I write periodically about periodicals and this is a post about an annual publication, which is also considered to be a periodical. Even publications published once a year are having trouble and I am sorry to report that another one is disappearing.
The Farmers' Almanac
That is the periodical that is ceasing publication. It was the newer almanac for farmers, which has only been around since 1818. It was a family-owned publication, issuing out of Lewiston, Maine.
The Old Farmer's Almanac
This almanac is indeed older, having been around since 1792 and it is still being produced by Yankee Publishing in Dublin, New Hampshire. The publisher's of it, want you to know that, "The OLD Farmer's Almanac isn't going anywhere."
The Old Farmer's Almanac: Canadian Edition
Like many, I suppose, I didn't realize there were two almanacs for farmers and am glad that one has survived. There is even a Canadian edition of it and I recently purchased a copy from the Home Hardware close by. The black circle in the upper left corner is actually a hole, so the book can be hung from a nail for handy reading.
The 2026 edition "Being the 2nd after Leap Year and (until July 1) 158th year of Canadian Confederation --- Fitted for Ottawa, With Special Corrections and Calculations to Answer For All the Canadian Provinces. Containing, besides the large number of Astronomical Calculations and the Farmer's Calendar for every month in the year, a variety of New, Useful, & Entertaining Matter."
Like many, I suppose, I didn't realize there were two almanacs for farmers and am glad that one has survived. There is even a Canadian edition of it and I recently purchased a copy from the Home Hardware close by. The black circle in the upper left corner is actually a hole, so the book can be hung from a nail for handy reading.
The 2026 edition "Being the 2nd after Leap Year and (until July 1) 158th year of Canadian Confederation --- Fitted for Ottawa, With Special Corrections and Calculations to Answer For All the Canadian Provinces. Containing, besides the large number of Astronomical Calculations and the Farmer's Calendar for every month in the year, a variety of New, Useful, & Entertaining Matter."
Beneath that description there is a picture of a wood engraving and then this bit of verse by the Canadian writer, Marjorie Pickthall, "Look up to outer vastness unafraid And see the stars which sang when Earth was made."
The Old Farmer's Almanac will again be a stocking stuffer for a grandson who says he enjoys it, or is at least polite enough to say so. Like you, he is not a farmer, but there is a lot in it that is not agricultural. Along with the "astronomical calculations", there are also many astrological ones, which I hope he is not interested in, and there are many pages devoted to weather matters, a subject which is of interest to everyone. The OFA people say that "the bedrock of this humble publication is our long-range weather predictions -- correct, or close to it, much of the time."
I am writing this on the last day of November, on a cold and snowy one and we have already had others. So far, the OFA is correct. Under the "Regional Forecast" for Southern Ontario, there is this summary:
"Winter will be colder and drier than normal in the east with below-normal snowfall, while it will be warmer than normal in the west with above-normal precipitation and snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid- and late December, early and late January, and early February, with the snowiest periods in late November and early and mid February."
As the above indicates, there is Canadian content, appropriately enough, in a "Canadian" edition, but there may not be enough French for some. It should be mentioned, however, that "Secrets of the Sugar Bush" does include the Indigenous.
The invention of the Internet may be one of the reasons why the other almanac is ceasing to publish, and the arrival of AI may cause problems for this one. The answers to some things are easily provided by the Internet, and AI questions appropriately framed will likely yield reasonable answers to such queries as "When is the proper age for the first mating of my cat?" (See the "Gestation and Mating Tables,"- 12 months, p.229).
Still there is something to be said for "serendipity" and stumbling across articles about "Pingos" and "Skirrets", two new things you will now google.
Plus, the OFA does include ads., such as this one for, "The Amish 'Secret' to Prostate Woes?" and another ---"STOP EVIL: Sprinkling Salts & Yard Dressing to move out all evil enemies and jinx [sic] on you and your home..." But, I am happy to note that there are often disclaimers at the bottom, such as the one below these ads." "We make no supernatural claims. All items sold as curios only."
