An Aberdeen Angus breeder has tapped into the generosity of the British beef industry to raise £27,000 to support fellow farmers in war-torn Ukraine.
Following his own journey across Europe to deliver a fully loaded pickup earlier in the year, Daniel Whiteford came up with an initiative to create a unique ‘Pedigrees for Peace’ online sale of top British beef genetics.
Donations from around the UK of Angus, Hereford, Limousin and Charolais genetics, gave auctioneer Harrison & Hetherington (H&H) a quality online sale of 51 lots.
The lots sold out on 25 May and 26 for a total of almost twice the expected target of £15,000, reaching £27,000.
The money will pay for three or four used pick-up trucks and their full complement of supplies, to be delivered to the 24th Lviv Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade, as part of the Pickups for Peace campaign.
Daniel Whiteford, of Borewell Farm in Berwick-upon-Tweed, said he could hardly believe how successful his fundraising venture had been.
“When I went out to Ukraine last month to donate my own truck, I saw for myself what the Ukrainian people were facing, and what a difference these pickups are making to the 24th Brigade," he said.
"Working with Josh we started asking other beef farmers if they would donate lots for an online sale, and the response and generosity was incredible.
"So was the response from H&H and Mart Eye, who organized and carried out the sale at no charge, and from the buyers who raised this amazing total of over £27k."
Scott Donaldson, managing director of Harrison & Hetherington, added that the initiative was "a wonderful testimony" to the UK farming community.
"Daniel secured some top class lots from the leading beef breeds and buyers from the four corners snapped them up for very generous prices to give us a result far beyond our expectations.
"Congratulations to Daniel for the idea and the energy to make it happen, and thank you to every single donor and buyer who made this such an unbelievably successful sale in the best possible cause.”
Pickups for Peace is an initiative aiming to send at least 200 used pickups filled with essential supplies to farmers in Eastern Ukraine.
