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| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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A respected cattle breeder and agricultural pioneer has died
JOHN Moffitt, (pictured), one of
the greatest agricultural entrepreneurs
and cattle breeders of the
past century, has died after a long
illness.
A memorial service to celebrate
his life takes place at Hexham
Abbey on Monday, at 1.30pm, following
a private cremation service.
Mr Moffitt, 79, had a huge influence
on cattle breeding and was
highly regarded at home and internationally.
Born at Hunday Farm, nearWorkington,
Cumbria, in 1929, he attended
St Bees School, before studying
agriculture at Armstrong College,
now the University of Newcastle.
In 1944, the family moved to
Peepy Farm, Stocksfield, Northumberland,
retaining the Hunday prefix
which become synonymous
with breeding many of the greatest
Holstein-Friesian bloodlines of the
mid- and late-20th century.
The watershed was a breed society
sale in Peterborough in 1950,
which featured bulls and heifers
from Holland and which drew a
record 2,400-strong crowd.
Mr Moffitt accompanied his late
father, Edward, and herd manager
Harold Hodgson to the sale.
They paid 7,000gns - the third
highest price - for Adema 88, a bull
calf from the famous Marius
bloodline.
Adema's progeny became the
most sought after in the UK. His
daughters won more than 71
championships, 90 reserve championships,
491 first prizes, and 126
first prize progeny groups.
His sons were also in huge demand
and by 1964 the 27 in Artificial
Insemination studs were producing
over 100,000 calves a year.
Adema bred more than 111 Register
of Merit sons, more than any
other sire in society history, and
had the greatest widespread genetic
influence of any sire in British
Holstein Friesian history.
Over 200 RM sons have been
bred by Hunday - more than any
other UK herd.
The success of Hunday bloodlines
led to the formation of the
UK's first private AI company, Cattle
Breeders Services, in 1961.
Mr Moffitt was secretary and
general manager until 1979, when
he became chairman of the company,
which then traded as Premier
Breeders Ltd.
In 1982 it acquired Select
Friesian Services and, in 1988, established
the UK's largest national
cattle embryo-transfer business at
Vallum Farm, Northumberland.
In 1971, he capitalised on farm
computers by establishing Hunday
Electronics. It achieved a turnover
of more than £1m before it was
sold to Osborne Industries of
Kansas.
Another passion was his collection
of more than 200 vintage tractors
and 200 vintage engines,
which led to the establishment of
the Hunday Museum, opened by
the Queen Mother in 1979.
It was Museum of the Year in
1981 and, in a joint venture, later
moved to Dorset. It has attracted
more than one million visitors.
Mr Moffitt's vision for UK cattlebreeding
saw the world's first nucleus
herd testing programme established
at his Bays Leap Farm in 1987.
The principle of Multiple Ovulation
Embryo Technique allowed
the propagation of numerous male
and female offspring that, through
the testing of female siblings, reduced
the time taken to produce a
sire evaluation.
He remained chairman until
1989 and oversaw the £4.8m sale of
Premier Breeders to the Milk Marketing
Board.
After the sale, Hunday remained
the core farming interest and Mr
Moffitt eased into retirement, allowing
his son, Peter, to take over.
Mr Moffit's knowledge of breeding,
science and agriculture, saw
him sit on more than 46 committees
and boards between 1961 and
1997.
He followed his father's footsteps
to become president of Holstein
UK and was chairman from 1972
until 1975. He was also a council
member for 26 years.
He also judged 116 dairy shows
including the Royal Show, Royal
Welsh, Royal Highland, Royal Cornwall,
Royal Brisbane and Royal Melbourne
in Australia, and Royal
Christchurch in New Zealand.
Mr Moffitt served on numerous
advisory committees at Edinburgh
and Newcastle University's and the
Institute of Genetics in Roslin, Edinburgh.
He was also chairman of the Milk
Development Council, the National
Animal Data Centre and President
of the Royal Association of
British Dairy Farmers and British
Cattle Breeders Club.
He gave more than 350 talks and
lectures and presented 32 papers at
various conferences in the UK,
Italy, Kenya, South Africa and USA.
He was awarded a Fellowship of
the Royal Agricultural Society of
England in 1973 and made a Commander
of the British Empire
(CBE) for services to agriculture in
1979.
He received a Doctorate of Civil
Law (DCL) from Newcastle University
in 1985 and was elected Honorary
Associate of the Royal College
of Veterinary Surgeons in 1989.
In 1994 he was named International
Person of The Year at World
Dairy Expo, Madison, USA.
Mr Moffitt received the Princess
Royal Award in 1995 from the Royal
Association of British Dairy Farmers
for outstanding achievement to
the dairy industry.
In January 2008, he received the
Lifetime Achievement Award from
Holstein UK.
An avid collector of books he had
a library of rare manuscripts on
cattle breeding and agricultural
machinery. He also wrote numerous
books, including on the
Massey Ferguson tractor range and
in 1982 received the Massey Ferguson
UK Award for Services to Agriculture.
His autobiography - "60 Years of
Farming" - was completed in 2007.
Mr Moffitt is survived by his wife
Madge, son Peter, daughter Sue,
and six grand children.
10:33am Friday 16th May 2008
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