60 Years of Farming

Born in Cumbria in 1929, Sue Moffitts' late father, John Mofitt CBE, left school at 16 to work on his father's Hunday farm. In the early 1960s he and two other cattle breeders formed the first private AI company, CBS, which became Premier Breeders. The success of this operation, the renown of the Hunday dairy herd, the efficiency and size of his farms, his venture into Hunday Electronics, his public works and his founding of the Hunday museum all brought him acclaim and honours.

John had a deep interest in agricultural engineering, and in particular the work of Dan Albone, creator of the Ivel tractor, and Harry Ferguson. He restored an Ivel, making it perhaps the oldest working internal combustion engined farm tractor in the world.

Working with George Potts, he built up one of the finest collections of Ferguson tractors and equipment.

John's enthusiasm was infectious; no one who was there will forget the Historic Pageant that he put on for Friends of Ferguson Heritage in June 1999 at his home at Stocksfield, near Newcastle.

Besides a parade of all his Ferguson tractors and equipment, he created a pageant in which the achievements of three great tractor innovators were recalled by actors.

John kept a detailed diary from 1950 and he was a great collector of records, literature and other items to do with his interests.

In his later years these formed the basis of three books: Fergusons, the Hunday Experience; The Ivel Story (2003); 60 Years of Farming - an autobiography (2007).