Cornwall young farmers raise £4,000 in 24-hour ‘shearathon’

A group of young farmers from Cornwall has completed a 24-hour “shearathon”, raising more than £4,000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance, the Farming Community Network and funds for their YFC club.

In late May, Liskeard Young Farmers managed to shear 1,143 sheep across two farms – starting on Saturday 24 May at Trewolland Farm, near Liskeard, and then moving to Home Farm, near Boconnoc, in the early hours of Sunday morning to complete the job.

See also: Farmers’ marathon feats raise thousands for charities

The event was also supported by shearing world champions Matt Smith and Stuart Connor, who helped finish shearing the remaining sheep at the end of the event.

Will Lethbridge, Liskeard YFC chairman, thanked the Melhuish and Tummey families for hosting the fundraiser and said they could not have done it without all the support they had.

“We usually do these events every 10 years and I was really keen to do one, especially as the last one was held in 2013,” Will told Farmers Weekly.

“We had about 20 members and friends helping us with rolling the fleeces and running the event, and I must thank Sam Melhuish and Martin Harris for their help in organising this.

“A bit of a challenge was moving location at 4 o’clock in the morning whilst shearing, but we had great help and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved,” he added.

© Poppy Sowden/Liskeard YFC

Cornwall Air Ambulance was chosen as a charity because of the great work it does in providing emergency cover across the county, often helping in rural situations where road access is difficult.

The Farming Community Network (FCN) also provides essential assistance to rural communities, helping those with both personal and business-related problems. More than 10,000 people a year benefit from FCN’s support.