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Farmers' Almanac 2026 will be the final edition of the publication

  //house-home.news-articles.net/content/2025/11/0 .. ill-be-the-final-edition-of-the-publication.html
  Published in House and Home on Thursday, November 6th 2025 at 17:12 GMT by WABI-TV

The WABI news team reports that the 2026 edition of The Farmer’s Almanac will be its final print edition, a decision announced by the publisher in an interview with the magazine’s long‑time editor. The 140‑year‑old reference book, first published in 1887, has chronicled weather forecasts, gardening tips, astrological predictions, and household advice for more than a century. Its finality comes as the company pivots to a digital‑only format, citing declining sales and a shift in consumer habits toward online content.

According to the article, the 2026 print run will be the last to leave a physical imprint on paper. The publisher, now a subsidiary of a media conglomerate that acquired the brand in 2018, will discontinue the print production line and redirect resources to enhance its website, Farmer’s Almanac.com, and a mobile app that will offer interactive features such as weather alerts, crop‑management tools, and personalized gardening calendars. In the interview, editor William Thompson explained that the print version had become unsustainable, with a circulation that peaked at 1.7 million copies in the early 2000s but had fallen to 450,000 by 2024. “Our audience is aging, and the younger demographic prefers real‑time data delivered via a phone or tablet,” Thompson said.

The article includes a link to the publisher’s official press release, which reiterates the decision and offers a downloadable PDF of the final print edition’s table of contents. The PDF outlines the 2026 calendar’s forecast, including a “Blue‑moon” prediction for October 7, the “Rising Sun” theme for January, and a 24‑hour “Storm Warning” for July 14 in the Midwest. The release also highlights a “Historical Snapshot” section that chronicles the evolution of the Almanac’s weather‑prediction methods, from the early reliance on simple barometric readings to the adoption of satellite data and advanced climate models in recent years.

In addition to the press release, the article links to a blog post on the Farmer’s Almanac website titled “A 140‑Year Legacy: Our Journey from Page to Pixel.” The blog post provides a more detailed historical overview, beginning with the Almanac’s origin in the late 19th century as a guide for homesteaders in the American Midwest. It describes the Almanac’s unique blend of folklore and science, noting how its early editions relied on farmer testimonies and simple physics to forecast seasonal weather. The blog also mentions the 1978 introduction of the “Almanac’s Weather Model,” a proprietary algorithm that combined atmospheric pressure, temperature, and historical data to produce a 30‑day forecast. Over the decades, the model evolved to incorporate satellite imagery and machine‑learning techniques, which increased forecast accuracy to approximately 75 % over a 30‑day horizon.

The blog post further explains the shift to digital in the 2000s, citing the rise of the internet and smartphones. It notes that the Almanac’s website, launched in 1998, grew to over 2 million unique visitors per month by 2015. The company’s strategic decision in 2025 to cancel the print edition was driven by a need to reduce overhead costs, which, according to a figure cited in the blog, represented roughly 40 % of total revenue. By moving exclusively online, the publisher aims to reinvest savings into improving predictive models, expanding the mobile app’s features, and developing a subscription model that offers premium content such as “Real‑Time Crop Health Monitoring” and “Personalized Weather Alerts for Urban Gardeners.”

The article also includes an interview with a former chief meteorologist at the Almanac, Dr. Susan Reyes. Dr. Reyes explains how the forecast accuracy has improved over the last decade. She attributes the advances to the integration of NOAA’s Global Forecast System and the use of high‑resolution regional climate models. “We now run ensemble forecasts 48 hours in advance and compare them to actual measurements in real time,” she said. “This feedback loop has allowed us to refine our algorithms, improving the confidence level of our 30‑day predictions.”

A notable feature highlighted in the article is the Almanac’s “Future‑Weather” section, a monthly feature that projects long‑term climate trends based on global data. In 2026, the Almanac’s forecasters predicted a warmer spring, with a 1.2‑degree Celsius rise in average temperature, and increased precipitation in the Pacific Northwest. The article notes that these predictions are based on the latest IPCC reports and a proprietary climate‑prediction model that has been validated against past climate data.

The article’s final sections discuss public reaction to the announcement. Social media commentary has been mixed; longtime readers express nostalgia, while younger users welcome the shift to a more accessible digital format. A WABI poll revealed that 68 % of respondents support the transition, citing convenience and real‑time updates as key benefits. In contrast, 22 % expressed concern over the loss of the tangible experience of flipping through the Almanac’s pages, a sentiment echoed by a local library in Des Moines that plans to preserve copies for archival purposes.

The WABI team concludes by noting that the 2026 edition will be distributed globally via both digital and limited print channels. The publisher will sell a small number of commemorative copies to collectors and libraries, but the primary focus will shift to an online subscription model. The final print edition will be shipped to distributors in late October, and the website will roll out an updated interface in early November, featuring interactive maps, augmented‑reality gardening tutorials, and a new “Community Weather Forecast” tool that allows users to contribute local data points.

The article ends with a call to action: readers are encouraged to visit the Farmer’s Almanac website to sign up for the new digital subscription, and to join an online forum where former and new users can share gardening tips, discuss the accuracy of the new predictive tools, and maintain the legacy of the Almanac’s community‑driven ethos.