Here is an interesting question/ observation from a almanac reader.old farmers almanac lists sunrise time for sept.8,2007 @ 6:17am & your publication lists sunrise for the same day for northern states
@ 6:31. Who is correct? My location is Rochester,NY. Thanks for your help,
The short answer is that we are both right. The Farmers’ Almanac and our competitors carry valuable information about the rise and setting of the sun and moon. We list this on our calendar pages for each month. Because the exact times vary depending on the latitude and longitude of your community, we have to put a stake in the ground and pick a location for the sake of the calendar. In our case the Northern times coincide with upstate New York. So if you are looking for a sunrise and you live in Rochester, NY, you have to make an adjustment. In this case 10 minutes. The actual sunrise time in Rochester NY for September 8, 2007 was 6:41am. If you live elsewhere the adjustment is more or less. It is a math “problem”. We have a page that explains how to come up with the number. But, once you have adjusted for your town, then you add or subtract to get the time any time you use the almanac.
Don’t like math? Want to make it easier? Any time you need this info, go to our website and click on astronomy. There is a sunrise/ set line. Click it and enter you town and desired date and you can get sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset times to the minute for any day in the past or future. There are lots of hidden gems on our website.
So who cares about the times for a sunrise or set? Around Easter, many Churches plan sunrise services. Hunters need it to determine the exact time for sunset so they aren’t caught hunting after dark. But, the #1 request for sunset times comes from brides who plan nuptials around the moment the sun is setting to their backs. Our website has that time for any date going forward. Try it…. works well.
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Peter Geiger is the Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. 
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
