Home

Urban Food Systems Symposium

Submission Instructions and Style Guide

Before submitting, read over the guidelines here, then register an account (or log in if you have an existing account).  

All oral and poster presenters, including invited and keynote speakers, may submit a manuscript for the conference proceedings. Submitted papers will undergo peer review before being accepted for publication in the symposium proceedings.

Submissions of manuscripts are due on September 25, 2026. 

Manuscripts will be sent to referees for review, and the results will be communicated to the authors as quickly as possible. Revisions may be requested, and the process may be iterated. The final results of the review process will then be communicated to the authors. If a manuscript is accepted for publication following the review process, authors will be requested to submit a final copy of the manuscript in MS WORD .doc or .docx format through the link in the notification you received accepting your publication, or by logging in with your account information from My Account on our conference page, https://newprairiepress.org/ufss

For any questions or problems with your submission, contact us at cads@k-state.edu.

Submission process 

Please use the email address provided to the conference administrators in your submission proposal to set up your account. Only one author should submit the article.

Go to http://newprairiepress.org/ufss/.

Click on the My Account link. Enter your email address and leave the password blank and click "Login."
On the next screen, verify that your information is correct. Enter a password. Click "Sign up."
Watch for a confirmation email. Click that link and your account will be confirmed.
Clicking the link in the confirmation email will take you to your "My Account" screen which will show Account Settings, Dashboard Tools and your submission(s).

About You:
Please enter all the information we will need to identify you and to contact you regarding your submission. Your name and affiliation should be entered exactly as you wish to have them appear when your submission is posted. As indicated on the form, certain pieces of information are required. Others, such as a fax number, are not necessary. If you do not have a current institutional affiliation or do not want to include an affiliation with this submission, leave the box blank. If you wish to use your full middle name in lieu of a middle initial, enter the full middle name in the entry box for the Middle Initial.

Submission Checklist:
Before you begin, please be sure you have the following items:

  • A list of keywords (6 maximum)
  • All co-author emails and affiliations
  • An abstract (maximum 400 words)
  • The electronic format of your file and any associated files in MS WORD .doc or docx.


Once you are logged in, you will be able to complete the submission process that consists of the following steps:

  • Read and accept the Submission Agreement. (see below)
  • Title - Please enter the title using Headline Capitalization e.g., The Scholarly Communication Crisis. Do no use all uppercase.
  • Update information about yourself and any co-authors. Please add all author emails and affiliations, which will allow authors to receive and access usage statistics. To reorder the list of authors, change the number sequence in the box to the left of the name. The list will be reordered immediately.
  • Leave the Start Date as is on the form. Conference administrators will set that prior to publication.
  • Select the Disciplines that best describe your submission.
  • Review the abstract and update if necessary. Remember, no more than 400 words.
  • Add Keywords or keyword phrases. Carefully consider the keywords to use – do not simply repeat words from the title. Individual terms or phrases should be separated by commas. (6 maximum)
  • Full Text Paper of Presentation: upload your electronic file and associated files, if any.
  • Click Submit.

Revisions:

Click the title of the submission.
Choose Revise Submission.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to Full Text of Presentation and upload your Word file.
Click Submit Changes.

Formatting/style guideline

Page limits. As a general rule, the maximum recommended length of an invited paper is 16 pages and of a submitted oral or poster paper is 8 pages, including figures and tables. Manuscript reviewers will cut unnecessary information and will advise on the number of pages each manuscript should have, taking into account its content and characteristics.

Spacing. The final text should have line spacing exactly 12 pt. Titles of subheadings should not be underlined. First lines of all paragraphs should have a 1 cm indentation. Do not include blank lines between paragraphs within a section.

Font and type size. Use Cambria font. Titles are printed in 18 point, references in the Literature cited section in 9 point, and the rest of the manuscript, including tables should be 11 point. When italic typeface is required use italic type, do not underline.

