Giants of the Field  
VHS Video or DVD, PAL format
  
Stuart Gibbard  
Released 2003
 
 
Approx 70 minutes
  
Price £15.95 including VAT
   		 
ISBN 1-903366-50-X
 

A surprising number of the big four-wheel drive tractors that were designed for the North American prairies found their way into Britain during the 1970s and 80s. Their impressive work-rates revolutionised arable operations on larger farming units. Today many of these big wheelers, including both articulated and crab-steer machines, still have a place on Britain's farms.
This video shows a wide range of machines in action from some of the earliest Doe tractors to more modern giants from both the USA and Russia. We also see the latest flagship models from today's leading manufacturers at work. Tractors filmed include not just the well-known names, such as Steiger, Versatile, John Deere, Case, Massey Ferguson and Ford, but also lesser known makes like Matbro, Cameco, Belarus and White.
Stuart Gibbard's informative script gives details of the main features of the models and explains the impact they had on British agriculture.

   Giants of the Field - Stuart Gibbard  
  A Belarus 1507 at work in Suffolk. Turbocharged to 185 hp, this 1989 model was made in the Kharkov plant in the Ukraine.
John Leighton’s International Harvester 6588 from the ‘Two plus Two’ series, turbocharged to 177 hp, was filmed working with Kuhn discs on oilseed rape stubble in Shropshire.
  
  Two of four large John Deeres used for timeliness of operations on the 5,000 acre Bedfordia Farms. On the right of the picture is an 8460 subject to a Kinze re-power and fitted with a remanufactured Cummins 855 engine from the USA. On the left is a 9300 fitted with an 11-furrow Grégoire-Besson plough.
Case demonstrator Stephen Sampson shows off the STX 440 Quadtrac whose advanced technology including pivot-steer design is pointing the way to the tractors of tomorrow.