I am writing this on the last day of November, on a cold and snowy one and we have already had others. So far, the OFA is correct. Under the "Regional Forecast" for Southern Ontario, there is this summary:
"Winter will be colder and drier than normal in the east with below-normal snowfall, while it will be warmer than normal in the west with above-normal precipitation and snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid- and late December, early and late January, and early February, with the snowiest periods in late November and early and mid February."
As the above indicates, there is Canadian content, appropriately enough, in a "Canadian" edition, but there may not be enough French for some. It should be mentioned, however, that "Secrets of the Sugar Bush" does include the Indigenous.
The invention of the Internet may be one of the reasons why the other almanac is ceasing to publish, and the arrival of AI may cause problems for this one. The answers to some things are easily provided by the Internet, and AI questions appropriately framed will likely yield reasonable answers to such queries as "When is the proper age for the first mating of my cat?" (See the "Gestation and Mating Tables,"- 12 months, p.229).
Still there is something to be said for "serendipity" and stumbling across articles about "Pingos" and "Skirrets", two new things you will now google.
Plus, the OFA does include ads., such as this one for, "The Amish 'Secret' to Prostate Woes?" and another ---"STOP EVIL: Sprinkling Salts & Yard Dressing to move out all evil enemies and jinx [sic] on you and your home..." But, I am happy to note that there are often disclaimers at the bottom, such as the one below these ads." "We make no supernatural claims. All items sold as curios only."
We hope our grandson reads the small print and pays attention to such suggestions as: "Plant peas when forsythias bloom."
Sources:
Perhaps it is worth documenting the disappearance of things such as these. There are articles noting the demise of The Farmers' Almanac found in early November of this year. For example:
Perhaps it is worth documenting the disappearance of things such as these. There are articles noting the demise of The Farmers' Almanac found in early November of this year. For example:
"Farmers' Almanac Editor-in-chief Explains Why it's Ending After 200 Years:
An Announcement by the Farmers' Almanac that it will cease publication has sparked an outpouring from readers and confusion with another almanac," NBC News, NOV.7, 2025.
By the way, The Old Farmer's Almanac is more popular than you might think. On the Toronto Star's bestseller list for Nov. 15, it is ranked Number 5, one spot ahead of Guinness World Records in the "Non-Fiction" category. At the end of November, it is the Number 1 "Nonfiction" title listed in the Washington Post.
"The Cute Yellow Old Farmer’s Almanac Isn’t the One Shutting Down
“There are TWO. This is not The OLD Farmer’s Almanac that has been around since 1792. Everything is fine. Just chill guys”
By Laura Hazard Owen, Nieman Lab, Nov. 7, 2025
The publishers of the Farmers' Almanac indicate that their website will be gone soon, so we will have to rely on the Internet Archive for that.
The Old Farmer's Almanac is found here:
The publishers of the Farmers' Almanac indicate that their website will be gone soon, so we will have to rely on the Internet Archive for that.
The Old Farmer's Almanac is found here:
By the way, The Old Farmer's Almanac is more popular than you might think. On the Toronto Star's bestseller list for Nov. 15, it is ranked Number 5, one spot ahead of Guinness World Records in the "Non-Fiction" category. At the end of November, it is the Number 1 "Nonfiction" title listed in the Washington Post.
Bonus:
Many years ago when Montgomery Ward disappeared, I was the Director of a Business Library and thought it would be a good idea to grab their website, since I assumed it would also go. We did, and for a while some perplexed reference librarians were wondering why the University was getting queries about Montgomery Ward. I just looked and was pleased to find that the material grabbed from the now defunct Montgomery Ward website and our commentary, can still be viewed on the Wayback Machine/Internet Archive - Montgomery Ward: 1872-2000.
Many years ago when Montgomery Ward disappeared, I was the Director of a Business Library and thought it would be a good idea to grab their website, since I assumed it would also go. We did, and for a while some perplexed reference librarians were wondering why the University was getting queries about Montgomery Ward. I just looked and was pleased to find that the material grabbed from the now defunct Montgomery Ward website and our commentary, can still be viewed on the Wayback Machine/Internet Archive - Montgomery Ward: 1872-2000.