Page numbers. Page numbers are discouraged but allowed on draft manuscripts. Page numbers will need to be eliminated from final manuscripts.

Margins. When printed on standard 8.5 x 11-inch paper, the margins should be 1 inch left, 1 inch right, 1.5 inch top and 1 inch bottom.

Units. Use the metric system exclusively. Use abbreviation L for liter, mg L-1 for milligram (me) per liter, mL for milliliter, µL for microliter and t for tonne (metric ton). SI units can be used where appropriate.

Plant names. Scientific names are to be included for all plant species and are to be in italic font except for the abbreviations "var.", "subsp.", "f.", etc. which indicate rank at intraspecific level (e.g., Cedrus libani subsp. atlantica, Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae). Author citation should only be used when helpful for historical or taxonomic reasons, and then it should only be used when the name is first mentioned in the body of the text (do not use author citation in the abstract or title). Author names are to be abbreviated in accordance with the international standard provided by Brummitt, R.K. & Powell, C.E., "Authors of Plant Names", Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1992. An on-line updated version of this work may be consulted via http://www.ipni.org/index.html.

Common names may be used for well-known plants once the scientific name has been provided (e.g., apple, pear, potato, rose, tomato).

Cultivated varieties which are the product of selection and/or breeding are to be referred to as "cultivars" and not "varieties". Cultivar names are to be written in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. In particular, the part of a name which denotes the cultivar is to be placed within single quotation marks. The abbreviation "cv." is not to be used within a name (e.g., Malus ×domestica 'Golden Delicious', not Malus ×domestica cv. Golden Delicious).

If indicating hybrid status, the multiplication symbol should be used before the name of the genus or the species epithet as appropriate (e.g., ×Cupressocyparis leylandii, Mentha ×piperita), or within the formula denoting the hybrid (e.g., Mentha aquatica × M. spicata). If the multiplication symbol is not available in your font set, use the letter "x" in lower case, but leave a space between it and the word to which it should be applied (e.g., x Cupressocyparis leylandii, Mentha x piperita). Neither the multiplication symbol nor the letter "x" are to be in italics.

Use the multiplication symbol "×" to indicate a cross such as "red × yellow" and for the term "by" in measurements (2×4 cm). Use italic n and x when indicating sporophytic or basic chromosome number (e.g., 2n=4x=48).

Heading ranks and format
Papers contain one to four headings, all aligned at the left-hand margin, as follows:

RANK ONE
Use boldface and all capital letters. Use a space before this rank but subsequent paragraph(s) continue without a space. Subsequent paragraphs within this section are indented without spaces between paragraphs. Headings such as INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND METHODS, RESULTS, DISCUSSION, and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS are

RANK ONE headings. Do not use a period after this heading.

Rank two
This heading subdivides RANK ONE headings; thus, there must be at least two Rank two subheads. Titles are boldface and "sentence case". Rank two headings are separated by a space above the heading as in RANK ONE headings. No period after Rank two headings.

The paragraph starts on the first line after the Rank two heading and is indented.

1. Rank three.
This heading may be used to divide Rank two headings. Initiate this heading with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) with numbers and title in boldface and in "sentence case". The subheading ends with a period in boldface. Rank three headings are separated by a space above the heading as in RANK ONE headings. The paragraph starts on the first line after the Rank three heading and is indented.

Rank four.

This heading subdividing Rank three headings will be used rarely. Align left and end with a period. The font is italic, non-boldface, "sentence case". Rank four headings are separated by a space above the heading as in RANK ONE headings. The paragraph starts on the first line after the Rank four heading and is indented.

Organization of the manuscript

Title. Use "sentence case" except for proper names, genus names, etc. Do not include authorities for binomials in titles. Keep titles as concise as possible. Binomials will be in italics.

Abstract. Use a Rank two heading for Abstract, limited to 400 words in a single paragraph. Indent the first line of the abstract (1 cm).

