committee
be empowered to approve the editorial policies established
by the appointed Editorial Board so that preparations
for publishing the quarterly journal could proceed without delay.
Shortly thereafter, Dr. R. W. Phillips was appointed as Editor
of the journal. During the first year, the most significant
activities were selecting Editorial Board members, drafting an
editorial policy, obtaining enough significant manuscripts so
that publication could begin in 1942, establishing a contract
with a publisher (George Banta Publishing Co., Menasha, WI),
initiating the process of clearing manuscripts through the Editorial
Board members, and selecting the name Journal of Animal
Science.
The first issue of volume 1 of the Journal of Animal Science,
published in February 1942, contained 8 articles. Issues
2, 3, and 4 of volume 1 contained 12, 10, and 9 articles, respectively.
The format for volumes 1 through 19 was a single column
page.
Dr. R. W. Phillips served as Editor from 1941 until February
1949. While Dr. Phillips was on temporary appointment
(February 1943 to March 1944) with the Department of State
as Advisor on Animal Breeding to the governments of China
and India, Dr. R. G. Schott served as Acting Editor. Dr. Phillips
resumed editorship when he returned to Beltsville in March
1944.
The journal reflected the effect of World War II on animal
science research. Most research was interrupted, and the flow
of scientific manuscripts was low. The number of graduate students
was greatly reduced, and research output and accrual of
new members in the Society were reduced. Consequently, the
Society’s treasury was limited, and it was necessary to tailor
the size of the journal to the resources available, as well as to
the relatively small number of manuscripts. Thus, the early
quarterly issues were small compared with the issues published
after 1951.
In 1947, the position of Associate Editor was established.
Dr. L. E. Casida was appointed to the position and served in the
capacity through February 1949. Upon resignation of Dr.
Phillips following publication of the February 1949 issue, Dr.
Casida assumed the editorship. The Secretary-Treasurer of the
Society served as Business Manager of the journal until 1955.
The George Banta Publishing Co. was the printer through the
November 1950 issue. The Boyd Printing Co., Albany, NY,
was selected to print the journal from 1951 to 1990. The journal
was then printed by Imperial Printing, St. Joseph, MI. Since
2004, the journal has been printed by The Sheridan Press,
Hanover, PA.
Volume 1 of the journal, published in 1942, contained 39
articles. The 409 articles published in volumes 49 and 50 represent
a 10.5-fold increase in the number of papers published
during the calendar year. The Editorial Board for volume 1
consisted of 8 members in addition to the editor. The Editorial
Board in 1999 consists of 108 members, 15 Section Editors,
and the Editor-in-Chief. The first symposium was published in
volume 16 in 1957 and consisted of 4 articles on the “Meat-
Type Steer.” volume 17, published in 1958, the 50th anniversary
of the American Society of Animal Production, included a
50th anniversary commemorative issue that contained 16 special
articles on key subject areas. During this 50th anniversary
year, the Program Committee initiated and supported the concept
of the journal publishing symposic manuscripts.
In 1961, the format of the journal was changed from a 6- ×
9-inch single-column page to a double-column 7- × 10-inch
page. This change allowed 60% more published words per page.
In 1992, the journal was redesigned, and since that year has
been published in an 8- × 11- inch format.
In 1964, 3 Assistant Editors were appointed for the subject
areas of animal breeding, meats, and nutrition. In 1965, use of
the metric system became mandatory in the journal.
