​Thank you for agreeing to Peer Review this manuscript for JDR. The manuscript has been submitted for consideration as a Research Paper, Research Reflection or Research Review. JDR also publishes shorter Research Communications. You can see definitions of the article types here and you can see an overview of the whole Peer Review process here Please conduct the Review as quickly as possible, preferably within two weeks of receipt

The Peer Review decision has three options: 

• Recommend to Accept with Minimal Revision
• Return to Author for Revision
• Recommend Rejection

All of the option buttons are reversible; if you change your mind simply click on the option you want to change to
 
Please enter the correct manuscript reference, which will be in the format firstauthorsurname nnnn

Journal of Dairy Research is a high quality international journal, and only publishes good research that complies with certain key criteria:

Key Scientific criteria
Research Papers must advance knowledge of relevant lactation science in a significant way and there should be the likelihood of clear benefit to human society or to dairy animals. The research must be of sufficient quality, novelty and relevance. In addition, the research should be:

• Likely to have international impact
• Hypothesis driven or possessing a very clear aim
• Presented clearly and succinctly with a minimum of essential figures and tables

Remember that this is an assessment of the science behind the paper. The scientific assessment is yes/no, where "no" means rejection. Papers that have sufficient scientific merit but require revision should be scored "Yes".     

Key Technical criteria
Full Research papers must be:

• Clear and easy to understand
• Concise, with a minimum of text, figures and tables
• Well written

The technical assessment and the recommendation both include the option of revision
 
Research that is purely observational or which only extends existing established knowledge to a new species, breed or region should typically not be published as a Research Paper, but may be suitable for a Research Communication. Research Communications are also appropriate for research that is high quality international impact but more suited to a shorter length.  

If you recommend rejection, you have the option to suggest resubmission as a Research Communication 


Guidance for Authors
If you have chosen to recommend rejection, you should use the Guidance for Authors to explain why you came to this decision. Please state your reasons clearly and succinctly.

Anonymity
If you upload a file, please be aware that Word files are not anonymous. We recommend that you save your Word file as a PDF (in Word, use "Save as" and choose "PDF" in the "Save as type" box) and upload the PDF.  

Requesting revision
If you have chosen to recommend revision, please clearly state the changes you would like to see in a way that will help the authors to revise the manuscript.  Please focus on scientific issues; there is no need to correct grammatical faults.  

Please also remember that you have the option to recommend resubmission as a Research Communication
 

















Please remember to press the submit button when you have finished your Assessment. You will then see a "Thank you" screen. If you do not see this, the submission has failed, probably because you have not filled in all of the compulsory fields. Find the error and correct it, then press submit again. ​Your report will be available online anonymously to the Authors, you and the EBM 

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