|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Fur Farms Continue Consolidation
THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE (NASS) of the US Department of Agriculture has issued its latest annual report on mink production in the U.S., up to 2001 (click here for the latest NASS stats - PDF format). Released on July 15, the report includes statistics on mink pelt production, females bred by color class, the number of mink farms, and the average price and total market value of pelts. The data presented in the report indicate the continuing consolidation in the industry as smaller operations merge to form larger ones, and multiple operations by individual families come together under a single corporate umbrella. Over the five-year period 1997 - 2001, the number of U.S. mink farms fell by 28%, while average pelt production per farm rose by 19%.
According to NASS, a total of 2.56 million mink pelts was produced in the US in 2001, compared with 2.66 million in 2000, a 3.8% drop. In part reflecting this drop, the total crop in 2001 was valued at $85.9 million, down 5.2% from $90.6 million a year before. This is still substantially up, however, from the low of the last five years, 1998, when the crop was valued at $72.9 million.
But the slide in crop value cannot be attributed solely to lower ouput, since the average pelt price in 2001 also fell, to $33.49 from $34 a year before.
Over the five-year period 1997 - 2001, the average pelt price stood at $31.72, down 11.5% from 1992-96 when the price averaged $35.83. Over the last decade, a high was marked in 1995 of $53.10, while 1998 will long be remembered as the year when an average pelt brought just $24.80.
Pelts Per Female Bred Rise
Female mink bred to produce kits in 2001 totaled 629,500, for an average of 4.07 pelts per breeding. This was up slightly from the previous crop year, when 4.01 pelts were produced for every mink bred, but still not in the class of the year prior to that when each breeding yielded 4.16 pelts.
NASS notes that female mink bred to produce kits in 2002 was almost unchanged, at 620,500. If the same number of pelts per breeding is achieved as last year, this will result in total production of 2.52 million pelts.
Farms Consolidating
The total number of U.S. farms producing mink dropped to 324 in 2001, down from 351 the year before. The average farm in 2001 produced 7,917 pelts, up sharply from 7,595 in 2000, and 7,066 the year before that. When one considers that in 1997 there were 452 mink farms producing on average 6,621 pelts, it is clear that fur farming is following the trend towards consolidation seen in the U.S. farming sector as a whole.
The leading state by number of farms in 2001 was once again Utah, with 80. This was down from 90 farms in 2000 and 125 in 1997. It is noteworthy, however, that the average Utah farm in 1997 produced 5,360 pelts, while the average farm in that state last year produced 7,625.
Ranked behind Utah in number of farms were Wisconsin, with 65, and Minnesota, with 36. There were 21 mink farms which also raised fox in 2001, down from 24 the previous year.
Wisconsin retained its spot as the largest producer with 672,000 pelts, down from 680,100 the year before. Still in second place and closing the gap is Utah, which produced 610,000 pelts in 2001, up from 590,000 a year earlier. For the second year running, one of the biggest movers among major producers was Iowa. In 2000, Iowan farmers boosted production 7% to 136,800, but in 2001 this fell back by 23% to just 105,900.
By major color class, the numbers of pelts as percentages of total output were: Standard: 36.9%; Mahogany: 22.6%; Gunmetal: 18.4%; Ranch Wild: 3.9%; Sapphire: 4.2%; Demi-buff: 5.0%; and white: 2.9%; with other colors accounting for the remainder.
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
© 1998-2008 Fur Commission USA