General manager of genetics, Peter Gatley, says most calves born on New Zealand farms these days are crossbred.
“Crossbreeding with straight-bred bulls has been practiced for decades, but only since 2005 have farmers been able to buy semen from an elite commercial crossbred bull team, KiwiCross. We’re mindful many herds these days are entirely crossbred, so it makes sense to have a crossbred category in calf judging….
“Hybrid vigour is one of the things that make crossbred cows well suited to commercial dairying, and it also helps with calf rearing.”
Previously, children would have entered their calves in the Friesian or Jersey category depending on coat colour, but Gatley says they were sometimes marked down because of breed-specific judging criteria.
“We know children work hard to select, rear and train a calf for their school’s Calf Club events, and many go on to compete at their local group day. We don’t want any children to be disadvantaged for choosing a crossbred calf,” he says.
All group day events registered on the co-op’s website will receive a champion cup for them to award the event’s top crossbred calf each year from then on.
