The cute yellow Old Farmer’s Almanac isn’t the one shutting down

For years, the annual edition of the Old Farmer’s Almanac hung from a nail in my grandparents’ downstairs bathroom, and I was very upset to briefly believe on Friday that it was shutting down after more than 200 years of publication. Except, good news, it’s not.

The one shutting down is the Farmer’s Almanac, a different publication that is also more than 200 years old, also publishes an annual weather forecast, and in this reporter’s opinion was possibly not the one some national news outlets were thinking of when they published a bunch of articles about it ceasing publication. (iHeartRadio, for instance, published a story titled “Farmers’ Almanac To Stop Publishing After More Than Two Centuries,” illustrated with a photo of someone holding the Old Farmer’s Almanac.)

One outlet that had the story right from the start: The Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine. The shutting-down Farmer’s Almanac is based in Lewiston. (The Old Farmer’s Almanac is based in New Hampshire and is owned by Yankee Publishing.)

“This decision was honestly heartbreaking,” David Geiger, the fifth-generation family owner of the Farmer’s Almanac, told the Sun Journal’s Mark La Flamme. “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.”

A post in the Facebook group Illinois Storm Community (which has more than 411,000 members) read “#Breaking The Farmer’s Almanac is ending after the 2026 edition. Growing up, the Almanac was something I’d read and eagerly looked forward to their seasonal forecasts. Truly an end of a 200+ year era.” The post had received nearly 3,000 shocked or sad reactions as of press time (“Another American institution gone by the wayside!“), but commenters hastened to note that this isn’t the Almanac most people care about for strong, nostalgic, in-the-Christmas-stocking reasons (“There are TWO. This is not The OLD Farmer’s Almanac that has been around since 1792. Everything is fine. Just chill guys“; “can you edit your post to include the info that has to be repeated over and over– it’s not the OLD farmer’s almanac with the yellow cover?”)

The Old Farmer’s Almanac reassured readers Thursday:

You may have heard that the Farmer’s Almanac, based out of Lewiston, ME, is ceasing publication after an incredible 200+ year run.

Over the years, there has been some confusion between different almanacs, so to be clear: The OLD Farmer’s Almanac isn’t going anywhere. 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.

In a further flex, the Old Farmer’s Almanac released its Christmas forecast this week.