Mycoplasma bovis no threat to online calf club

Hunter (left) and Bob Tisdall enjoy spending some time with their calves, Leila and Tessa. Photo / Ella Stokes

The outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis has put a stop to calf clubs and many A&P shows and school pet days have put their respective calf and cattle sections on hold.

However, a genius idea has meant that those who enjoy showing off their beloved pets still have the opportunity to do so.

Waikato dairy farmer Michelle Burgess, and owner of Real Experience marketing company Josh Herbes, came up with the idea of an 'online calf club'.

A site was launched in early July as way to continue the tradition and to prevent calf owners from missing out.

Mr Herbes said those interested were able to register and then submit a photo of their calf and an explanation of the calf and how they cared for it.

''Within nine hours of starting the website we had 150 registrations, '' he said.

Through social media and the website they have now received over 600 registrations.

Hunter (7) and Bob (8) from Cottersbrook in Middlemarch were excited to be able to have something to do with their pet calves.

Mum, Sheree, said the kids had had pet calves every year since they were four.

Their local show was the Strath Taieri A&P show held in the first week of March, and it wasn't yet confirmed if there would be a cattle section or not.

''Every year we pack up and take calves, lambs and ponies to the show.''

Mrs Tisdall said whoever came up with the idea of the online club was a genius.

''It's great to have something for the kids to look forward to as well as having an animal to look after every day.''

With Mum's help, Bob and Hunter fed their calves every day as well as brushing them and teaching them to lead.

Hunter said he always liked having a pet calf as they got really friendly and were fun to play with.

Submissions for the online calf club closed last Saturday.

Mr Herbes said he was really happy with how it had come along and been received in such a short space of time.

The voting system will go live on 24 September.

The top ten entrants will be visited on-farm where they will be able to show off how well their calves are trained.

Those judged the best will be awarded their respective awards and ribbons.

Mr Herbes said they were lucky to have received a range of sponsorships so there would be no charge to those entering.