EDITORIAL

Editorial

In the past few years, the South African Journal of Animal Science (SAJAS) has taken great strides in advancing animal science and sustainable use of natural resources. Its impact factor rose from 0.143 (2003) to 0.511 (current). Through the dedication and concerted efforts of the editorial team and reviewers; the average turnaround time for article consolidation has reduced from 190 days (2014) to 53 days (current). Join me in commending the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of SAJAS, Prof. Jannes Van Ryssen, for his outstanding service to the journal. His contributions have greatly improved the quality of the articles published in this journal and the journal itself. We applaud his accomplishments and are grateful that he will continue to be part of the SAJAS team as an honorary editor-in-chief. Since my appointment on the 1^st October 2016, the editorial board has been reconstituted, with the appointment of Prof. Este van Marle-Köster (University of Pretoria), Prof. Victor Mlambo (North-West University) and I as the SASAS publication committee. Prof. van Marle-Köster has also been appointed as guest editor of the SAJAS. We welcome the addition of a cohort of internationally recognised experts, such as Dr Tim McAlister (Canada), Dr A. Yakubu, Lafia (Nigeria), Dr Dominika Guzek (Poland), Dr Genaro C. Miranda de la Lama (Mexico) and Dr Arnold Kanengoni (South Africa), to the SAJAS editorial board.

Reviewers and authors have an equally important role to play in improving the quality of this journal. The introduction of the electronic submission system has helped to ensure that all stages of the peer review process are dealt with in a timely manner. The editorial board is indebted to all of our reviewers for their continued support and quality of work. In the current year we would like to recognise the 10 reviewers with the highest number of completed reviews: Dr Arnold Kanengoni (subeditor), Dr Amanda Yucca Chulayo (reviewer), Dr Bekezela Dube (reviewer), Dr Peter Fayemi (reviewer), Dr Marizvikuru Mwale (sub-editor), Dr Justyna Batkowska (reviewer), Dr Carina Visser (sub-editor), Dr Thobela Nkukwana (sub-editor), Prof Este van Marle-Koster (guest-editor) and Prof Othusitse Ricky Madibela (sub-editor). We are also grateful to our eminent scientists who have served the SAJAS as sub-editors continuously over long periods. These include Profs Rob Gous, Johan Greyling, Eddie Webb, Christiaan Cruywagen and Arnold Hugo. We are similarly grateful to our authors for submitting top-notch, original and relevant research. To all prospective authors, we emphasise adherence to the authors' instructions in the preparation of manuscripts to avoid rejection of submissions. The necessity for originality, correct use of English, sound experimental design, enough number of replicates, appropriate statistical analysis of data, and coherent interpretation of results cannot be overemphasised.

I will ensure that only manuscripts that meet the criteria highlighted above are sent for review, and that all submitted manuscripts are attended to timeously. As editor-in-chief, I will be liable for any submissions that take unusually long to complete, and measures have already been put in place so that we don't see submissions going beyond four months of the peer review system. The contribution of all parties involved in the publication process is duly acknowledged and our aim as the editorial team is to make SAJAS the international journal of choice for publishing works in Animal Science. Lastly, let me acknowledge the support of the South African Society of Animal Science (SASAS) Council, the electronic submission system administrators (Graham Buchanan and Zelda King), and the editorial assistants, Elizabeth Hain Stewart, Martina Muller and Felicitas Mukumbo, for the outstanding work they are doing to ensure that the quality of our journal is of high standards. We acknowledge the University of Pretoria for housing our secretariat and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa for maintaining our electronic submission system.

Voster Muchenje (vmuchenje@ufh.ac.za)

Editor-In-Chief, South African Journal of Animal Science

Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa

Published online 6 December 2016