Old Farmer's Almanac Still Embraces Ideals Of Original Publisher

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As the last days of summer hang on, many are already thinking ahead to fall, and ultimately, the arrival of winter. Just in time, The Old Farmer's Almanac for 2016 is now available.

"The President of the United States when we started was George Washington," says Tim Clark, the editor of The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Years later, many of the ideals embraced by the original publisher Robert Thomas are found in the 304-pages behind the now famous yellow cover.

"It tends to a rural audience, but as you may know, only two percent of us now work on farms," says Clark. "What we have instead now is gardening. So, a big part of our editorial mix is gardening. Everybody cooks; a big part of our mix is cooking."

For instance, this year's edition has a guide to growing hops. That's thanks to the popularity of home beer brewing; but as the almanac points out, they can also be used as a sleep aid.

"Useful with a pleasant degree of humor, so we try to make it funny, too," says Clark.

But the hallmark of the almanac is its annual weather forecasts.

Ours is supposed to be cold and snowy. The almanac claims an 80 percent accuracy rate based on taking clues from your surroundings.

"Basically says pay attention," Clark says. "Pay attention to what is happening in the sky. Pay attention to what is happening to birds and animals and their behavior. Pay attention to the growth of plants. If you pay attention, and you must if you are a farmer, then you will succeed."

Watch Tim Clark on Pittsburgh Today Live:

And folklore has long been a staple of the almanac too with a dose of sage wisdom.

"Do we really believe that if the groundhog sees his shadow that we are going to have six more weeks of winter? No. We believe there is going to be six more weeks of winter anyway," Clark says. "So the message of that particular myth to farmers is don't get greedy. Don't plant too early. It doesn't matter if there is nice weather on Feb. 2."

Sounds like good advice from the old farmers doesn't it?

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