Antique Power Magazine: History, Ertel Publishing, Content and Editors
Profile updated November 2026
Antique Power magazine began on a dining room table in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1988 and grew into what its publisher calls the world's largest antique tractor magazine. Published by Ertel Publishing, it covers gasoline and diesel farm tractors of every make, from the earliest machines through the 1970s, for a circulation of more than 51,000.
| First issue | November 1988 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Pat Ertel, a Wright-Patterson Air Force Base engineer |
| Publisher | Ertel Publishing, Yellow Springs, Ohio |
| Frequency | Six issues a year (November/December through September/October volumes) |
| Circulation | More than 51,000 |
| Editor | Brad Bowling |
| Official website | AntiquePower.com |
History of Antique Power
Pat Ertel was a mechanical engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who noticed how few ways antique tractor collectors had to share information. An editor at a sports car magazine Ertel was involved with urged him to treat that gap as an opportunity, and he laid out the first issue of Antique Power on his dining room table. Subscriptions came in so quickly that he moved the launch from January 1989 up to November 1988.
Ertel kept his engineering job for two more years before the magazine became his full-time work. The business grew from a home on Davis Street to a house on Glen Street with six employees, and in 2001 it moved to 506 South High Street in Yellow Springs. The company was renamed Ertel Publishing and expanded into custom publishing, adding titles such as Vintage Truck and Civil War Historian.
When Antique Power began its 20th year with the November/December 2007 issue, it had about 50,000 subscribers and a total distribution near 60,000 copies, reaching every U.S. state, every Canadian province and 14 other countries. Ertel also won International Automotive Media Conference awards for his writing, and the first subscriber, Lyle Dumont, was still receiving the magazine two decades later.
Antique Power Today
Antique Power publishes six issues a year, each numbered within a volume that begins with the November/December issue; the September/October 2022 issue was Volume 34, No. 6. It carries color photos, tractor history and personal stories about family tractors, and a show guide offers free event listings for clubs and shows.
Back issues are sold through the Ertel Gift Shop, which also hosts the Fields and Fenders blog, and the magazine is active on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok. Its editor, Brad Bowling, is a veteran magazine editor who has edited publications since 1987.
What Antique Power Is Publishing Now
Tractor features
Histories of individual models and manufacturers, from early gas tractors to 1970s machines, illustrated with color photography.
Restoration and technical help
Technical editor Ted Kalvitis handles restoration questions and mechanical how-to content.
Reader stories and shows
Family tractor memories, collector profiles and a show guide for antique power events across the country.
Antique Power Editors and Staff
Antique Power's masthead lists:
- Brad Bowling - Editor
- Ted Kalvitis - Technical Editor
- Ginna Parsons - Copy Editor
- Charlie Langford - Proofreader
- Michael Adkins and Jeremy Cundiff - Design Team
- Pat Ertel - Founder (1988)
Who Reads Antique Power
Readers are antique tractor collectors, restorers, show exhibitors and farm families with an old Farmall, John Deere or Ford in the shed. Many have farm roots; USDA's Census of Agriculture still found 1.9 million U.S. farms in 2022, 95 percent of them family farms.
Antique Power readers can hear the difference between a Farmall H and an M from across a show field, and they love a story with a little smoke in it. farm.FM serves farm satire and farm humor for the restoration crowd, plus ranch humor for those who still feed cattle with a 1950s tractor. Its farm jokes, like a good magneto, still fire after decades.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
Antique Power Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Antique Power: About - masthead, circulation and coverage.
- Yellow Springs News: Antique Power chugs to 20 - the magazine's founding story.
- Antique Power: September/October 2022 issue - an example of the magazine's issue contents.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture - family farm numbers today.
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - historical census data on U.S. farms.
Antique Power FAQ
When did Antique Power magazine start?
Its first issue was dated November 1988.
Who founded Antique Power?
Pat Ertel, an engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, who later formed Ertel Publishing.
How often is Antique Power published?
Six times a year.
Who edits Antique Power?
Brad Bowling is editor, with technical editor Ted Kalvitis.
Nearly four decades after its dining room debut, Antique Power magazine keeps old tractors and their stories running.