This final issue of The Journal of Agricultural Science for 2025 honours Professor Dr. Julian Wiseman, who retired as Editor-in-Chief this year after 27 years of service to the journal and Cambridge University Press. Professor Wiseman is one of the longest serving editors for the journal; he was invited to become a Senior Editor in 1999, and the title of Senior Editor was subsequently changed to Editor-in-Chief. The role is challenging and often not well understood by many researchers: Professor Wiseman assessed all papers related to Animal Science submitted to the journal since 1999. He decided whether a manuscript met the journal’s criteria and if the manuscript represented high quality research outcomes that should be considered for publication. He then assigned any manuscript felt worthy of review to an Editor, who handled the review process. Following the recommendation by the Editor, Professor Wiseman evaluated both the recommendations and the reviews provided by reviewers, then made the final decision to either accept or reject the manuscript.
During his career as Editor-in-Chief, Professor Wiseman handled more than 2000 animal-related papers, of which 648 have been published in The Journal of Agricultural Science. He coordinated a team of around 20 Editors, who were experts in topics as diverse as animal nutrition, genetics, physiology, pasture and forage, modelling animal systems, quality of animal-derived foods, livestock greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change. Professor Wiseman also supported several special issues, including Modelling Animal Systems (vol. 146 (4), 2008, which kick-started an ongoing theme for the journal) and the Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures (vol. 149(S1), 2011). The focus of the papers associated with ‘Animal Science’ that have been published in The Journal of Agricultural Science also has changed over the years, from Intensive Production Systems in the 1980s–1990s, Sustainability and Welfare in the 2000s, to presently both Molecular and Interdisciplinary Approaches. Current topics include, for instance, the adoption of molecular biology, genomics, and precision feeding, as well as an emphasis on climate-smart livestock systems and integrated crop-livestock systems.
Professor Wiseman has overseen the growth of The Journal of Agricultural Science, including improvement of the impact factor to 2.2 in 2024, a cite score of 3.5, and a Q2 ranking in the ‘Agriculture, Multidisciplinary’ category, and the expansion of the journal into interdisciplinary areas mentioned previously. The turnaround time of the journal has improved significantly, especially since the introduction of ‘Accepted Manuscripts’ and ‘First View’ on the journal’s Cambridge Core web page (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-agricultural-science) a few years ago. Another notable feature of Professor Wiseman’s tenure was the move in 2004 from paper-based submissions, dealing with peer review and other correspondence via email, to online submissions and peer review via Manuscript Central ScholarOne.
Professor Wiseman is currently an Emeritus Professor of Animal Production and former Head of Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Nottingham, School of Biosciences. He is ranked among the top scientists in Animal Science globally. He has conducted pioneering research in non-ruminant animal nutrition with focus on pigs and poultry, including amino acid digestibility, feed formulation, and carcass quality. He has organized many international symposia and edited/translated (from French) several books, the most recent being ‘Advances in Pig Nutrition’ that was published in 2024 by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. He is also an agricultural historian having written articles on the pioneer animal breeder Robert Bakewell and a book ‘A History of the British Pig’.
On behalf of the Editorial Team of The Journal of Agricultural Science, the editors, and the many authors who have published in the journal, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for Professor Wiseman’s long-standing leadership and commitment as an Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Agricultural Science and his contributions to the advancement of science and associated impacts on society.
My very first peer-reviewed paper was published in The Journal of Agricultural Science in 1979. Little did I know or suspect, then, that my involvement with the journal would become rather more intense in future years (in addition to seven further papers of mine)!
