2003 International Mink Show
State of the Industry: Consolidating, Automating, and Cementing Friendships

By FCUSA Executive Director Teresa Platt

GATHERINGS SUCH AS THE INTERNATIONAL MINK SHOW are good indicators of the health of the fur industry, and this year's event filled us all with cautious optimism. Attendance was strong, the number of exhibitors was up sharply, and the air was abuzz with talk of capital investment as farmers look for ways to raise better animals more efficiently.

An estimated 500 mink and fox farmers from a dozen U.S. states and several other countries converged on Milwaukee, Jan. 10-12. Strong retail sales of fur products are expected in the U.S. this winter, continuing an upward trend that goes back more than a decade. In 2001, the latest year for which firm figures are available, sales stood at $1.53 billion, compared with $1.1 billion in 1992.

But as demand rises, lower-wage competition from overseas has increased too, forcing America's fur farmers to seek economies of scale and greater automation to remain competitive. Combined with low interest rates in the U.S., many farmers are now ready to make capital investments in the future.

This trend was clearly reflected in Milwaukee in the number of exhibitors - 51 booths, compared with 40 last year - hawking the whole range of faster, better machines. From feed carts and manure collection devices to pelting machines and fleshing equipment, everything was about doing the job quicker and with less labor.

If there is one impression that made its mark on me this year it was my first thought on entering the venue: next year we're going to need a bigger room!

Old Friends, New Friends

But these gatherings are not just about mink farmers meeting mink farmers, and doing a bit of shopping. As much as anything, they are about forging ties with other sectors of the fur industry, and with folk who appreciate the work we do.

Our friendship is now established with America's fox farmers, who participated in the Mink Show's pelt competition for the third year in a row.

And in the category of new friends, we welcomed rancher and farmer Trent Loos, who has channeled his love and understanding of the land into a second career. Trent now hosts the radio program Loos Tales out of South Dakota, and interviewed Mink Show participants for upcoming episodes.

Also attending for the first time was fashion expert Keith Kaplan of the Fur Information Council of America, representing fur manufacturers and retailers.

With fur now featured prominently on the runways of New York, Paris and Milan, and flying off retailers' racks, Keith gave a presentation highlighting the "hottest" fur fashions. And that's not just women's winter outerwear. We're talking entire wardrobes - including accessories and cozy footwear - for men, women and children, and for all seasons!

Fur is the "must have" fabric, said Keith, which is why "nearly 400 designers now including fur in their couture and ready-to-wear collections versus only 42 a decade ago."

The key to this resurgence, he explained, has been innovations in manufacturing, dying and trimming that enable designers to incorporate fur "as a luxury fabric offering the unique richness and tactile benefits of fur with the same versatility and adaptability of many other fabrics."

Where Are They Now?

About the only people who didn't show up this year - and no one missed them - were the gaggle of fur protesters we are used to seeing outside. Rumor was that a protest had been planned but cancelled due to inclement weather, a supreme irony considering the superior qualities they are always claiming for their plastic coats!

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Wisconsin is America's leading mink-farming state, producing 672,000 pelts in 2001, or 26% of total American production. Click here for more statistics on fur farming in the United States.

The International Mink Show is organized by a committee of volunteers in association with Fur Commission USA, representing 600 American fur-farming families, state mink breeders' associations, and National Fur Foods, a major supplier to fur farmers.

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.

Keith Kaplan, Fur Information Council of America, 8424-A Santa Monica Blvd., #860, West Hollywood, CA 90069; Tel.: (323) 848-7940; Fax: (323) 848-2931; info@fur.org info@fur.org; www.fur.org

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

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