The Wakelin brothers, Robbie and John, from Belbrook Holsteins at Springbank, are continuing the family tradition of participating in the scheme.
The tradition was started by their late father, Trevor, at the programme’s inception.
Robbie says their father began donating calves from their 96ha dairy stud farm when the scheme started, and they have continued donating ever since.
"We have been associated with the IHC scheme since it started and dad always donated a calf every year.
"Since his passing, we have been proud to continue with the scheme."
"We pick a good one out in June/July when it’s born, and it gets the famous pink ear tag.
"Then in late November, it is registered for sale at the IHC Calf Scheme Sale to be held at Canterbury Park."
John said as a family they are proud of what their father started.
"It’s an easy way to give to a good charity that needs support, and we are pretty proud of what our dad started and the legacy that we are now continuing."
In 1982, Norm Cashmore came up with the idea of asking dairy farmers to raise a calf and donate the proceeds to IHC when it was sold.
To thank them they were given a pair of gumboots. A simple idea but one farmers quickly supported. Norm was soon joined by Mick Murphy in Blenheim and the Calf & Rural Scheme went national.
The late Sir Colin Meads was approached to help promote the scheme. He said he would give it two years but ultimately became a lifelong supporter and patron of the scheme.
When farms got bigger, Sir Colin asked farmers to donate more than one calf. He sold raffle tickets and donated the money he got from speaking engagements to the scheme.
He later donated Pinetree Farm so that people with intellectual disabilities could be supported to live and work on a farm.
Farmers have helped raise more than $40 million over the past 40 years with more than 10,000 farmers donating during this time, in an enormous show of support from the farming community for people with intellectual disabilities.
