Submissions to the 2020 competition closed on September 1 and the 220 children who entered are gearing up to be assessed on-farm in three events: leading, rearing and conformation.
This year, Calf Club NZ has added more regions to the competition to help make the judges’ travel more manageable and enable them to get around to as many farms as possible.
The 2020 judging regions include Upper Northland, Mid-Northland, Lower Northland, South Auckland, Central Waikato, Hauraki Surrounds, Western Waikato, Eastern Waikato, South Waikato, Bay of Plenty, North Taranaki, South Taranaki, Manawatu, Tasman/Marlborough and Canterbury/Southland.
And for those children who live in very isolated areas, the addition of a NZ Video Group means they will still be able to show off their hard work and get their calves judged via video submission to an allocated judge.
Calf Club NZ judging coordinator Michelle Burgess says the Leading category assesses the ability of the child to lead the calf around the edge of a ring, how well the child handles the calf, and how well they work together and communicate with each other.
“The Rearing category assesses the appearance and health of the calf, including grooming, cleanliness and general health,” she says.
“And the Conformation category looks at animal traits, dependent on whether they are a dairy type or a beef type. It is a more traditional class.”
Michelle says they expect to see a mix of entrants as Calf Club caters for younger, more inexperienced children, as well as older, more serious competitors.
“The entry-level kids can just enter a friend, whereas older children may be more discerning in the animal they choose, selecting a better-looking animal,” she says.
Once judging is complete, the points gained by entrants are calculated to place children into regional placement categories, and then into the national scoring category.
“Because of the national scoring ability kids can compete against a much larger group of kids than the traditional school competition,” Michelle says.
Social Voting 2020 is also open until October 11.
The public are encouraged to vote for their favourite three social entries, which are available to view at www.calfclubnz.co.nz/calf-club-nz-entries. They should note down the ID number of their favourite three and vote at www.calfclubnz.co.nz/social-voting.
Calf Club NZ 2020 competition results will be published in the November issue of Dairy Farmers and all participants will receive a ribbon via post after judging concludes, along with the possibility of spot prizes from competition sponsors DeLaval, Samen and CRV Ambreed.
Kids also receive a memory book at the end of the competition, which features every entry nationwide. During the competition, they are able to submit up to four memories – non-competition images of them caring for or training their calf.
This is the third year in which Calf Club NZ has offered an online alternative to the traditional school calf club competition. It was formed in 2018 in response to the cancellation of traditional school calf club events due to the biosecurity risks posed by M bovis.
And while school events have been reinstated this year after a two-year hiatus, Calf Club NZ will continue to run as a separate competition, pleasing kids and parents alike.
Pongakawa dairy farmer Nicky Gill, whose children Conrad and Lexi Gordon have been involved in calf club for several years, says the new format is really enjoyable to take part in.
“I really enjoy the judges coming to the farm,” she says.
“Not only is it easier for the calves not to travel, but the judge that came to us last year was excellent.”
Calf Club NZ marketing manager Josh Herbes says in 2020, the club is more important than ever.
“Children typically spend more time on devices these days, so we encourage them to get out and spend time with their animals and use their device time to document those meaningful memories and experiences,” Josh says.
“The idea behind Calf Club is for children to engage with their animals and care for them. There are less people going into the farming industry, so we hope Calf Club might inspire more of these kids to get involved in farming when they’re older.”
Gill says Calf Club teaches the kids valuable animal husbandry skills.
“Lexi will go and lock the cows away with no problems,” she says.
“Calf Club gives them a lot of confidence to handle animals.”
To keep up to date on latest Calf Club NZ information, photos and submissions, visit www.calfclubnz.co.nz or www.facebook.com/CalfClubNZ
