Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison may have been more famous inventors in their day, but Howard Derksen is very much a man in their tradition. Quite simply, the 51 year old Mechanical Engineering Technologist helps Canadian farmers feed the world.

With a population of only 30 million people, Canada is still one of the largest food producers in the world. This is possible only because Canadian farmers use highly sophisticated farm equipment. Inventing that equipment and keeping it affordable is Howard Derksen's job.

President and owner of Freedom Technologies, Howard is responsible for many innovative pieces of farm machinery, including a revolutionary wheelchair lift for farmers. There are more disabled farmers than anyone would guess - and they need wheelchair lifts that make it possible for them to operate tractors and other equipment. This invention earned Howard the National Award for Technical Achievement from the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists in 1995.

For four years now, Howard has been a consultant for MacDon Industries Ltd. where he has been developing an economical agricultural spray system which attaches to a standard swather tractor. "This attachment costs $30,000 - instead of a self-propelled sprayer that costs $100,000 or more." Howard says. "That's a big savings for the family farm."