Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2021

mother nature
Almanacs use ‘secret formulas’ to predict
weather for more than two centuries
Two weather sources that have remained
a presence in the life of farmers are “The
Old Farmer’s Almanac” and “The Farmers’
Almanac,” both claiming 80% or better
accuracy for predicting the weather.
“The Old Farmer’s Almanac” premiered
in 1792, during George Washington’s first
term as president, costing 9 cents a copy.
Robert B. Thomas was the first editor, and
although there were other publications forecasting
the weather, the methods used by
“The Old Farmer’s Almanac” were shrouded
in secrecy as Thomas gave astronomical
and weather predictions.
His publication when compared with
others was considered to be a little more
accurate, advice found in its pages was a
little more useful, and features were a bit
more entertaining, according to historical
accounts. That has kept “The Old Farmer’s
Almanac” in production to this day with its
formula for predicting the weather locked in
a black box at headquarters in Dublin, New
Hampshire, and guarded as a highly secret
method based on magnetic storms on the
surface of the sun.
As founder Robert B. Thomas explained,
“Our main endeavor is to be useful, but with
a pleasant degree of humor.”
“The Farmers’ Almanac” appeared in
1818, claiming to use mathematical and astronomical
formulas that were passed down
and kept secret as well. Its weather prognosticator
goes by the pseudonym Caleb
Weatherbee, and this anonymous person
is the only one who knows the publication’s
formula for weather prediction.
Before “The Old Farmer’s Almanac,”
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning
rod, a metal rod mounted on a structure,
intended to protect it from a lightning strike.
Decades ago, these could be found on every
building, Bonnie Mitchell of the Jackson
County Historical Society. A little-known fact
is that Preston was once the manufacturer
of lightning rods with glass ball insulators.
These are currently considered valuable
collector’s items.
– Jane Schmidt
weather.
Spending the daytime watching
the weather won’t do anything, but
“praying at night” was the best insurance
for a good crop, said Farrell,
whose family’s original homestead
is being farmed by his son, Joe, the
fourth generation.
While such modern technology
as radar offers much more accurate
information to farmers than observing
how close bees stay to their
hives or whether the ants are closing
up their hills (both a predictor of rain
some say), many tidbits passed down
through generations and shared
in various publications are part of
enduring weather lore.
Matt Vickers, a DeWitt farmer
and ag consultant, described a
legend that one just needs to look
at a caterpillar’s coat in the fall – if
black and fuzzy, it warns of an early,
bad winter. If the caterpillar’s coat
is light-colored it predicts a mild
82 Eastern Iowa Farmer | Spring 2021 eifarmer.com