Kelso dairy farmers Ken and Bruce Eade have been rearing their bobby calves for the beef industry for the past three years.
The father-and-son duo farm 270ha with their wives, Nancy and Tanya, in West Otago and after they bought their heifer block, down from the main farm, they decided it made economic sense to hang on to the bobby calves, they said.
![With the Eade family's bobby calf loading pen getting little use, the family's two pet lambs enjoyed a short stay over last week. Photo / Nicole Sharp](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/7ZR2S5CXO3AOO6CWW4UAK2V5AM.jpg?auth=3cfe0c3c590c5c693bbbb0e57f2daba1c63bd1af34437e643f8423e5aacc3825&width=16&height=22&quality=70&smart=true)
''We thought we might as well run some bull-beef there too,'' Bruce said.
They used a Hereford bull over any cows they did not want to keep the calves out of, which provided them with a wide range of options, he said.