Presented by Stephen Richmond and narrated by Jonathan Whitlam, the two DVDs which constitute Modern Tractors take a close look at the new tractors of the first years of the 21st century.

Part One brings together the most sophisticated machines from John Deere, Claas, Valtra, Same Deutz-Fahr and Case IH. Stephen also explains how the powershift transmission has developed over the years to give more automated functions before developing into the ultimate - the constantly variable gearbox of the 21st century. 

Each manufacturer's models are looked at, starting from the origins of the models built today so that with John Deere we start with the 6000 and 7000 series of 1992 and see how they developed through the various models since then until we see the present day 6030, 7030, 8030 and 9030 ranges all hard at work. This is then brought right up to date with the latest 8RT series crawlers. 

The Claas section sees the advent of the Renault Ares range which was later taken over by Claas as well as the development of the Xerion tractor and the Caterpillar Challenger sold in Claas colours. The new Claas Axion and Arion ranges brings the Claas story up to date. 

Valtra starts with the Valmet and later Valtra Valmet tractors of the 1990s before moving to the new T and S Series built under the ownership of AGCO.

Same Deutz-Fahr brings together many different makes including Same, Lamborghini and Hurlimann but here we concentrate mainly on the Deutz-Fahr line which has since proved to be the trend-setting brand within this Italian group of companies.

Finally Case IH comes under the spotlight with a look at the development of the high horsepower Magnum range. This starts from its inception in 1988 and runs through to the powerful Magnum range of today as well as the MXM and MXU models and the Maxxum and Puma models that replaced them, to name but a few.