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US Fur Farming Consolidation Continues
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the US Department of Agriculture has issued its latest annual report on mink production in the US, up to 2000. Released on July 19, the report includes statistics on mink pelt production, females bred to produce kits, the number of mink farms, and the average price per pelt. The data presented in the report strongly suggest that consolidation is continuing in the fur-farming industry. Over the five-year period 1996 - 2000, the number of US mink farms fell by 22%, while average pelt production per farm rose by exactly the same amount.
According to NASS, a total of 2.67 million mink pelts was produced in the US in 2000, compared with 2.81 million in 1999, a 5% drop. Reflecting this drop in production, pelts produced in the 2000 crop year were valued at $90.6 million, down 4% from $94.8 million a year before, but still substantially up from 1998 in which production was valued at just $72.9 million. The average price per pelt for 2000 was $34.00, up from $33.70 in 1999.
Wisconsin retained its spot as the largest producer with 680,000 pelts, ahead of Utah with 590,000. However, both were down substantially from 1999, when Wisconsin produced 731,700 and Utah 650,000. Some of the slack was picked up by Iowa which saw production increase from 128,100 in 1999 to 136,800 last year.
By major color class, the numbers of pelts as percentages of total US output were: Standard: 35.7%; Mahogany: 26.6%; Gunmetal: 17.31%; Ranch Wild: 5.13%; Sapphire: 5.02%; Demi-buff: 3.58%; and white: 2.49%; with other color classes accounting for the remainder. The biggest increases in production as a percentage of the previous year’s crop were Pale brown (+625%) and Pearl (+135%), while production of Pink fell 78%. Among the major color classes, a big mover was Ranch Wild, which saw production fall 20%. Given increases in White and Pearl production, this drop in Ranch Wild output may be attributable in part to the fashion industry’s current interest in fur that can be easily dyed for avant garde styles.
Pelts Per Female Bred Dip
Female mink bred to produce kits in 2000 totaled 664,900, for an average of 4.01 pelts per breeding. This was down slightly from the previous crop year, when 4.16 pelts were produced for every mink bred.
NASS notes that female mink bred to produce kits in 2001 totaled 630,200. If the same number of pelts per breeding is achieved as this year, 4.01, this will result in production for 2001 of 2.53 million pelts, down 5% from 2000.
In reality, production may be down even more. According to information passed on to FCUSA, kit production in the Midwest and East was hurt this year by weather problems. In those two parts of the country, some farmers are expecting litters to be down by anywhere between half a kit and a full kit.
Number of Farms
The total number of farms in the US producing mink pelts dropped to 351 in 2000, down from 398 the year before. The average farm in 2000 produced 7,595 pelts, up sharply from 7,066 the year before. When one considers that in 1996 there were 449 farms producing on average 6,198 pelts, it is clear that fur farming is following the trend towards consolidation seen in the US farming sector as a whole.
The leading state by number of farms in 2000 was Utah with 90, down from 110 a year earlier. Behind Utah were Wisconsin, with 70 farms, and Minnesota, with 37. There were 24 mink farms which also raised fox in 2000, down from 27 in 1999.
Crop Value Down, Pelt Prices Up
Mink pelts produced during the 2000 crop year were valued at $90.6 million, down 4% from $94.8 million a year earlier, but the average price per pelt edged up to $34.00 from $33.70.
Over the five-year period 1996 - 2000, the average pelt price stood at $32.10, down a steep 20% from the period 1991-95. However, to an extent this statistic is deceptive, since the year 1995, in which average pelt prices peaked at $53.10, has just passed from the current five-year period into the previous one (see chart on p1). In a positive vein, pelt prices have maintained their recovery from the abyssmal average of just $24.10 in 1999.
Growing consumer interest in quality products and innovative fur designs seen on fashion catwalks over the last two seasons are seen as contributing to this price recovery. Meanwhile, the leveling off of prices may in part be attributable to the slowdown of the global economy.
(Click here for the latest NASS stats - PDF format)
See also:
US Fur Sales Up in 2000; Record Increase Is Largest in Recent History Fur Information Council of America press release, June 27, 2001.
For further information contact: Teresa Platt, Executive Director, Fur Commission USA, PMB 506, 826 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118-2698 USA, (619) 575-0139, (619) 575-5578/fax, furfarmers@aol.com, www.furcommission.com.
To take a cyber-tour of a fur farm, visit Fur Commission USA's Fur on Film at http://www.furcommission.com/video/index.htm