Old Farmer's Almanac
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The ''Old Farmer's Almanac'' is an
almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...
containing
weather forecast Weather forecasting or weather prediction is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for thousands of years an ...
s,
planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and legumes are ...
charts,
astronomical data Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...
, recipes, and articles. Topics include
gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...
, sports,
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
,
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
, and predictions on
trends A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors that ...
in fashion, food, home, technology, and living for the coming year. Published every September, ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' has been published continuously since 1792, making it the oldest continuously published periodical in North America. The publication follows in the heritage of American almanacs such as
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
’s ''
Poor Richard's Almanack ''Poor Richard's Almanack'' (sometimes ''Almanac'') was a yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of "Poor Richard" or "Richard Saunders" for this purpose. The publication appeared continually from 1732 to 1758. ...
''.


History


18th century

The first ''Old Farmer's Almanac'', then known as ''The Farmer's Almanac'', was edited by Robert Bailey Thomas, the publication's founder. There were many competing
almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...
s in the 18th century, but Thomas's book was a success. In its second year, distribution tripled to 9,000. The initial cost of the book was six pence (about four cents). To calculate the ''Almanac''s weather predictions, Thomas studied solar activity, astronomy cycles and weather patterns and used his research to develop a secret
forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared with what actually happens. For example, a company might Estimation, estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the ...
formula, which is still in use today. Other than the ''Almanac''s prognosticators, few people have seen the formula. It is kept in a black tin box at the ''Almanac'' offices in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, New Hampshire. Thomas also started drilling a hole through the ''Almanac'' so that subscribers could hang it from a nail or a string.The hole story of Almanac cover
, qctimes.com.
Thomas served as editor until his death on May 19, 1846. As its editor for more than 50 years, Thomas established ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' as America's "most enduring" almanac by outlasting the competition. In 1832, with his almanac having survived longer than similarly named competitors, Thomas inserted the word "Old" in the title, later dropping it in the title of the 1836 edition. After Thomas's death, John Henry Jenks was appointed editor and, in 1848, the book's name was permanently and officially revised to ''The Old Farmer's Almanac''.


19th century

In 1851, Jenks made another change to the ''Almanac'' when he featured a "four seasons" drawing on the cover by Boston artist Hammatt Billings, engraved by Henry Nichols. Jenks dropped the new cover for three years and then reinstated it permanently in 1855. This trademarked design is still in use today. In 1858,
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
may have used a copy of ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' to argue the innocence of his client,
William "Duff" Armstrong William "Duff" Armstrong (c. 1833–1899) was an American Union Army soldier and the defendant in an 1858 murder prosecution in which he was defended by Abraham Lincoln, two years before Lincoln was elected President of the United States. The ca ...
, who was on trial for murder in
Beardstown, Illinois Beardstown is a city in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,951 at the 2020 census. The public schools are in Beardstown Community Unit School District 15. Geography Beardstown is located on the Illinois River. Accord ...
. Lincoln used an almanac to refute the testimony of Charles Allen, an eyewitness who claimed he had seen the crime by the light of the moon on August 29, 1857. The book stated that not only was the Moon in the first quarter, but it was riding "low" on the horizon, about to set. Because the actual almanac used in the trial was not retained for posterity, there exists some controversy as to whether ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' was the one used. In 2007, a competing almanac, the ''
Farmers' Almanac ''Farmers' Almanac'' is an annual American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818. Published by Geiger of Lewiston, Maine, the ''Farmers' Almanac'' provides long-range weather predictions for both the U.S. and Canada. Th ...
'', based in Lewiston, Maine, ran an article claiming that the almanac in question may have been theirs. In 1861, Charles Louis Flint became editor and provided his readers with a heavier emphasis on farming. The next two editors, John Boies Tileston and Loomis Joseph Campbell, served short terms and made no format changes. Robert Ware took over as the book's sixth editor in 1877 and served for 23 years before his brother, Horace, was named to the position in 1900.


