What is the J. Agric. Food Chem. JIF?

The JIF is 6.2 (2024 JCR). See the full year-by-year trend and category ranking in our Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry JIF analysis.

What is the acceptance rate of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry?

Manusights currently treats ~40-50% as an estimate for Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, not an official journal-published rate. One common reason papers fail is chemical analysis without agricultural or food context.

How long does J. Agric. Food Chem. take to review?

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry typically takes ~90-120 days median, but timing varies by editor, field, and reviewer availability. Expect an editorial screen first, then manuscript preparation, then peer review.

Is Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry peer reviewed?

Yes, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry is fully peer reviewed. All submissions undergo rigorous peer review by 2-3 agricultural chemistry experts assess novelty, analytical rigor, practical significance, and safety/sustainability. First decision 90-120 days..

All Journal Guides

Journal Guide

Publishing in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: Fit, Timeline & Submission Guide

Q: Is Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry a good journal?

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry is a strong target if present research advancing agriculture or food systems. It is a weaker fit if jAFC expects agricultural or food application.

Food science and agricultural chemistry: crop improvement and food safety

Should you submit here?

Submit if present research advancing agriculture or food systems. Be careful if jAFC expects agricultural or food application.

IF 6.2 · ~40-50% accepted · ~90-120 days median

Best fit if

Present research advancing agriculture or food systems

Not ideal if

JAFC expects agricultural or food application

Also compare

Scienceand Food Chem.

6.2

Impact Factor (2024)

~40-50%

Acceptance Rate

~90-120 days median

Time to First Decision

Submission guide

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Submission Guide: What Editors Screen Before Review

This JAFC submission guide helps authors decide whether the chemistry is genuinely food-relevant, analytically validated, and strong enough for editorial screening.

Desk rejection

How to Avoid Desk Rejection at Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

How to avoid desk rejection at Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: food relevance, method validation, and real application fit.

Review timeline

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Review Time: What Authors Can Actually Expect

JAFC often moves faster than authors expect, but the useful question is whether the chemistry and real-system validation are strong enough to survive review.

What J. Agric. Food Chem. Publishes

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published by the American Chemical Society is the premier journal for agricultural and food chemistry research. With JIF 6.2 and Q1 ranking in Agriculture and Food Science & Technology, JAFC emphasizes research on crop chemistry, food composition, food safety, and agricultural biotechnology. The journal publishes research on pesticides, fertilizers, food analysis, and agricultural chemistry. Critically: JAFC values research with practical agricultural or food relevance. Pure analytical chemistry without application context is less competitive. The journal seeks papers advancing agricultural productivity, food safety, or sustainability.

Pesticide chemistry: efficacy, residues, metabolism, environmental fate
Crop chemistry: nutrient uptake, plant physiology, yield improvement
Food safety: contaminants, pathogens, food preservation, risk assessment
Food composition: bioactive compounds, nutritional content, quality assessment
Agricultural biotechnology: genetically modified crops, trait development
Soil chemistry: nutrient cycling, soil health, microbiota
Postharvest chemistry: ripening, quality maintenance, storage stability
Sustainable agriculture: organic production, reduced-input systems

Editor Insight

“JAFC publishes agricultural and food chemistry advancing productivity and safety. We seek research with clear agricultural or food relevance and real-world validation.”

What J. Agric. Food Chem. Editors Look For

Agricultural or food science advance improving productivity, safety, or quality

Present research advancing agriculture or food systems. Improved crop yield? Enhanced food safety? Better nutritional quality? Show practical benefit with quantified improvements.

Chemical analysis and characterization with agricultural relevance

Rigorously characterize compound: detection methods, quantification, identification. Apply to real agricultural or food samples. Relevance to actual agricultural or food problems essential.

Mechanistic understanding of agricultural or food chemistry processes

Explain chemical processes driving agricultural or food outcomes. How does compound affect crop growth? What chemical factors drive food safety? Mechanism strengthens papers.

Real agricultural or food system validation, not just lab testing

Test approaches with actual crops, soils, or food products. Field trials or real-world food system testing prove practical applicability.

Safety and sustainability assessment where relevant

Address safety: residues, toxicity, regulatory compliance. Address sustainability: environmental impact, resource efficiency. Real-world relevance crucial.

Why Papers Get Rejected

These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past J. Agric. Food Chem.'s editorial review:

Chemical analysis without agricultural or food context

JAFC expects agricultural or food application. Analytical chemistry alone insufficient. How does compound matter for crops, food, or sustainability?

Lab-scale work without field validation or real system testing

Lab results often don't translate to field or commercial conditions. Real-world validation in actual agricultural or food systems essential.

Ignoring regulatory requirements and safety considerations

Agricultural and food applications subject to regulations. Address legal requirements, safety limits, and residue standards.

No comparative analysis with existing approaches

Show your compound or method compares favorably with current agricultural or food approaches. What advantages does it offer?

