Two Taranaki dairy farms will this year plough $100,000 into supporting grassroots rugby in the province.
The farms are leased by the Taranaki Community Rugby Trust.
When professionalism was introduced community rugby was sidelined, says trustee Ray Barron, so Taranaki Rugby set out to find a way to support its young and amateur players and keep them in the game.
Other revenue-generating ventures were suggested but, with mainly farmers sitting around the board table, they decided to go with what they knew and lease a farm.
That was 12 years ago.
"We had no cows, no managers, we had no Fonterra shares so we needed $900,000 and we had to find 500 cows.
"Eighty cows were donated by the farmers of Taranaki who said 'there's a cow, it's in milk, take it down and milk it'. And then we went to the corporate sector and said 'put a thousand dollars in and we'll purchase a cow for you and you can name it.'"
The prime minister at the time bought the first cow, local MPs and mayors chipped in as did the coach of the All Blacks, Ray says.
Today there are two leased farms with a total 800 cows and another 200 replacements on a leased run-off block.
Seventeen rugby clubs dotted around Mount Taranaki receive a finding boost each year that helps with fees, uniforms, equipment and coaching.
