Nick Bragg, who farms in Somerset at Frogmary Green Farm, is raising funds for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) with a 1,000-mile cycling challenge, which will be done alongside a Krone BiG X forager.
The challenge will start at the Northumberland County Show on the 26th May, before Nick travels south via the Suffolk Show on the 30th and 31st of May, and will conclude at the Royal Cornwall Show on the 5th of June.
He added that the challenge will also see him stop at several farm shops and Krone dealerships to gather local community support and raise national awareness of RABI.
“In 2019 I cycled 3,000 miles across Canada for the charity, so I was ready for the next challenge. Lots of people have cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End, so I wanted to go one step further by using the forager to symbolise the agricultural community’s strength and resilience,” he said.
“With the support of Krone, we designed the event to engage a wide audience, beyond the farming community, and hope to collaborate with both farming personalities and celebrities to help garner support.”
The route will take eleven days and has been carefully thought out to accommodate both the bicycle and the 3.2m wide forage harvesters. It consists of multiple hills, totalling over 5,000ft of elevation.
“I’m clocking up around 20 hours of fitness training a week to prepare myself for the challenge. I just really hope it’s not still raining by then!” Nick said, who will be joined by three farming friends cycling alongside, while multiple drivers take the wheel of the forager.
He aims to raise of £10,000 for RABI, with donations being made through the JustGiving page.
RABI regional manager, Zoe Gascoyne, said: “The challenge is an enormous undertaking in aid of the farming community across the UK and RABI is gratified to be the recipient of the funds raised.”
To officially launch the challenge, the forager will lead a procession of tractors through the ages at the Northumberland Country Show. Secretary for the event, Kerry Robson, said: “We are excited to showcase the BiG X at the show and support the vital work RABI does for the local community.”