Keywords. This is a Rank two heading followed by colon in boldface. List up to six key words not used in the title. Remember that electronic search engines focus on Title and Keywords. The second line of keywords is a hanging indent (2 cm).

Introduction. This should include a statement of the problem, a brief survey of previous work, and the scope and purpose of the project or program. References to previous work should be included.

Materials and methods. This section should be included in papers describing experiments but is not required in other papers. Describe concisely the plant materials, the growing technique, methods used, and lay-out of experiments. Include the name of all chemicals and compounds. An indication of the statistical methods used to analyze data should be included.

Results and discussion. This is the heart of the paper. For non-experimental papers, the heading would be discussion and would provide the program or project description. For papers describing experiments, the section(s) may either be presented as a single section or divided into separate Results and Discussion sections. If separate, describe experimental results in the Results section and reserve interpretations, speculations, and conclusions for the Discussion section.

Conclusion. At the end of the paper attempt to answer questions formulated in the introduction and conclude with a summary of results and an assessment of future research, programs, or projects.

Acknowledgements. This is reserved for journal paper numbers, source of funding, and name of the project, if required. Acknowledgment of help from colleagues or professional associates is appropriate, but avoid acknowledgment of routine secretarial help or family members.

Citations and literature cited

Citations to references in the text are listed chronologically surrounded by parentheses with the following format: (Peters, 2013; Jones and Smith, 2014; Brown et al., 2015a, b). Note: "et al." is used for three or more authors; letters a, b, etc. are used if there are two authors with the same name that have published in the same year.

Citations to personal communications include the initials and surname of the person and are only to be included within the text, not in the Literature cited section. The date is optional. Thus: (A.B. Peters, pers. commun.) or (A.B. Peters, pers. commun., 2013).

Literature cited should be boldface and "sentence case". Literature cited should only include references used in the paper. List the authors in alphabetical order, letter by letter, and in chronological order for publications of the same author(s). Do not use an issue number if the journal uses consecutive numbers for each volume. In all cases the initials follow the family name. Initials are followed by a period. If two initials are listed, do not include a space between them. Use "and" after the penultimate author. If there are more than 10 authors in a publication, only list the first 10 and include et al. thereafter.

Publication year should be surrounded by parentheses, followed by a period.

References should be formatted according to APA 7th Edition style. This style is available on all bibliographic management and formatting software like EndNote, ProCite, Papers, Zotero, Mendeley and others. Use commas and write volume and page numbers as shown in the format that follows:

Journal paper:
Bergstrand, K.-J., Asp, H., Larsson Jönsson, E. H., & Schüssler, H. K. (2015). Plant developmental consequences of lighting from above or below in the production of poinsettia. European Journal of Horticultural Science, 80(2), 51–55. https://doi.org/10.17660/eJHS.2015/80.2.1

Goodrich, J. K., Waters, J. L., Poole, A. C., Sutter, J. L., Koren, O., Blekhman, R., Beaumont, M., Van Treuren, W., Knight, R., Bell, J. T., & Ley, R. E. (2014). Human genetics shape the gut microbiome. Cell, 159(4), 789–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.09.053

Guo, Y., Gao, Y., Shi, Y., Ruan, L., & Zhang, Q. (2015). New members of the Iridaceae family: Interspecific hybridization between Iris dichotoma and I. domestica. Acta Horticulturae, 1087, 325–331. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1087.42

Jossn, R., Kodde, V. J., Willems, L. A., Ligterink, W., Van der Plas, L. H. W., & Hilhorst, H. W. M. (2010). Germinator: A software package for high-throughput scoring and curve fitting of Arabidopsis seed germination. The Plant Journal, 62(1), 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2009.04116.x

Book:
Avanzato, D., McGranahan, G. H., Vahdati, K., Botu, M., Iannamico, L., & Van Assche, J. (Eds.). (2014). Following walnut footprints (Juglans regia L.): Cultivation and culture, folklore and history, traditions and uses (Scripta Horticulturae No. 17). International Society for Horticultural Science & International Nut & Dried Fruit Council.

