A group of agricultural engineering students from Myerscough College in the UK are undertaking a week-long mammoth tractor tour of Ireland to raise money for charity.
Level 3 students and staff, based in Preston, Lancashire, will drive two Myerscough tractors on their mammoth tour across north and south to raise money for Yellow Wellies Farm Safety Foundation. The charity aims to raise awareness of health and safety among young people working in agriculture.
The Yellow Wellies campaign works to change attitudes towards farming safely in young farmers, and reducing injuries and fatalities. The Myerscough group will first travel to Stranraer, in Scotland, and head over via ferry to Belfast early on April 1.
The packed itinerary will take in: Monaghan; Ballinrobe; Galway; Limerick; Cork; Dungarvan; Carlow; and Dublin, returning on April 6.
The group will also visit major sector employers, including SlurryKat Engineering; Major Equipment; McHale Engineering; Dunlop; and Keenan Systems.
Mark France, lecturer in agricultural engineering, has organised the tour. ‘’As well as raising money for an important charity within the agriculture sector, the tour will also act as an ideal opportunity to showcase the range of courses in the sector to potential new students.
“It will also be a fantastic enrichment opportunity for our current learners to visit large employers within the industry to further their knowledge of the range of employment opportunities available with agricultural engineering.
‘’We are still on the lookout for more sponsors for the event, so any business that feels it would like to contribute to the tour, please contact us.’’
Myerscough College expressed gratitude for the support and sponsorship offered to help facilitate the mammoth tour.
This includes: Browns Mitsubishi, which is providing a 7-seater towing vehicle; Arnold Clark, who is providing a 9-seater van; Dunlop Footwear, which has donated 20 pairs of yellow wellies; Customised Workwear for its provision of fully embroidered polo shirts for the trip; and Harrison Oils, which is covering the fuel that will be used during the journey.
It’s not the first time that Myerscough’s agricultural engineering department has undertaken a major fundraising event. A few years ago, staff and students took the college’s Massey Ferguson 35X tractor on a 900 mile drive from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising thousands of pounds for charity in the process.
For more details on this event, email Mark at: [email protected].