Turkey farmer Rod Adlington will take on the unaided 3,200-mile journey starting from Lanzarote this January as part of a four-man crew.
The Central Warwickshire NFU member, from Balsall Common, near Solihull, will row in memory of his son Barney who died from meningitis 18 years ago, aged three.
Rod wants to raise awareness of the illness and hopes to raise £250,000 to be split between the Get Ahead Charitable Trust and the Meningitis Now charity.
Rod, who is a Meningitis Now trustee said: “From being an amazing, bouncy full of energy three-year-old, within 12 hours Barney had died.
“It is a terrible disease; it comes from nowhere and it is brutal.”
‘Trip of a lifetime’
Rod and his wife Anna have previously held ‘Barney’s Bash’ events, a series of farm-based, one-night mini festivals to raise charity funds and awareness.
The rowing crew are called The Bright Sides and Rod said he was ready to get started and raise funds for such important causes.
“I can’t wait to embark on this trip of a lifetime with my amazing crew, put all the training behind us and get out on the ocean, experiencing whatever the elements can throw at us, watching incredible sunsets and wildlife.”
NFU member and turkey farmer Rod Adlington
“I can’t wait to embark on this trip of a lifetime with my amazing crew, put all the training behind us and get out on the ocean, experiencing whatever the elements can throw at us, watching incredible sunsets and wildlife,” he said.
Anna Williams who will join Rod in the charity challenge said it was hard to prepare but they would be as ready as they could be.
"If people can get through awful things like what Rod’s family has had to go through, I’m sure we can survive 40 days on this boat,” she said.
Crew members Guy Minshull and Alex Perry said it would be them against nature, but they felt honoured to be part of it and would try and raise as much as possible.
Rod runs Adlington Ltd, a food production company specialising in smoked and cooked poultry, supplying into the premium sector market. The company also farms very high welfare chicken under the Label Anglais brand and 10,000 traditional Christmas turkeys under the Adlington brand.
They have won a host of industry accolades over the years including multiple British Turkey Awards titles.
For further details and to donate go to thebrightsidesrow.com and for more about Meningitis Now see meningitisnow.org.
The Get Ahead Charitable Trust helps make life better for those suffering from head and neck diseases and those wo care for them, further details are available at getahead.org.uk.