Christine Whelan FEO, January 5, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 10
Happy 2023! There are many ways to look at the year ahead — different perspectives, and different angles. I decided, for a few reasons, to choose to look at our country, our province, and our town, from the view of the Farmers Almanac. This year, it’s the 231st edition.
The idea came to me as I was doing some Christmas shopping and went in search of a gift I’ve often given to my son, Aaron, over the years, the Farmer’s Almanac. Before he became an age to have any interest in the little periodical, I was buying them for myself.
These little books seem to have always been in my family.
My grandparents had a farm on Point Abino Road in the 1960s-1970s and when Grandpa retired from farming, he sold crop insurance. So, during visits at the grandparents, sitting around the dinner table, the conversations were guaranteed to be about weather forecasts and canning procedures, planting season, and harvest times.
And the almanac was considered an essential coffee table book.
The Fort Erie Farmers of the Past
The souvenirs of a farming community now past can be seen randomly around the Greater Fort Erie area. Silos still stand where active and productive farms once thrived.
According to Wikipedia, Ridgeway was settled by the United Empire Loyalists in the late 18th century and was originally a farming community. Stevensville is surrounded primarily by agricultural land.
Many of the original farming families’ descendants still live in the area.
The Fort Erie Farmers of Now
Mary-Lou Ambrose-Little, Market Manager of the Stevensville Farmers’ Market, is well-connected to the area’s farming community and says that the new trend in the market is the urban farmers. Unlike the big box farmers from the past, and from other areas of the Niagara Region, the Stevensville market sees smaller farmers who grow the specific product.
Whether big box or urban farmers, the Greater Fort Erie area population has always included farmers and the subsequent influence on their surroundings.
What Is the Farmer’s Almanac?
With the words of the founder and first editor, Robert B. Thomas, which still can be read on the cover, “Our main endeavour is to be useful, but with a pleasant degree of humor,” the Old Farmer’s Almanac is long recognized as North America’s most beloved and best-selling annual periodical, sold coast-to-coast in the U.S. and Canada.
According to almanac.com, “Since 1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has spoken to all walks of life, providing planting charts for those who grow their own food, recipes for those who live in the kitchen, moon- and sunrise times for those who watch the skies, and forecasts for those who don’t like the question of weather, left up in the air.”
The almanac is the oldest in the country. Under the guiding hand of Thomas, the premiere issue was published during the days of George Washington’s first term as president.
Although many other almanacs were being published at that time, Thomas’s upstart almanac became an immediate success. By the second year, circulation had tripled from 3,000 to 9,000. Back then, the Almanac cost only six pence (about nine cents).
Each edition calculates the tides and times for fishermen, travelers, sailors, bookkeepers, beekeepers, gardeners, prognosticators, pollsters, politicians, cooks, farmers, and anyone who walks the Earth.
Traditionally, 80% accurate weather forecasts, notable astronomical events and time-honoured astrological dates, historical hallmarks, facts on folklore, home remedies, an annual treasury of facts, trivia, notions, puzzles, pleasantries, amusements, and poetry.
Based on his observations, Thomas used a complex series of natural cycles to devise a secret weather forecasting formula, which brought uncannily accurate results, traditionally said to be 80 percent accurate, according to Almanac.com.
Old vs New
As told by a write-up on the Q106.5 FM, webpage, a radio station in Maine where the Old Farmer’s Almanac was created, when looking into any possible differences between the ‘New’ Farmer’s Almanac and the ‘Old’ Farmer’s Almanac, the author commented, “If you simply go to FarmersAlmanac.com or Almanac.com, each boasts about their place in history as the premier source for all things farmer.
As mentioned, the ‘Old’ Farmer’s Almanac has been around since 1792 and is based out of Lewiston, Maine. The ‘New’ Farmers’ Almanac was established in 1818 and is based out of Dublin, N.H.
“To be honest, that seems to be about where the differences ended, as they both serve the purpose of supplying farmers with advance information for the year about weather and growing conditions, and other related things.”
What Does the Almanac Say About This Year In Fort Erie?
According to the Annual Weather Summary for Fort Erie, Ontario for November 2022 to October 2023, winter will be colder than normal, with above-normal precipitation and snowfall.
The expected coldest periods that have already passed are mid- and late November, and early and late December. Was the almanac correct?
The coldest periods yet to come are expected to be in early and late January and late February.
The snowiest periods were reported to be in late November, early December, and mid-January.
On average, April and May temperatures will be near normal, with slightly above-normal precipitation. Summer temperatures will be slightly above normal. Rainfall will be above normal. The hottest periods will be in mid-July and early August. On average, September and October will be slightly warmer than normal, with rainfall above normal in the east and below normal in the west.
While this is only a summary and may mean little to many, the breakdowns and details will mean everything to those who work in industries that rely on an awareness of a year’s outdoor activity, temperatures, and precipitation.
This small book which comes out every year in Autumn with its yellow cover hasn’t changed much. And yet, the Almanac is consulted daily throughout the year by users from all walks of life, charming and educating readers since 1792.
The latest edition can be found wherever magazines and books are sold, from local bookstores to Amazon to the Farmer’s Almanac Web store.