Some 20 years on, as Reader in Animal Production in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (later to become School of Biosciences) at Sutton Bonington, University of Nottingham, I was approached by a colleague Professor W. J. ‘Dick’ Whittington, who was Senior Editor of the journal; I knew that the journal office was directly below mine! Dick was approaching retirement and was very keen that the journal remained at Sutton Bonington which had (and still does have) an international reputation in the Agricultural Sciences. I was somewhat surprised I must admit; as a Plant Scientist and therefore from a different Department, why was he considering an Animal Scientist as a replacement? During our discussion, I was reminded that a few of my papers had considered elements of Crop Science in the context of nutritional value for non-ruminants so this, plus the fact that I was a member of the Department of Agriculture and Horticulture, was instrumental in his decision to discuss the future of the journal with me. It did require a bit of persuasion from him, but the outcome was settled and the appointment duly confirmed; of course, shortly after that a Crop/Soil Scientist Senior Editor was also appointed (initially Dr David Wilman from Aberystwyth University, UK, then Professor Robert E. L. (Bob) Naylor at the University of Aberdeen, UK), so my role was to consider just Animal Science papers.
I had already had some experience with other journals both as reviewer but also editorial issues and one of my earliest decisions was based on the fact that reviewers give freely of their time in what are essential activities for any journal and do not appreciate having to consider submissions of poor quality. I took the decision that any paper submitted must be considered by the Senior Editor before being offered to a member of the Editorial Board and thence to reviewers. I cannot claim to have read comprehensively every paper submitted word for word, but I followed a fairly straightforward approach which considered if the abstract was sufficiently comprehensive, whether a testable hypothesis had been delivered, was the statistical model adopted sound, was data presentation clear and were conclusions justified. If I identified serious problems with any of these points, then the paper would not be offered for further review, thus saving everyone’s time (except mine – but that was part of the job). I should add that I cannot recall many appeals against my Editorial decisions. The thorny issue of units was a regular problem but it was felt that, if the paper was promising, these could be considered at a subsequent stage if reviewers were broadly happy. There is one particular unit, however, that always has been problematic: digestibility (unit is coefficient) and content of a digestible component (unit is g/kg). So many papers were confused in this respect that I wrote an editorial to explain the difference: Wiseman J (2018). Editorial: Digestibility and degradability in animal nutrition studies. Journal of Agricultural Science 156(10):1161–1162. I had grown tired of having to explain this subject to each and every author who had misunderstood the concept, so I could now just invite them to read the editorial! Why had it taken me almost 20 years to consider this approach? Any other issues? Don’t get me going on split infinitives…
There have been a few important innovations during my time with the journal and I’d like to mention just two. Originally, everything was handled by paper. In addition to the negative environmental impact, there was also the cost of postage – this was significant during my five-month sabbatical in University of Melbourne, Institute of Land and Food Research, Australia in 2000… Technology caught up with us in 2004 with the introduction of electronic management through Manuscript Central ScholarOne. Everything was now handled ‘on-line’. I was able to manage all editorial duties from the comfort of my study at home (for obvious reasons, I ensured deliberately that little if any journal work was undertaken whilst at work at Sutton Bonington) or from anywhere else (useful when presenting at conferences in various parts of the world). The second innovation relates to support from Cambridge University Press. Shortly after I assumed my role, the then Editorial Assistant at Sutton Bonington resigned. For a short time, I had to rely on overtime inputs from existing administrative staff which was hardly a sustainable activity. Fortunately, the existing Editorial Assistant who had been working with Professor Naylor in Aberdeen since May 2002, Alison Sage, was able to assume the duties formerly performed by my Editorial Assistant (of course working remotely…) and she became (and still is!) the sole journal administrator. This has worked really well and I’d like to thank Alison for all her input and help over the years.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the journal and look forward to following future developments. There are a number of challenges facing the world of peer-reviewed publications, not least the rapid emergence of what I call predatory journals which exist only as a means of generating income for less than trustworthy organisations (I’ve had over 100 ‘invitations’ this year alone to submit work from very deceitful journals, all of which have been ignored). It seems that early-career individuals are particularly susceptible as they attempt to boost their CV. Advice to them from senior colleagues always should be to consider journal quality not paper quantity and to contemplate not-for-profit publications. I’m pleased to note that The Journal of Agricultural Science is more than suitable on both counts.
