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Farmers' Almanac

This article is about the Farmers' Almanac; for a similarly titled publication, see Old Farmer's Almanac.

Farmers' Almanac is an annual North American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818. Published by the Almanac Publishing Company, of Lewiston, Maine, it is famous for its long-range weather predictions and astronomical data, as well as its trademark blend of humor, trivia, and advice on gardening, cooking, fishing, and human-interest crusades. Conservation, sustainable living, and simplicity are core values of the publication and its editors, and these themes are heavily promoted in every edition.

In addition to the popular American version, the Almanac Publishing Company also publishes the Canadian Farmers' Almanac and a promotional version that businesses can personalize and distribute to customers. The total annual distribution of all Farmers' Almanac editions is more than 4 million copies.

History

The Farmers’ Almanac was founded in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1818 by editor David Young and publisher Jacob Mann. Astronomer Samuel Hart Wright succeeded Young in 1851. Over the years, the Farmers’ Almanac has had seven editors.

Ray Geiger served as the Farmers’ Almanac's longest-running editor, from 1934 until shortly before his death in 1994. In 1955, Geiger moved production of the Farmers' Almanac from Newark, New Jersey, to its current headquarters in Lewiston, Maine. Today, his son, Peter Geiger, Philom., continues the legacy, along with Managing Editor Sandi Duncan, Philom. Duncan is the first female almanac editor in United States history.

Weather prediction

Weather prediction has always been a major feature of the Farmers’ Almanac. The Almanac Publishing Company claims readers of the Farmers’ Almanac have attributed an 80 to 85 percent accuracy rate to the publication’s annual forecasts. Scientific studies of these claims have shown them to be false. On average the Almanac's predictions are no better than chance.

Predictions for each edition are made as far as two years in advance. The Farmers’ Almanac publishers are highly secretive about the method used to make its predictions, only stating publicly that it is a “top secret mathematical and astronomical formula, that relies on sunspot activity, tidal action, planetary position and many other factors.” The identity of the Farmers’ Almanac weather forecaster is also a secret. The Almanac’s forecaster is referred to by the pseudonym “Caleb Weatherbee.”

The U.S. retail edition of the Farmers’ Almanac contains 16 months of weather predictions for seven differentiated U.S. climatic zones, beginning in September of the publication year (always the year prior to the edition year – for instance, the 2007 edition was released in September 2006) and extending until December of the following year.

The seven zones are: (Zone 1) Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia; (Zone 2) Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky; (Zone 3) North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida; (Zone 4) Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado; Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico; (Zone 6) Idaho, Washington, and Oregon; (Zone 7) Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

The U.S. edition of the Farmers' Almanac does not include forecasts for Alaska or Hawaii.

Notable articles

Most editions of the Farmer’s Almanac include a “human interest crusade,” advocating for a change in some accepted social practice or custom. Previous crusades have included: “How Much Daylight Are We Really Saving,” a recommendation for a revised Daylight Saving Time schedule (2007); “Why is Good Service So Hard to Schedule,” recommending that service providers offer more specific timeframes when scheduling home visits (2006); “A Kinder, Gentler Nation,” urging readers to exercise more common courtesy (2003); “Saturday: The Trick to Making Halloween a Real Treat,” advocating that the observance of Halloween be moved to the last Saturday in October (1999); “A Cure for Doctors’ Office Delays,” demanding more prompt medical service and calling for a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” (1996); and “Pennies Make No Sense,” which sought to eliminate the penny, and to permanently replace the dollar bill with less costly-to-produce dollar coins (1989).

Other pieces that have attracted a great deal of attention over the years included a campaign in 2001 to name an official National Dessert (readers resoundingly responded in favor of traditional apple pie), and a 2002 article that named the “10 Best and Worst Weather Cities in the USA.”

Farmers’ Almanac TV

In 2003, the Farmers’ Almanac partnered with Buy the Farm LLC, a Savannah, Georgia-based production company, to create Farmers' Almanac TV. The show – which features segments in over a dozen lifestyle categories, including home and garden, sustainable living, cooking, natural cures, and weather – debuted on public television in the spring of 2006, bringing to life stories of grassroots living in both rural and urban America.

Publicity

Over the course of its long publication history, the Farmers’ Almanac has acquired the status of a “household name.” As a result, it receives an enormous amount of national publicity. Editors Peter Geiger and Sandi Duncan grant hundreds of interviews to television, print and online media each year.

The Farmers' Almanac has also been referenced in numerous television shows and movies, including: The Office, MASH, The Dukes of Hazard, Cold Case, and Father of the Bride.