| 2017-12-01 |    |
JCB Machine to be Auctioned in Aid of Farming Charities
Two farming charities are set to receive a huge cash boost as leading agricultural title Farmers Guardian and JCB join forces to host a live auction.
On Friday, December 1, the online bidding platform will open for a unique JCB Loadall Agri Pro telescopic handler, built entirely by 68 JCB apprentices as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2017 earlier this year.
The one-of-a-kind machine was unveiled in March to highlight the individuals working in the company’s apprenticeship programme and generate an interest in attracting new talent for the future.
The beneficiaries will be the Louise Hartley Scholarship Fund, which supports young people in their farming careers, and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) to support farmers and families suffering from mental health illness.
The six-month project saw the apprentices work across departments to manufacture the axles, gearbox, engine, hydraulics and cab, also choosing the colour scheme.
Build at the company’s Staffordshire headquarters, the Loadall Agri Pro is JCB’s premium telescopic handler. It is also the industry’s first telescopic handler which combines characteristics of powershift and hydrostatic drives.
Inspiration
JCB chairman Lord
Bamford, who completed an engineering apprenticeship
before joining JCB in 1964, said:
“As a former apprentice with
engineering running through my blood, I am proud of what our apprentices
have achieved with this project.
“They have shown vividly how teamwork delivers wonderful results and highlighted what empowering young people can deliver.”
Danusia Osiowy, head of features at Farmers Guardian, has been involved with The Louise Hartley Scholarship Fund since it launched in December 2016.
She said:
“Louise was hugely respected and loved throughout the farming industry
and we really hope farmers, landowners, contractors and a host of other professionals
will support this amazing and unique opportunity to make a difference to helping
young people achieve their farming dreams.
“Mental health illness has become much more prominent thanks to the bravery of individuals speaking out and a host of awareness campaigns. It can be a dark time for many and their families and the money raised will be specifically spent helping farmers suffering on their road to recovery.”
The auction will open at 10am on Friday, December 1 and will close at 12pm on Friday, December 15.
The Louise Hartley Memorial Fund - A dairy farmer’s daughter, Louise worked for Farmers Guardian since 2013 and joined the publication after completing an agriculture degree at Newcastle University. Hailing from Clitheroe, Lancashire, she passed away in July 2016 after a short but incredibly brave battle with a rare form of ovarian cancer.
Organisations and individuals from within the farming community, along with external groups and individuals who knew her, began raising money to help fund pioneering treatment she received at The Christie Hospital in Manchester.
The donations continued and the Louise Hartley Memorial Fund was launched after she died and the scholarship helps young people develop their farming careers.
The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) is a grant-making welfare charity which helps farming people in financial difficulty. R.A.B.I helps working farmers, farmworkers and their families who rely on farming for their main source of income as well as retired farmers, farmworkers and their dependants.
R.A.B.I can provide important financial assistance to people with mental health problems. Sometimes, the illness leads to financial problems, but it can also be the other way around. For some people, tackling their financial problems can immediately relieve some of the stress, anxiety and worry.
