A fund set up to assist the search for a missing Manitoba cattle producer will instead be used to help young people enter the purebred beef industry.
Grant Moffat, a longtime Charolais breeder from Forrest, Man., has been missing since Aug. 18, 2006. He was travelling to Ste. Rose that day to attend a Charolais field day and then go fishing with a friend. His burned car was found two days later.
Two extensive ground and air searches were done and a $10,000 reward offered, but there has been no sign of Moffat.
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At a memorial service held in Brandon exactly a year after his disappearance, family and friends decided to use the Grant Moffat Fund for two awards.
The Grant Moffat Herd Builder Award will be available to young Manitoba producers of either commercial or purebred cattle, based on need. A committee will select recipients under 21 years old who will use the money to buy a registered heifer calf in order to build a purebred herd. The purchases will be made through Manitoba auction sales and a maximum of $2,000 applies.
The second award, the Grant Moffat Showmanship Award, will provide cash awards to the champion and reserve in junior, intermediate and senior divisions of the Manitoba Livestock Expo All Breeds Junior Show.
Moffat had been a 4-H member and was a strong supporter of youth in the cattle industry. He edited several cattle association newsletters and was also a photographer.
Health concerns forced him to have a dispersal sale two years ago, but he kept 20 head. He had purchased a blade sharpening business shortly before he disappeared. His family is continuing to operate his cattle and farming operation.
“We’re just carrying on as if he was just away,” his sister, Janie Hale, told The Western Producer in July.