Castilla, N. (2012). Greenhouse technology and management (2nd ed.). CABI Publishing.

Sansavini, S., Costa, G., Gucci, R., Inglese, P., Ramina, A., & Xiloyannis, C. (Eds.). (2012). Arboricoltura generale. Pàtron Editore.

Chapter in book:
Biggs, A. R., & Stensvand, A. (2014). Apple scab. In T. B. Sutton, H. S. Aldwinckle, A. M. Agnello, & J. F. Walgenbach (Eds.), Compendium of apple and pear diseases and pests (2nd ed., pp. 8–11). APS Press.

Website:
Food and Agricultural Organization. (2015). www.fao.org.

Footnotes: Excessive use of footnotes should be avoided. The information should be incorporated into the text of the paper with appropriate references.

Tables and figures

Tables and figures must be embedded in the article. Captions are provided directly above each table and below each figure. They are numbered consecutively with Arabic numbers, and aligned to the full width of the page. Thus, Table 1, Table 2, etc. and Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. If the table or figure is not original, give the source at the end of the caption, e.g. Source: Jones et al. (2001).

Tables
Create tables using the MS Word table editor, not by using tab stops or spaces. Do not insert a table as a figure or an Excel file.

Use tables sparingly. Table captions go above the table. The size of the table should not exceed the standard page width and length, but tables may be placed portrait or landscape format. Solid lines are used in the heading and at the bottom of the table but are to be avoided in the body. Place all headings to the center of their column, except for the left column that should be aligned left. The units of the data must be indicated in parentheses in the table headings. If table footnotes are needed, use superscript Arabic numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. The sources of tables should be in the caption. Use font Arial Narrow 11 point for table headings and body and Arial Narrow 9 point for table footnotes.

Proper format for tables should include 4 parts: 1) caption, 2) masthead, 3) body, and 4) footnotes.

1. Caption. The caption should be understandable without recourse to the paper itself. The caption has only the first word capitalized (except for proper names, genus names, etc.) and ends in a period. Text after the table number should be vertically aligned. The caption may be more than a single sentence. The source of the table, if necessary to include, is indicated in the caption.

2. Masthead. In general, tables are best read up and down. Each column of the table must be explained by a masthead heading. The masthead is enclosed top and bottom by two lines extending to the edge of the table. Horizontal lines within the masthead can be used to separate groups under a common heading. The units of each column need to be clearly indicated, e.g., No. fruit; Fruit wt. (g); Harvest index (%). Masthead headings should be vertically centered in the masthead cell.

3. Body. Avoid internal lines in the body of the table. Center values under the masthead heading. Use rounding to avoid unwarranted precision. Means may be separated by using lower case letters (5% significance) or upper-case letters (1% significance). Indicate statistical tests and significance by footnotes, preferably superscript 1, 2, 3, etc. [If letters are used, start at the end of the alphabet (z, y, x, etc.).] The body of the table is enclosed in a line.

4. Footnotes. Footnotes go underneath the body of the table. Put each footnote on a separate line.

Figures
Figure captions go underneath the figure. Text after the figure number should be vertically aligned.

Be sure to include clear, sharp pictures of high resolution (at least 300 dpi). Make sure colored figures, graphs and drawings are clear when printed in black and white. Figures, graphs and drawings will be available in full color in the PDF version. Do not use the MS Word feature of text boxes to add captions, arrows, letters, or other text or objects to show in your figures, graphs or images because text boxes may shift around while editing the article. Instead, you should embed and hard-code any text or objects directly into the image, figure, graph or picture file before inserting it in your MS Word manuscript.

Note: Since the proceedings are electronically published, use of colors is fine. Authors should note that excessive reliance on colors for clarity of presentation may be counterproductive if printed by interested readers using black and white print.