Mink National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released July 23, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Mink" call Tom Kruchten at (202) 690-4870, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Pelt Production Up 7 Percent Mink pelt production in the United States in 1997 totaled 2.84 million pelts, up 7 percent from 1996. Wisconsin, the major mink producing State, produced 701,400 pelts. By color class, the number of pelts as a percent of the total U.S. production follows: Standard - 42.2 percent; Mahogany - 22.4 percent; Gunmetal - 16.2 percent; Ranch Wild - 6.6 percent; Sapphire - 4.5 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 8.1 percent. Value of Pelt Production Up Slightly Mink pelts produced during the 1997 crop year were valued at $94.1 million dollars, up slightly from $93.9 million a year ago. The average price per pelt for the 1997 crop year was $33.10, down 6 percent from the price of $35.30 in 1996. Females Bred Down 1 Percent Female mink bred to produce kits in 1998 totaled 705,200, down 1 percent from the previous year. Percent of total females bred to produce kits in 1998 by color class are: Standard - 40.5 percent; Mahogany - 21.5 percent; Gunmetal - 16.4 percent; Ranch Wild - 5.9 percent; Sapphire - 5.7 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 10.0 percent. Number Of Mink Farms Down 3 Percent There were 401 mink farms producing pelts in 1997, down 3 percent from a year ago. Leading States were Utah with 125 farms, Wisconsin with 69 farms and Minnesota with 39. Fox There were 29 mink farms which also raised fox in 1997, compared to 40 for the previous year. Lv Gn 3 (7-98) Mink: Pelts Produced and Females Bred, By Color Class, United States, 1996-1998 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Pelts Produced : Females Bred To Produce Kits Color :------------------------------------------------------- Class : 1996 2/: 1997 : 1996 : 1997 2/: 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 : Standard : 1,236 1,199 336.3 328.5 285.9 Ranch Wild : 195 186 43.7 48.5 41.6 Demi-buff : 109 122 29.0 29.9 36.1 Pastel : 32 35 9.3 14.4 10.1 Pale Brown : 1 1 0.4 0.3 0.2 Sapphire : 88 128 25.8 34.8 40.2 Gunmetal : 338 461 90.8 92.9 115.9 Mahogany : 570 637 119.0 140.2 151.7 Pearl : 25 13 6.7 6.0 4.0 Lavender-hope : 9 6 2.6 2.1 1.8 Pink : 3 3 0.8 1.4 0.8 Violet-type : 18 10 4.3 6.1 3.1 White : 31 39 7.4 9.1 10.5 Misc.& Unclassified : 3 4 2.1 0.7 3.3 : US Total : 2,659 2,844 678.2 714.9 705.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mink: Farms, Pelts Produced, Price, and Value, United States, 1977-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Mink : Pelts : Average Marketing : Value of Year : Farms : Produced : Price : Mink Pelts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number 1,000 Dollars Million Dollars : 1977 : 1,040 3,076 28.30 87.1 1978 : 1,095 3,358 39.30 132.0 1979 : 1,105 3,394 41.10 139.5 1980 : 1,122 3,501 35.30 123.6 1981 : 3/ 3/ 32.20 3/ 1982 : 1,116 4,085 28.90 118.1 1983 : 1,098 4,137 29.90 123.7 1984 : 1,084 4,220 30.80 130.0 1985 : 1,042 4,171 28.00 116.8 1986 : 989 4,096 41.30 170.0 1987 : 1,027 4,122 43.00 177.2 1988 : 1,027 4,453 32.30 143.8 1989 : 940 4,604 20.40 93.9 1990 : 771 3,366 25.50 85.8 1991 : 683 3,268 21.90 71.6 1992 : 571 2,900 23.80 69.0 1993 : 498 2,527 34.10 86.2 1994 : 458 2,525 33.00 83.3 1995 : 445 2,689 53.10 142.8 1996 2/ : 415 2,659 35.30 93.9 1997 4/ : 401 2,844 33.10 94.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Sum of color class may not add to U.S. total due to rounding. 2/ Revised based on additional information. 3/ Data not available for 1981. 