>> Technology has made a dramatic difference in farming.

As farms across the heartland have gotten larger and more productive, the equipment being used has modernized as well.

Larger units have reduced planting and harvest time.

GPS technology has helped farmers be more exact and efficient in seeding and spraying.

But you know, that there's still a lot of old equipment that's still up and running.

It's not being used in the fields much, but it's being honored at places like this in Woodland, California.

♪ (Steam engines) >> The sound of steam engines.

The smoke from wood-burning fireboxes.

The tractors that helped farmers break this soil more than 100 years ago are back.

>> It's the Best Show Harvest Spectacular.

>> Dozens of antique tractor aficionados are on hand to get hands on with these restored machines.

>> It's called the Best Show after the Best Tractor, which is an early California tractor company which was formed by CL Best.

>> The development of steam-powered mechanical harvest equipment in the 1800's revolutionized agriculture.

But the giant heavy equipment would get stuck in California soft ground.

Clarence Leo Best's tractor designs helped to deal with the problem.

(Steam engine) >> At today's tractor show, one of Best's early tractors stands out high above the horizon.

>> How high in the air are we right now, Dean?

>> 15 feet at this level.

>> 15 feet in the air.

It's a nice view up here.

Its funny people think about old tractors being small and the new equipment we've got now being big.

But this is from what year?

>> This is from 1906.

>> Best went on to perfect the "track"-based tractor, using tracks instead of wheels.

After 15 years in business he joined with the Holt Manufacturing Company to become Caterpillar.

And you see that "track" design in use today on earth moving equipment around the globe.

>> While Best's designs are the highlight, there are many other tractors on display here today.

♪ I'm a tractor driving man, if I'm dragging, ♪ ♪ don't mind me, when you're looking for me, ♪ ♪ in that tall seat you'll find me... ♪ Dick Vennerbeck brought his 1917 Case tractor.

Today it's being used to demonstrate grain thrashing.

>> Uh, its steam powered.

We're burning, we're burning wood.

Uh, today we're burning incense cedar because it smells nice and it, and it burns quickly.

Uh, we need to make a lot of energy.

We're, we're uh, turning a lot of water into steam to run this engine.

It's a 11-inch piston and an 11-inch bore right here behind us, right.

>> That's amazing.

>> 75 horsepower, 1 cylinder And, and so what's going on down there?

>> Right now we've harvested the field and we've stacked the grain in shocks in a pile.

And the, the shocks are being thrown into a thing called a thrasher.

And the thrasher separates them and takes the heads of the grain off.

These are the heads of the, of the grain.

They get thrown into this machine behind me.

And it separates these and... >> Oh, wow.

Look at that.

>> And there's the grain.

>> There it is.

>> Today's festivities are really a celebration of just how much tractors and harvesters revolutionized agriculture.

And to get an idea of just how tough it was before these big-wheeled beasts were around, a 30-mule team in on hand to demonstrate harvesting.

>> And it doesn't take long to realize just how challenging it was.

>> For us to have the future we must restore the past.

We must pass it on.

We need to know how a loaf of bread is made and how arduous it was.

>> There's so much history here today.

>> Oh, it's really wonderful, isn't it?

>> Uh, sometimes I think I was born 100 years too late [laughter].

>> I'm a, I'm a semi-retired semiconductor executive and I'm, I'm reverting to my hobby to have fun.

>> You love it.

>> I do.

I go one extreme to the other.

This is the way I use to decompress.

>> Oh, wow.

>> And this is, you know, it's really fun.

>> It's quite a hobby.

>> It really is.

It's the world's heaviest hobby [laughter] ♪ A tractor driving man...