Incomplete characterization of agricultural/food outcome

If claiming crop improvement, show yield, quality, and pest resistance. If claiming food safety, show pathogen reduction, contamination prevention.

Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?

The Free Readiness Scan reads your full manuscript against J. Agric. Food Chem.'s criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.

Run Free Readiness Scan →

Insider Tips from J. Agric. Food Chem. Authors

Sustainable agriculture and organic production increasingly competitive

Research reducing pesticide reliance or improving organic productivity aligns with sustainability priorities.

Food safety and contamination prevention highly valued

Methods detecting or preventing foodborne pathogens, mycotoxins, or chemical contaminants have direct safety impact.

Nutritional enhancement and bioactive compound extraction trending

Work improving food nutritional quality or extracting bioactive compounds increasingly competitive.

Climate resilience and stress tolerance in crops gaining prominence

Crop chemistry research addressing drought, heat, or cold stress increasingly important as climate changes.

Soil health and microbiota increasingly emphasized

Soil chemistry and microbiota research driving crop health and sustainable productivity increasingly valued.

The J. Agric. Food Chem. Submission Process

Manuscript preparation

Prep

5,000-8,000 words with 5-7 figures. Include analytical methods and validation, real agricultural or food samples, characterization and quantification, mechanistic discussion, comparison with existing approaches, and safety/sustainability assessment.

Submission via ACS system

Day 0

Submit at https://pubs.acs.org/. Required: manuscript emphasizing agricultural/food novelty and practical significance, figures showing analysis and outcomes, cover letter highlighting benefits.

Editorial assessment

1-2 weeks

Editor assesses novelty and agricultural/food relevance. Papers lacking practical application context face lower priority. Moderate desk rejection ~20-30%.

Peer review

90-120 days

2-3 agricultural chemistry experts assess novelty, analytical rigor, practical significance, and safety/sustainability. First decision 90-120 days.

Revision and publication

Revision: 4-8 weeks

Revisions often request additional field data, safety information, or real-system validation. Publication 2-4 weeks after acceptance.

J. Agric. Food Chem. by the Numbers

2024 Impact Factor	3.8
5-Year Impact Factor	4.0
Acceptance rate	~40-50%
Desk rejection rate	~20-30%
Median first decision	~105 days
Open access option	$3,200 USD
Publisher	American Chemical Society
Founded	1953

Before you submit

J. Agric. Food Chem. accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.

Start with the Free Readiness Scan. Unlock the Full AI Diagnostic for $29. If you need deeper scientific feedback, choose Expert Review. The full report is calibrated to J. Agric. Food Chem..

Run Free Readiness Scan See a sample report

Article Types

Article

5,000-8,000 words

Agricultural or food chemistry research with field validation

Technical Note

2,500-4,000 words

Brief agricultural/food chemistry method

Review

8,000-12,000 words

Agricultural chemistry topic review

Landmark J. Agric. Food Chem. Papers

Papers that defined fields and changed science:

Pesticide efficacy and residue studies (various) - crop protection and safety
Food safety and contamination detection (various) - food security
Bioactive compound extraction and characterization (various) - nutritional improvement
Organic production and sustainable agriculture (2000s+) - environmentally responsible farming

Preparing a J. Agric. Food Chem. Submission?

Get pre-submission feedback from reviewers who've published in J. Agric. Food Chem. and know exactly what editors look for.

Run Free Readiness Scan

Need expert depth? See Expert Review Options

NDA-protected

Confidential

Primary Fields

Crop ChemistryFood SafetyPesticide ScienceNutritionSustainable Agriculture

More Guides for This Journal

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Avoid Desk Rejection

Get expert pre-submission review before you submit to J. Agric. Food Chem.. 3-7 day turnaround.

Manuscript Rejected?

Expert revision help to strengthen your manuscript and resubmit with confidence.

Reviewer Response Help

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Reference library

Compare J. Agric. Food Chem. with the broader publishing context

This journal guide is the best starting point for J. Agric. Food Chem.. The reference library covers the surrounding questions authors usually ask next: whether the package is ready, what drives desk rejection, how neighboring journals compare, and what the submission constraints look like across the field.

Open the reference library →

Checklist system / operational asset

Elite Submission Checklist

A flagship pre-submission checklist that turns journal-fit, desk-reject, and package-quality lessons into one operational final-pass audit.

Flagship report / decision support

Desk Rejection Report

A canonical desk-rejection report that organizes the most common editorial failure modes, what they look like, and how to prevent them.

Dataset / reference hub

Journal Intelligence Dataset

A canonical journal dataset that combines selectivity posture, review timing, submission requirements, and Manusights fit signals in one citeable reference asset.

Dataset / reference guide

Peer Review Timelines by Journal

Reference-grade journal timeline data that authors, labs, and writing centers can cite when discussing realistic review timing.