In veal calf production, animals receive little contact with people, and this contact is largely restricted to the period around feeding. The development of more automated farming systems and increased number of animals per stockperson will thus further decrease the opportunities to develop positive associations between the stockperson and animals. The objective of this experiment was to study the importance of the stock person’s behaviour on veal calf behaviour using 22 veal calves housed in individual crates. Half of the calves received minimal contact from the stockperson, and the other half were stroked and allowed to suck the stockperson’s fingers after each meal during the entire fattening period of 21 weeks. The effects of this additional contact with stockperson on the calves’ responses to people were studied, when the calves were in their home environment (crate) or singly in a novel arena. When the calves were tested in their home environment, those received additional contact withdrew less from the approach of humans (familiar or unfamiliar) compared with control (no contact) calves. When tested outside the home environment with a human (familiar or unfamiliar) standing motionless, calves that had received additional contact interacted more frequently and for a longer time with humans and defecated less often compared with control calves. In conclusion, short but regular positive contacts around feeding seemed to be experienced as positive by the calf, because they reduced withdrawal from the increased approaches to familiar and unfamiliar humans in familiar and unfamiliar environments. Such a lower reactivity to people could improve ease of handling, animal performance, and animal welfare.