20th century

During Horace Everett Ware's 19 years as editor, he began to orient the book toward a more general audience by replacing the scientific agricultural articles with general features on nature and modern life. The eighth and ninth editors, Frank B. Newton and Col. Carroll J. Swan, kept ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' tradition alive through wartime and the Depression. Roger Scaife was appointed editor in 1936. His term coincided with the only time in the history of ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' that its distribution declined and the book's financial stability fell into question. The 1938 edition had a circulation of less than 89,000, compared with 225,000 in 1863. During his tenure, Scaife also committed the greatest of all blunders in ''Almanac'' history. In the 1938 edition, he dropped the weather forecasts. In their place, he substituted temperature and precipitation averages. The public outcry was so great that he reinstated the forecasts in the next year's edition, but the decision had already destroyed his reputation. In 1939, Robb Sagendorph, founder and president of Yankee, Inc., later renamed Yankee Publishing, Inc., acquired the publishing rights to ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' and became its editor. Sagendorph had moved his family to Dublin, New Hampshire in 1930, and started the magazine ''
Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...
'' in 1935. Feeling that tradition was ''The Old Farmer's Almanac's'' strongest suit, Sagendorph immediately reestablished its format and editorial style to reflect the interests of the general populace much as it had a century earlier. He was fond of quoting Robert B. Thomas, who wrote in 1829 that the Almanac "strives to be useful, but with a pleasant degree of humor." Under Sagendorph's leadership, ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' thrived and readership grew each year. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a German spy was apprehended in New York with a copy of the 1942 ''Old Farmer's Almanac'' in his pocket. From 1943 through 1945, to comply with the U.S. Office of Censorship's voluntary '' Code of Wartime Practices'' for press and radio, ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' featured weather indications rather than forecasts. This allowed it to maintain its perfect record of continuous publication. Sagendorph served as the ''Almanac''s editor until his death in 1970. His nephew, Judson D. Hale Sr., took over and kept the ''Almanac'' true to the vision of his uncle. In 2000, the editorial reins were passed to Janice Stillman, the first woman in the ''Almanac''s history to hold the position, and she was succeeded, in 2023, by Carol Connare. Carol is the 14th person to hold the title of editor since it was first published in 1792. Hale still acts as the publication's editor in chief. In 1992, the ''Almanac''s distribution passed the four million mark. It is still headquartered in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, New Hampshire. In the 1990s, the editors decided to discontinue drilling the hole in the ''Almanac'' because it was costing them $40,000 a year and they felt that it was no longer needed. However, when they surveyed their subscribers, the response was overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the holes, so the editors decided to continue drilling them.


Editions

''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' publishes four editions per year. Its annual circulation is 3 million copies. The only difference between the three U.S. editions is the city by which astronomical information is calculated and how tide times are presented. The National edition is fitted for Boston and the New England states; the Southern edition is fitted for Atlanta and the southern states; and the Western edition is fitted for San Francisco and the western states. Each edition contains calculations to answer for all the United States. In 1982, ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' began publishing an annual Canadian edition. This edition is fitted for Ottawa, with calculations to answer for all the Canadian provinces, and features provincial weather forecasts as well as stories that speak specifically to the
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, traditions, and
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
of the country.


Weather predictions

Forecasts emphasize temperature and precipitation deviations from averages. These are based on 30-year statistical averages prepared by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
and updated every ten years. The most recent climatological normals tabulation spans the period 1971 through 2000. While ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' has always looked to Thomas's original formula to help with predictions, its forecasting methods have been refined over the years. Today, they also incorporate observations of sunspots and other solar activity. Weather trends and events are predicted by comparing solar patterns and historical weather conditions with current solar activity. Forecasts are prepared as much as 18 months in advance and presented in each edition by region. There are 16 regions for the U.S. and five for Canada in their respective country editions. Four additional regions are available on the ''Almanacs Web site, Almanac.com. These include Hawaii and Alaska for the U.S. and the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories for Canada. In 2008, the ''Almanac'' stated that the earth had entered a
global cooling Global cooling was a conjecture, especially during the 1970s, of imminent cooling of the Earth culminating in a period of extensive glaciation, due to the cooling effects of aerosols or orbital forcing. Some press reports in the 1970s specu ...
period that would probably last decades. The journal based its prediction on sunspot cycles. Said contributing meteorologist Joseph D'Aleo, "Studying these and other factor suggests that cold, not warm, climate may be our future."


Accuracy

A number of analyses have concluded that the forecasts in ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' are not accurate. For example, ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' stated that "according to numerous media analyses neither ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' nor the ''
Farmers' Almanac ''Farmers' Almanac'' is an annual American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818. Published by Geiger of Lewiston, Maine, the ''Farmers' Almanac'' provides long-range weather predictions for both the U.S. and Canada. Th ...
'' gets it right." John Walsh at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
reviewed five years' monthly forecasts and found 50.7% of the temperature forecasts and 51.9% of precipitation forecasts were in the correct direction, whereas a randomly generated forecast would be correct 50% of the time. In its bicentennial edition, the ''Almanac'' stated "neither we nor anyone else has as yet gained sufficient insight into the mysteries of the universe to predict weather with anything resembling total accuracy."


