Scientists and students are encouraged to submit research, teaching and extension papers, field reports and case studies. The author submitting the abstract is responsible for its content and quality of preparation. The final program for the abstracts will be posted on this page. Authors should be aware of patent considerations before submitting abstracts for publication.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically via the conference website by 11:59 pm, Central Time, August 1, 2024. Abstracts not meeting this deadline will not be accepted. Authors are limited to presenting a maximum of (3) abstracts. Authors and co-authors will receive a confirmation email when the abstract is submitted.

Students may choose to have their poster presentation judged in the Award of Excellence Competition. The presenting student must be listed as the first author. Students may submit multiple poster abstracts for presentation, but only ONE may be entered in the competition. The student should designate which poster abstract will be entered into the contest during the registration process. The winner will receive a $500 award.

*Only students will be eligible to compete for this award.

Abstracts are an opportunity for scientists and educators to present recent and previously unreported findings that contribute to the current body of knowledge. Data or observations should be original and not have been previously presented. 

An abstract is a communication of restricted length that permits informed readers to evaluate significant contributions of a scientific study, method, or technique of teaching or extension. 

Abstract co-authors shall be limited to those individuals who took an active part in the reported work.

Abstracts (excluding title and institution) shall be limited to no more than 3,200 characters including spaces. No photos, tables or graphs are allowed as part of the abstract. 

Studies with proprietary products of an undisclosed formulation must reference the supplier and product name/description in a manner sufficient for others to acquire the product for testing purposes, as well as including a description of the product’s intended purpose, anticipated mode of action, and/or its general biological properties. 

Literature reviews and opinion/editorial pieces will not be accepted as abstracts. 

All submissions and revisions must be completed by the published deadlines. 

Presenting author or co-author of an accepted abstract is required to present the abstract at the scheduled time. Failure to do so may restrict future submissions

Names and institutions of authors will be available to the reviewer, but the reviewer shall remain anonymous and unknown to the authors. Correspondence with authors shall be conducted via the Section Chairs or, when appropriate, the Program Chair. 

Poster size must be no larger than 107 cm (42”) wide x 122 cm (48”) high. This is the space that is allotted for each poster. Points for student competition may be deducted if poster is not of the correct size. Posters shall be written only in English, with a type font and size that allows ease of reading at a normal poster viewing distance. Presenters must provide their own tacks, stick pins or Velcro.

The following sections are required of all abstracts and are to be included in each poster presentation:
a. Descriptive title, with authors and institutions
b. Hypothesis or objective
c. Experimental design (or description of the problem for a non-statistical presentation)
d. Materials and methods
e. Statement of statistical analysis (e.g. one-way ANOVA)
f. Results, indicating statistical differences, where applicable
g. Conclusions
h. Five keywords for indexing

Studies with proprietary products of an undisclosed formulation must reference the supplier and product name/description in a manner sufficient for others to acquire the product for testing purposes, as well as including a description of the product’s intended purpose, anticipated mode of action, and/or its general biological properties. 

A printed copy of the accepted abstract is not required to be included on the poster. However, should the author(s) prefer to include the abstract, it can be inserted in the lower left-hand corner of the poster.

Posters can be placed on September 30th. Presenting authors, including students, are REQUIRED to be present by their poster during the designated poster presentation session October 1st during lunch. Posters must be removed by the author before the end of the scheduled “Poster take down” on October 3 by lunch time. Any posters not removed by that time will be discarded.

Students participating in the poster competition, must be at their poster prior to the beginning of the competition session, as scheduled in the agenda. Failure to display an accepted poster for the entire scheduled period and/or be present during the scheduled poster presentation session time may result in the rejection and removal of the abstract from the electronic version of the conference proceedings.

If you submit an abstract that is accepted and then do not attend the meeting, you should send poster materials with a colleague or send them to someone who is going to the meeting.

Accuracy, efficiency, and ease of communication should be the main criteria in designing posters. Secondary criteria include aesthetic appeal and variety (such as mixing graphs with tables, use of color, etc.).

Some helpful suggestions are:

• It should be possible to read and understand a poster within 5 to 10 minutes.
• Titles and conclusions should quickly and effectively communicate the key results of your research.
• Graphs and tables, where appropriate, are preferred means of communicating data.
• Color adds immensely to posters, particularly graphs.
• Photographs are permitted on the poster, if applicable to the experiment.
• A small portrait of the presenting author will greatly assist viewers in locating or identifying the author during the meeting.