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Difference Between The Old Farmer’s Almanac and Other Almanacs

The Legacy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

The genre of almanacs has been around since the beginning of time—well, the 16th century! How is The Old Farmer’s Almanac different from other almanacs, and how has it survived so many years to become the oldest continuously published almanac?

You can recognize The Old Farmer’s Almanac (the OFA) by the yellow cover and the large red digits in the center indicating the year of publication. The cover is essentially unchanged since the 1850s.

How Is This Almanac Different from Other Almanacs?

When the OFA was first published by Robert B. Thomas in Massachusetts in 1792, there were other almanacs—there always have been a few farmer’s almanacs published. Most were regional publications, selling in local areas and reporting on local items (court dates, rates of postage, distance between towns, and the like).

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When the OFA was founded, we had an agrarian society; that is, everyone grew their own food (there were no grocery stores as well stocked as we have today). People needed and looked for advice on maintaining farms and fields, planting, tending, and harvesting—as well as weather. Astronomy was long an interest of people of that day (they had no TV or radio to amuse themselves in the evenings); they wanted to know the time of the sunrise and sunset, the Moon phases, when high tide would be, and the like. They wanted recipes for their garden produce, as well as general interest news and amusing stories—all of which were found in our Almanac.

Other almanacs provided similar information—and still do. But ours provided information that was “new, useful, and entertaining” and so survived to become the oldest continuously published periodical in North America. In 1848, after a name modification or two, it officially became The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Why Has the Almanac Survived Since 1792?

We estimate that The Old Farmer’s Almanac has survived and thrived all these years because we have maintained Robert B. Thomas’s mission: “to be useful with a pleasant degree of humor.” That, plus a high degree of accuracy in all of the content (from the weather to astronomy to the historical features to astrology and more), plus a little bit of luck, has no doubt made this the most popular almanac for years.

By the way, there is a full set of The Old Farmer’s Almanac in the Smithsonian Institution. No other farmer’s almanac can claim that honor. Learn more about the history of The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

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About the Almanac
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About The Author
Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the website companion of The Old Farmer's Almanac. She covers gardening, plants, pest control, soil composition, seasonal and moon c...
Read More from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Martin Layman</span> Mon, 11/24/2025 - 09:44
The excellent writing is what has kept the Old Farmer's Almanac going after all these years. Useful well-written articles filled the pages instead of being full of ads for trinkets.
<span>Name</span> Sun, 05/12/2024 - 15:50
This must be written by AI. It makes no sense. It's really sad to see writing that has incorrect grammar, doesn't use complex sentences, and ignores editorial proofreading. It is very much a bucketload of empty, sensationalist drivel. I thought I would reacquaint myself with The Old Farmers Almanac, but sadly, it's useless and not in the least pleasant or humorous to read. It's painful to read.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 05/13/2024 - 08:12

So sorry to hear that you thought this was written by AI, we assure you that we are 100% human!

 <span>Danica</span> Fri, 09/09/2016 - 19:11
There is a city folk version. What's the difference?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 09/14/2016 - 21:55

Hi Danica, Thanks for asking! There have been many different kinds of almanacs over the years—writers' almanacs, regional farming almanacs, and newfangled almanacs.  We can only speak to this almanac. The Old Farmer's Almanac is the oldest still published almanac and the best-selling almanac across North America.  It's got a yellow cover and this year it's 225 years young!  We only publish one almanac though it comes in hardcover, paperback, or digital editions as you can see here: https://store.almanac.com/store/almanacs   
With all good wishes, your OFA editors