Tributes to great farming visionary
Last updated 08:58, Friday, 09 May 2008
A FORMER Cumbrian farmer, described as one of the greatest agricultural entrepreneurs of the past century, has died.
John Moffitt CBE died aged 79 on Tuesday after a long illness.
A former president of Holstein UK, he started farming with his family at Hunday, Workington before moving to Newton Stocksfield in Northumberland in 1944. The family retained the famous Hunday cattle breeding prefix at their new farm. It became synonymous with the breeding of many of the greatest Holstein cows and bulls of the mid and late 20th century.
The herd came to national and international prominence after the emergence of the Hunday Adema 88 bloodline.
Mr Moffitt’s influence has transcended the cattle-breeding world, according to friend Bruce Jobson.
He said: “John was a farmer, an entrepreneur, pioneer and visionary. He was a man of boundless energy and enthusiasm who has played a major role in shaping Britain’s dairy industry.
“Long before the term was phrased, he diversified his farming interests into numerous areas such as Hunday Electronics, the Hunday Museum and the world’s first centralised nucleus breeding scheme, MOET.
“We will not see the likes of John Moffitt ever again and his death will be greatly mourned by everyone in the farming community.”
Mr Moffitt attended Distington and St Bees schools before moving to Newcastle to study agriculture at the Armstrong College.
The family is arranging a memorial service in his memory.
