Like A Beloved Friend, Farmers’ Almanac Mourned As 208-Year Run Ends

Among loyal fans, it is as if a beloved and trusted friend is dying and has entered hospice.

After 200 years of sharing a unique blend of weather, wit and wisdom, the 2026 Farmers’ Almanac is the venerable publication’s last chapter.

“It is with a heavy heart,” Editor Sandi Duncan said in a Nov. 7 statement, “that we share the end of what has not only been an annual tradition in millions of homes and hearths for hundreds of years, but also a way of life, an inspiration for many who realize the wisdom of generations past is the key to the generations of the future.”

The Farmers’ Almanac attributed its demise to the mounting financial difficulties of production and distribution in the current “chaotic media environment.”

“This decision was honestly heartbreaking,” David Geiger, the fifth-generation family owner of the Farmers’ Almanac, told the Sun Journal. “While the Farmers’ Almanac represents a small part of our overall business, it has always been a meaningful part of our family’s legacy. However, readers now access information and answers differently, and the trajectory of newsstand sales made this decision necessary.”

“This makes me profoundly sad,” one person posted on the social media site X. “I have very few fond memories of my dad, but having a Farmers’ Almanac on hand at all times was one of them. Thank you so much for over a century of service! This is something that is going to be sorely missed by a lot of people.”

“Uh, no. A BIG no,” another person said. “My dad bought one every year growing up, and I’ve continued that tradition with my family. Always a yard guy because of him and always will be. The Farmers’ Almanac was our yard bible; it’s had a huge impact on our lives around the house. Please don’t let this happen. Do what you have to do to keep it going, please! People will help.”

Confusion With The ‘Yellow One’

“You have been in my family’s life for decades,” still another person said. “We plan flights on it. Never found the Yellow one to be as accurate.”

The “yellow one” is The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which on Monday said in a Mark Twain-esque post that, essentially, reports of its death had been greatly exaggerated.

The two almanacs, the most well-known survivors of an era that saw hundreds of regional almanacs, are often confused due to their similar names.

“As we have since 1792, during George Washington’s presidency, we will continue to publish our annual edition, while educating and entertaining readers online at Almanac.com,” the publication said, emphasizing that it “isn’t going anywhere.”

The Farmers’ Almanac, the younger of the two publications, was founded in New Jersey in 1818 and moved its headquarters to Lewiston, Maine, in 1955. The older almanac’s headquarters are a state away in Dublin, New Hampshire.

The confusion caused some fans on TikTok to mourn the wrong almanac, calling the loss “a piece of history disappearing right before our eyes” to “the final chapter of civilization.”

As Vital As The Bible

Almanacs have traditionally been seen as survival guides for those who relied on the land, as much a staple publication in farming households as the Bible. They included vital information to farmers, including planting and harvesting advice, and astronomical data such as moon phases and sunrise and sunset times.

They contain gardening tips, trivia, jokes, and natural remedies, such as catnip as a pain reliever and elderberry syrup as an immune booster. But its weather forecasts make the most headlines.

The forecasts predate the National Weather Service, which didn’t come into existence until 1870, and became an invaluable resource for farmers, whose livelihoods were so closely tied to whether rains came on a timely basis or a killing frost arrived early.

Modern-day scientists have sometimes disputed the accuracy of the predictions and the reliability of the Farmers’ Almanac’s secret formula based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts. Studies of forecast accuracy have found them to be a little more than 50 percent accurate, or slightly better than random chance.

The government weather agency’s record of accuracy isn’t much better, though. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says its seven- and five-day forecasts are accurate 80 percent and 90 percent of the time, respectively, but 10-day — or longer — forecasts are right only about half of the time.

A ‘Quaint Relic’

The almanac was a “quaint relic” with a special kind of charm, but its use as a forecasting tool was debatable, said Val Giddings, a senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and a longtime researcher of science and agriculture.

“It might have had some value looking back, as a historical indicator,” Giddings told The Associated Press, “but I never took any of its prognostications at all seriously.”

Julie Broomhall in San Diego, California, said she missed a major snowstorm in Oklahoma during her cross-country jaunt last year because she trusted almanac forecasts.

“I missed several I-40 mishaps because of the predictions,” she wrote in response to an Associated Press social media post.

“Sad day,” Albany, New York, news personality Steve Caporizzo wrote on Facebook. “Whether you believe the forecast or not, it really doesn’t matter. Always some good info, interesting reading, and a forecast to watch.”

Secret Uses For Molasses

The worthiness of its weather forecasts aside, the almanac has been a font of old-timey tips and tricks readers never knew they needed to know until they did, such as using molasses to remove grass stains from clothing or removing tar from bare feet with a cotton ball dipped in mineral.

And for those wondering whether it matters if water is boiled before or after vegetables are added to the pot, it does.

Here’s the rule:

“Cooking corn and greens involves simply softening their cell walls to bring out their flavor. Because most green vegetables have thinner cell walls, this doesn’t take long. So boil the water, then add these. Root vegetables, on the other hand, contain a great deal of starch, which needs to be dissolved before they can be eaten. It takes a while for the heat to penetrate those cell walls, so they start out in cold water. This allows them to heat gradually.”

Simplified, beets, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables that grow underground should start in cold water, and corn, peas and greens that grow above-ground should be placed in boiling water.

Women’s Rights Champion In 1876

The journal urged readers to embrace the future while simultaneously holding on to the past.

In 1923, the Farmers’ Almanac urged folks to remember “old-fashioned neighborliness” in the face of new-fangled technology such as cars, daily mail deliveries and telephones.

Editors editors urged readers in 1834 to abandon tobacco and, in 1850, promoted the common bean leaf to combat bedbugs.

The publication counseled women on matters of etiquette and decorum, but also asserting themselves.

In 1876, it advised women to learn skills to avoid being dependent on finding a husband.

“It is better to be a woman than a wife, and do not degrade your sex by making your whole existence turn on the pivot of matrimony,” it said.

Play it cool, the publication advised women on another occasion.

Recalling one of his favorite quotes during a television appearance in commemorating the publication’s 200th anniversary, editor emeritus Peter Grieger read, “do not court or try to attract the attention of the gentleman, a little wholesome indifference will serve you well.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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