Caps off to farmers for 40 years’ support
Heart and soul – Long-time supporter Sir Colin Meads celebrated the 25th birthday of the IHC Calf Scheme at the IHC Tarr Road farm in Cambridge with staff and people supported by IHC/IDEA Services in Waikato.
It was a quirky idea – donate a calf to IHC and get a pair of gumboots. But for some reason dairy farmers said, ‘Count on us’.
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the IHC Calf & Rural Scheme and the farmers, volunteers and rural businesses who have felt so strongly about backing those in their communities who need them. The scheme also caught the imagination of rural-based companies, such as long-time sponsors PGG Wrightson, Volkswagen and livestock identification company Allflex.
More than 10,000 farmers nationally have donated calves to the scheme, some of them have donated multiple calves for many years, through thick and thin. In North Canterbury, 169 calves were pledged over the 2018–2021 seasons, raising nearly $76,000.
“And when they as asked why they do it, the answer often is, ‘It’s just what you do’,” says IHC National Fundraising Manager Greg Millar. Practically speaking, it worked for farmers who might have been cash poor, but happy to raise a calf for IHC along with the rest of the herd.
“We are incredibly grateful to the many farmers who have supported us over the years, some of them down through generations of farming.”
One other farmer stands head and shoulders above everyone else in his support of the fundraising scheme. All Black legend Sir Colin Meads became a rural legend when he threw his weight behind IHC after retiring from playing rugby, and we were privileged to have had the backing of the big man from 1974 for more than 40 years until his death in 2017.
Long before he became Sir Colin in 2001, he was generous with his name and his fame, using his high profile and mana for the benefit of people with intellectual disabilities.
He was a natural fundraiser and supported the two farmers, Norm Cashmore in Taranaki and Mick Murphy in Blenheim, who started the IHC Calf Scheme in 1982. The idea was dreamed up by Norm, who offered a pair of gumboots to every farmer donating a calf to the Taranaki branch of IHC. Mick Murphy travelled north to see the idea in action and decided it would work nationally.
When dairy farms got bigger, Sir Colin told the large herd owners to think about donating even more calves. They did. He also encouraged his fellow beef farmers to join in.
In the 1980s, Sir Colin donated the proceeds from his speaking engagements towards buying a farm in Te Kuiti for people with intellectual disabilities. His idea was to provide employment and teach farming skills. Pinetree Farm became a drop-off point for donated calves on their way to the sales. It’s still being used today for local support and residential services.
Sir Colin and Verna, Lady Meads, always worked as a team in their dedication to IHC’s cause and made a huge difference to the lives of many people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Verna died in December last year.
DairyNZ, which has supported the Calf Scheme for 20 years, has liked having some fun along the way. Lye Farm and Scott Farm Two DairyNZ research and development farms on opposite sides of the road in Hamilton have for a long time battled it out to see who can raise the heaviest calf.
Like the farm staff rearing the Lye and Scott calves, many have chosen to give their biggest and best for the benefit of people with disabilities. Others choose to buy the calves and rear them on for even larger prices for IHC.
Mitch Shaw,
Upstream
Heavyweight champion – For years two Hamilton DairyNZ research and development farms have fought it out to see who can raise the heaviest calf. In 2016, Kristoff at 225 kilograms from Lye Farm, beat his rival from Scott Farm by 50 kilograms. The four-month-old calf was pampered and preened by calfrearer Ashleigh Wenham, scoffing warmed milk morning and night, along with some secret blend moozlee and molasses, hay, and lush pasture grass.
Photograph: DairyNZ
