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Poster Board Information

Oral Presentation Information

Author Instructions (Word or PDF)     

NOTE: The 8th conference proceedings will be published on a CD-ROM. For this reason, we request manuscripts in a digital"CAMERA READY"format, that is everything in place, including figures and tables with captions, and sent electronically to the e-mail address provided below. Each paper will be reviewed by the conference editorial committee. This will be a limited peer review process.

The first section following the title and author(s) segment must be an ABSTRACT no longer than 20 LINES, followed by 2 blank lines, a KEYWORDS list (see the example provided), 3 blank lines, and the second heading.

In order to facilitate an early publication of the conference proceedings, please comply to the following guidelines.

I. Process for Submissionhave

1. Name the file with the first author's last name, followed by a key word.
2. Manuscript must be in a digital"CAMERA READY" format i.e., fully laid out, with all graphics and figures inline. Tables, graphs, and images should be a part of the document, rather than originating from another software source and must be embedded in the text. For example, do not embed an Excel table and send it with the linked database used to generate the table.
3. An ELECTRONIC submission is requested. Please send your manuscript in only one form: as a Word file
4. The electronic manuscript should be sent as an ATTACHMENT, NOT embedded in the E-mail message, in the MIME format, to the address: paconf@umn.edu
5. If mailing CD, the address is:

Precision Agriculture Conference
University of Minnesota
Department of Soil, Water, and Climate
439 Borlaug Hall
1991 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108-6028
USA

6. Label the CD with the operating system name and version (e.g., Windows XP) and word processing program (e.g., Word 6.0), paper title and corresponding author name, along with a printed copy.
7. Use a PC version of Word; sorry NO Macintosh versions.
8. Absolutely NO faxed manuscripts
9. DEADLINE: JUNE 19, 2006! JUNE 19, 2006! JUNE 19, 2006!

II. Paper Maximum Length

A maximum of 15 pages, "camera ready," single space, including figures, tables, graphs and references will be accepted.

III. Style

Follow ASA/CSSA/SSSA guidelines as provided in the "Publications Handbook and Style Manual."

IV. Typeface and Line Requirements

1. Use TIMES NEW ROMAN, 12-POINT typeface for the ENTIRE manuscript. If you do not have Times New Roman, use a comparable typeface.
2. All equations must be created using the equation editor of the software package (i.e., no ASCII equations which try to use letters and underscores instead of the proper characters).
3. Start paragraphs with a paragraph indent of five (5) spaces (i.e., first letter on space 6.
4. SINGLE spacing. Do not leave a space between paragraphs. It is IMPERATIVE that a line of text never exceeds the width of 5-1/2 inches or 14 cm.
5. With the exception of the title page, each page may have as many as 48 lines of type (9-1/4 in or 23.5 cm deep), however never run the page beyond 48 lines.
6. Type only to line 46 on the title page.
7. Color is allowed for figures and tables, not for the text.

V. Margins

ONLY 8.5 by 11 inch paper format, no A4 (210 X 297 mm) or Legal (8.5 X 14 in) format.

Guidelines:

Top: 1.0 in
Bottom: 0.75 in
Right: 1.5 in
Left: 1.5 in
Page text line width cannot be longer than 5-1/2 in or 14 cm.
Page text length cannot be greater than 9-1/4 in or 23.50 cm deep.

NB: any text or figure outside the allocated window could be cut.

VI. Headings (within text)

1. First level headings should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font or comparable typeface, ALL CAPS, bold, centered. Leave one blank line above and below these headings.
2. Second level headings should be typed in Times New Roman, LOWER CASE, bold, centered. Leave one blank line above and below these headings.
3. Third level headings should be in Times New Roman, lower case, bold, and FLUSH LEFT. Leave one blank line above and below these headings.
4. Try to limit headings to no more than three levels. Do NOT number headings.

VII. Layout-Title

1. Title should be typed on Line 1 and 2, flush left, bold, ALL CAPS.
2. Leave one blank line below before typing author name.
3. On line 3 or 4, author name(s) should be typed below the paper title on the same line, with initial caps, lower case, bold, left justified, separated with commas, INDENTED 5 SPACES. With a one-line title, the author’s name should be typed on line 3.
4. Author's professional title, and complete address will be included in the List of Contributors and not on the paper title page.
5. Leave one blank line
6. Line 5 or 6: organization (e.g., Department, Laboratory, Center, Division).
7. Use lower case, ITALICS, NOT bold, indented 5 spaces.
8. Line 6 or 7: organization (e.g., University, USDA-ARS, Corporation, Company). Use lower case, italic, not bold, indented 5 spaces.
9. Line 7 or 8: City, State (all letters), and Country if not USA. Use lower case, italic, not bold, indented 5 spaces.
10. Line 8 or 9: blank.
11. Line 9 or 10: Follow the same format for additional author(s) from a different affiliation; and repeat as needed.
12. Three blank lines before the first heading. (ABSTRACT).
13. One blank line, followed by text, flush left, left and right justified, Times New Roman 12 point font.
14. After last line of abstract, 2 blank lines.
15. The word “Keywords:” flush left, lower case, bold; follow by colon, 5 spaces, and several keywords.
16. Three blank lines.
17. Second heading.(e.g., INTRODUCTION).

