Old Farmers Almanac - The Old Farmers Almanac 2012

About This Almanac

To Patrons

How to Use This Almanac

Amusement

How Some Favorite Sports Began

Winners in the 2011 Essay Contest

Animal Groups/How Old Is Your Dog?

Anecdotes & Pleasantries

Anniversary

The Patron Saint of Peppers

The Strange Case of Bobby Dunbar

Astrology

Secrets of the Zodiac

Best Days for 2012

Astronomy

Eclipses

Bright Stars

The Twilight Zone/Meteor Showers

The Visible Planets

Glossary of Almanac Oddities

Astronomical Glossary

The Sky Is Falling!

Calendar

Tidal Glossary

Calendar Pages

Glossary of Almanac Oddities

Holidays and Observances

Three-Year Calendar

The Julian Period: Time to Get Organized

Tide Corrections

Time Corrections

Food

The Shipping News

Mac & Cheese Outside the Box

Winners in the 2011 Coffee Recipe Contest

Gardening

Take a Bite Out of Winter

Create an Astronomical Garden

Green Thumbs' Tell-All Tales

Frosts and Growing Seasons

Planting by the Moon's Phase

Health & Home

The Latest Buzz from the Bee Hive

Frontier Fixes

Quell the Smell

How Much Paint Do You Need?

Lumber and Nails

Husbandry

Gestation and Mating Tables

Outdoors

The Perfect Catch

Best Fishing Days and Times

Ham on the Lam!

What Would You Do If...?

Weather

Winter/Summer Weather Maps

General Weather Forecast

Ash, and You Shall Receive

Weather Regions Map

Forecasts by Region

Winter Weather Terms

Miscellany

News: 2012 At a Glance

Special Report: Wacky Wisdom from the Tip of the Tongue

Table of Measures

The Old Farmer's Almanac General Store

General Store Classifieds

A Reference Compendium

Who Matters Most

This issue marks two milestones for this Almanac: its 220th consecutive U.S. edition and the 30th anniversary of its sister publication, the Canadian Edition. We have faith that its founder, Robert B. Thomas (pictured on the cover), would be proud to see that his [Old] Farmer's Almanac, which began as a 48-page pamphlet, has not only endured but thrived.

We suspect, too, that he would be honored to know that we attribute our success, in no small part, to him, and that he would hasten to remind us of our great debt to you, dear readers, and to generations of your ancestors.

Indeed, in 1792, 26-year-old Thomas recognized a timeless and universal characteristic of human nature: People of all ages and walks of life want to be informed and, in that endeavor, to be amused. This tenet defined Thomas's mission for this Almanac: "to be useful, with a pleasant degree of humor."

In the agrarian society of that period, printed matter was scarce yet cherished. Most households possessed two books (only one of which accepted advertising): a Bible and a farmer's almanac.

This is not to say that Thomas had an easy time of it. He set about his chosen task in the face of considerable competition. Numerous regional farmer's almanacs addressed local concerns, giving interest rate tables, court dates and stagecoach schedules, and mileage between places, as well as agricultural information and the calendar.

Determined to distinguish his Almanac, Thomas described his "arrangement" of content in the first edition as "novel"new, remarkable, and unexpected. He was referring to not only the orderly presentation of astronomical data on the Calendar Pages (so efficient was his design that it has been changed only slightly through the years), but also the voice and variety of the articles.

Today, we as publishers face competitive challenges similar to those that Thomas experienced, albeit on a continental scale and in both print and electronic media. (Even now, look-alike publications attempt to confuse readers who seek our Almanac's promise of "new, useful, and entertaining matter.")

These temptations are why we are eternally grateful for the indulgent preference for this Almanac shown by you, our friends and patrons, and why we continue our labors inspired by Thomas's own words in this space in the 1828 edition: "the Old Farmer's Almanac yields to none of its predecessors or competitors in the public's estimation ... or in the quantity of original matter it contains."

J. S., June 2011

However, it is by our works and not our words that we would be judged. These, we hope, will sustain us in the humble though proud station we have so long held in the name of

Your obedient servant,

Robert B. Thomas.

compiled
by
Stacey
Kusterbeck

We're makingand sellingcanned goods, clothing, and even music. "Folks are grabbing on to the idea that a household doesn't have to be a unit of consumption. It can be a unit of production."

Shannon Hayes,
author of Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming
Domesticity From a Consumer Culture

"People are relearning skills that used to be stressed in home economics classes."

Jennifer McKnight-Trontz,
author of Home Economics