Related publications and entities

Under ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' brand, Yankee Publishing also produces ''The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Guide'', an annual gardening resource, and ''The Old Farmer's Almanac for Kids'', an Almanac-inspired book designed for children ages 8 and up. The latter is published every other year. In addition to annual and biannual books, the ''Almanac'' has inspired a line of themed calendars including Gardening, Weather Watcher's, and Country (all for wall display); Every Day (with advice, folklore, and quotes in a page-a-day format); and a spiral-bound Engagement calendar. Over the years, the ''Almanac'' has published several cookbooks, food-related magazines, and a guide for homeowners. ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' has also inspired a chain of retail locations called The Old Farmer's Almanac General Store. Some store locations include
Mohegan Sun Casino Mohegan Sun is a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River. It is owned and operated by the federally recognized Mohegan ...
in
Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...
; the
Louisiana Boardwalk The Louisiana Boardwalk Outlets is an outdoor shopping center combining retail shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. It is located in Bossier City, Louisiana, between the Horseshoe Bossier City and Margaritaville Resort Casino. It is one ...
shopping center in
Bossier City, Louisiana Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state, state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area ...
; and the Tropicana Casino and Resort in
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...
,
Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno, Nevada, Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the List of citi ...
at the Legends at Sparks Marina shopping center, and
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in
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.


Online presence

In 1996, ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' launched Almanac.com. This online presence features the same kind of information found in the print edition, including weather forecasts, astronomy, folklore, recipes, gardening advice, history, and trivia. The Almanac Webcam was installed and launched in February 2003. A second camera was installed and launched in September 2008. New cameras were installed and launched on May 8, 2015, giving a much clearer picture of the historical buildings in downtown Dublin, New Hampshire, and The John Pierce Memorial Garden. In 2003, ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' distributed a 32-page ''Almanac Just For Kids''. The positive response led to the release of ''The Old Farmer's Almanac for Kids'' in 2005, and the Almanac launched Almanac4kids.com. This site is dedicated to content for younger readers, their parents, and teachers, featuring interactive activities and exclusive articles that further explore topics found in the book. In addition to the official websites, the Almanac also maintains a large social media presence. The Almanac can be found on
Pinterest Pinterest is an American social media service for publishing and discovery of information in the form of digital Bulletin board, pinboards. This includes recipes, home, style, motivation, and inspiration on the Internet using image sharing. Pint ...
,
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
,
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, and several other social sites. In August 2015, The Almanac's
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page reached one million fans.


See also

* American almanacs *''
Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...
'', a magazine published by Yankee Publishing, Inc.


References


Further reading

* Hale, Judson. ed. ''The Best of the Old Farmer’s Almanac: The First 200 Years'' (1991). * ''First impression 1904, Second impression 1920''. **A fifty year retrospective was published for the 1842 edition of the almanac (issue number 50), and is republished o
pages 19
through 22 of ''The Old Farmer and His Almanack''. Th
full 1842 issue
can be found on Internet Archive.


External links

*
''The Old Farmer's Almanac for Kids''
*Finding back issues on Internet Archive:
Search for: title:("Farmer's Almanack") AND creator:(Thomas, Robert Bailey)
sorted by date published ascending - This will produce a number of back issues of Robert Bailey Thomas's work, and by using the earlier spelling "almanack" rather than "almanac" they will be from earlier years (both with and without "old" added).
Search for: title:("Farmer's Almanac") AND creator:(Thomas, Robert Bailey)
sorted by date published descending - This is similar to the above but with the spelling "almanac" produces newer issues which although still under copyright are available () under the principle of
controlled digital lending Controlled digital lending (CDL) is a model by which libraries digitize materials in their collection and make them available for lending. It is based on interpretations of the United States copyright principles of fair use and copyright exhau ...
.
Search for: title:("Old Farmer's Almanac")
- Produces back issues along with other content from Yankee Publishing (such as books on cooking, gardening, and advice), and also materials that reference ''The Old Farmer's Almanac''.
Search for: title:("Farmer's Almanac")
sorted by date published ascending - Produces back issues of ''The Old Farmer's Almanac'' but also many other almanacs as well including ones from the 19th century and early 20th century, and various other content. {{Authority control 1792 establishments in the United States Old Farmer's Almanac, The Books about meteorology Publications established in 1792 Weather lore