EXAMPLE

Line01:SITE SPECIFIC HERBICIDE MANAGMENT
Line02:FOR PRESERVING WATER QUALITY
Line03:
Line04:      R.M. Fritz, D.D. Malo, and T.E. Schumacher
Line05:
Line06:      Plant Science Department
Line07:      South Dakota State University
Line08:      Brookings, South Dakota
Line09:
Line10:      M.M. Ellsbury
Line11:
Line12:      Northern Grain Insect Research Laboratory
Line13:      USDA-ARS
Line14:      Brookings, South Dakota
Line15:
Line16:
Line17:
Line18:                                      ABSTRACT
Line19:
Line 20: Start of abstract
……..
Line XX: End of abstract
LineXX:
LineXX:
LineXX:Keywords: Precision agriculture,…….
LineXX:
LineXX:
LineXX:
LineXX:                                INTRODUCTION 

VIII. Layout-Text

1. All text should be LEFTand RIGHT JUSTIFIED, typed in Times New Roman 12 point font. Capital, bold, italic, underline, should be used sparingly. One (1) space after a period.
2. Beginning of each paragraph should be INDENTED 5 SPACES.
3. Title page - leave lines 45 and 46 blank (on the title page only). Two copyright lines will be added later by the publisher.

IX. Layout-Graph(s), Table(s), Figure(s)

1. Items such as graphs, figures, and tables should be inserted above or below the text exactly where you want them near their callout. Do not place tables, figures, or graphs in the center of a page. Place them at the TOP OR BOTTOM of a page. Center them according to the width of the page.
2. Allow sufficient space above and below these items (at least one blank line but not more than three).
3. FIGURE captions must be typed BELOW the figure, on the full length of the line, starting flush left, all bold, period after the arabic number, 2 spaces (e.g., Fig. 1. Text). The captions should be followed by two blank lines before the text continues.
4. TABLE HEADINGS must be typed ABOVE the table.
5. They should be the same length as the table, which may be narrower than the full width of 5-1/2 in or 14 cm (e.g., Table 1. Text).
6. If a table or figure needs to be wider than 5-1/2 inches, it should be placed lengthwise on a page of its own along with its caption.

NB: Captions should be a full sentence and provide enough information to understand the purpose of the graph, table, figure, or image.

X. Tables

1. All tables must be constructed using the software’s table creation package, usually found under the tab “TABLE” on the main toolbar (i.e., no text tables with columns separated by tabs or spaces or anything like that).
2. Use tables SPARINGLY. Arrange them according to the following system:
   • Table caption: Indent second and additional lines of the caption as shown in the example that follows.
   • Use only horizontal lines.
   • Primary headings of columns and lines should begin with an initial capital letter, secondary headings should not have an initial capital letter.
   • All headings should be flush left in their column.

Example:

Table 1. Indent second and additional lines of the caption.
___________________________________
Headings
___________________________________
subheading (footnote 1) subheading
___________________________________
-unit of measure-

numbers numbers
____________________________________
1 Footnote.

3. Color is allowed where appropriate, use sparingly.

XI. Graphs and Line Drawings

1. Digital imagery should follow guidelines given for graph (IX.1-2-3). In some cases, if it is difficult to fit the artwork exactly on the page, it should be reduced. The desired minimum height for numerals and letters in the finished book is not to be smaller than 2 mm (8-point type size). It may even be somewhat larger.
2. The artwork that is to be pasted into position should be legible, with solid lines and good quality type. Place the artwork at the top or bottom of the page, preferably after its callout.
3. Color is allowed.

XII. Photographs

1. Digital images should be inserted according to the procedure given in IX.1-2-3.
2. The caption should be typed directly on the manuscript beneath the photograph and labeled as a figure.
3. Color is allowed.

XIII. Footnotes

Avoid using footnotes if possible. It is better to place the information in the text between parentheses or to list it as a reference. If it is necessary to use footnotes, use superscript numbers. The footnote should be typed the full width of the page.

XIV. References

For in-text references:

• Use the author-year system (e.g., Smith, 1989).
• With two authors, name both and use the word "and" rather than an ampersand (&) (Smith and Jones, 1989).
• With three or more authors, use et al. (Smith et al., 1989).

In the Reference section:

• Start author last name flush left and INDENT 3 SPACES FOR ALL OTHER LINES of the same reference.
• Alphabetize the references according to the author last name and then chronologically. Be sure that all references called out in the text are also listed in the References list, as well as the same year cited in text.
• Double space between each reference.

Journals:

• Author(s). Year. Title. Journal (abbreviated). Volume number and (issue number in parentheses, if necessary):page – page (e.g., p. 100-120)

Whole Books:

• Author(s). Year. Title. Edition, if any. Publisher, location (city, state).

Chapters in a Book:

• Author(s). Year. Title of the chapter. Pages of the chapter (p.xx-xx). “In” ITALIC, editor name(s) (ed.), book title. If from a conference, date and location. Publisher, location (city, state).

For additional reference information, refer to the ASA/CSSA/SSSA Publications Handbook and Style Manual.