Last week, several of my dairy club kids assisted with one of my field trips. Before the field trip began, one of my girls went over to one of the calves. At that point, we hadn’t been able to choose calves to show at the fair due to weather; however, the intention was to pick calves at the next meeting. She went up to the calf and started petting the little heifer, coming up with names to call her. Pretty soon, we threw a halter on her and let them walk around for a while. The girl fell in love with the heifer, and I concluded what happens when you give a kid a calf.
When you give a kid a calf, they are going to want to name it. Usually, they spend hours going back and forth until they finally settle on a name that usually ends up being the first name they picked out. Once the name is selected, they will want to pet the calf, so they will stand outside of the hutch for half an hour petting it and talking to it. After half an hour of scratches through the fence, they will ask to get the calf out of the pen. At that point, you have to show them how to put the halter on, and then you watch as they get to know each other for two hours. You smile as you hear the laughter coming from the child as the calf bucks or licks them. After a couple of hours, you know the calf needs a break from the heat, and as you put the calf back, the kid asks, “Can I come back tomorrow?” your heart swells as you nod. The kid runs away happy, and you laugh to yourself because you would’ve never guessed how wonderful it would be to give a kid a calf.
The author is a sixth-generation farmer and fifth-generation dairy producer in southwest Virginia, where she and her family own and operate a 145-head Holstein dairy. Courtney is involved in agriculture organizations throughout her community and is a graduate of Virginia Tech.
