Patent for the first sugar beet topping machine, dated July 17, 1942. Patent number 405867, with drawings and specifications enclosed.

The information on this page can be used for science and teaching about simple machines and mechanical advantage. It could also be used for social studies to highlight the impact of technology and Canadian inventors on society.

Andrew Briosi was a farmer and inventor who lived around Lethbridge, Picture Butte, and Iron Springs. He was always looking for ways to make farming easier. In the 1940s, he invented not only the sugar beet topper but also a harvester, a beet thinner, and a front-end loader for a tractor. He went on to get many awards and honours for his work, including the Order of Canada (1974), the Alberta Achievement Award (also in 1974), and induction into the Agricultural Hall of Fame (1982). He passed away at the age of 70 in 1982.