4/ Data are Preliminary. Mink: Pelts Produced by Color Class and Number of Farms, Major States and United States, 1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : : : : : States: Stan- : Ranch : Demi- : Pas- : Pale : Sap- : Gun : Mahog- : dard : Wild : Buff 1/: tel : Brown : phire : Metal : any ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number of Pelts : ID : 52,900 32,800 19,100 * * * 45,700 IL : 50,900 * IA : 45,100 * * 11,500 5,200 14,700 3,900 MI : 30,000 400 1,600 3,400 1,600 12,700 MN : 111,300 65,300 11,200 1,800 * 27,300 71,900 NY : 9,100 * 500 1,100 * * 800 4,100 OH : * 5,500 4,700 2,000 * OR : 78,000 * * 8,400 110,000 * PA : * 1,600 * 9,300 22,100 * SD : * 31,000 * * 37,500 UT : 286,000 11,000 50,000 3,000 18,000 28,000 183,000 WA : 68,000 * * * 33,000 * WI : 391,000 25,000 5,200 7,200 18,900 88,400 148,400 : Oth : 114,100 24,500 21,400 6,100 1,200 19,800 10,000 62,900 Sts : : US :1,236,400 195,100 109,000 32,300 1,200 87,700 337,900 570,100 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : Misc. & : : Number : Pearl :Lavender: Pink : Violet : White : Unclass-: Total : of : : Hope : : Type : : ified : Pelts : Farms :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Pelts : ID : * * * 170,000 22 IL : * * * 56,700 9 IA : * * * 97,000 20 MI : 1,700 1,200 3,800 600 57,000 9 MN : * * * 293,300 40 NY : 200 200 400 1,600 20,100 11 OH : 73,800 12 OR : * 208,000 23 PA : * * * * 65,700 13 SD : * 94,100 4 UT : 5,000 1,000 585,000 130 WA : 117,000 19 WI : 1,000 * * * 18,300 800 713,400 74 : Oth : 17,500 9,300 2,800 15,100 8,400 400 107,900 29 Sts : : US : 25,400 9,300 3,000 17,700 30,500 3,400 2,659,000 415 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Demi-buff includes crossed of dark brown, violet, pastel, standard, pearl or others. * Included in other States in each respective color class to avoid disclosing individual operations. Mink: Pelts Produced by color Class and Number of Farms, Major States and United States, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : : : : : States: Stan- : Ranch : Demi- : Pas- : Pale : Sap- : Gun : Mahog- : dard : Wild : Buff 1/: tel : Brown : phire : Metal : any ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number of Pelts : ID : 45,100 34,700 * * 25,200 9,100 57,500 IL : 55,500 * IA : 59,500 700 * * * 19,100 6,800 MI : 30,000 1,100 1,600 2,000 600 14,000 MN : 106,000 73,600 * 1,600 * 52,500 65,000 NY : 10,000 * 800 500 2,700 * 7,300 OH : 28,600 * * * 24,000 OR : 86,000 * * 13,000 123,000 * PA : * * * 10,800 24,200 4,200 SD : * 32,000 * * * 14,000 UT : 311,000 * 60,000 * * 30,000 28,000 226,000 WA : 62,800 * * 41,000 * WI : 334,000 19,500 5,100 10,700 26,000 104,600 174,300 : Oth : 70,200 25,800 55,300 20,300 1,000 17,800 58,700 43,800 Sts : : US :1,198,700 186,300 122,300 34,700 1,000 127,500 460,800 636,900 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : Misc. & : : Number : Pearl :Lavender: Pink : Violet : White : Unclass-: Total : of : : Hope : : Type : : ified : Pelts : Farms :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Pelts : ID : * * 189,000 22 IL : * * 62,000 9 IA : * * * 122,000 17 MI : 1,500 1,500 3,000 700 56,000 8 MN : * * 310,200 39 NY : 300 200 900 23,000 8 OH : 70,300 12 OR : * 244,000 24 PA : * * 900 * 70,300 12 SD : 95,300 4 UT : * * 670,000 125 WA : 121,400 19 WI : * * * 19,500 2,800 701,400 69 : Oth : 11,800 5,600 3,100 6,900 16,900 108,900 33 Sts : : US : 13,300 5,600 3,400 9,500 39,400 4,400 2,843,800 401 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Demi-buff includes crossed of dark brown, violet, pastel, standard, pearl or others. * Included in other States in each respective color class to avoid disclosing individual operations. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits: Number By Color Class, Major States and United States, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : States: Stan- : Ranch : Demi- : Pas- : Pale : Sap- : Gun : Mahog- : dard : Wild : Buff 1/: tel : Brown : phire : Metal : any ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number : ID : 12,900 9,100 * * 7,000 2,500 12,800 IL : 13,300 * * IA : 13,700 * 2,200 6,000 2,400 5,300 3,600 MI : 7,300 100 300 600 600 3,300 MN : 26,100 16,600 * 600 * 6,300 16,800 NY : 3,600 * 800 * * 600 300 OH : * 1,300 2,000 500 * OR : 19,000 * * 3,400 27,000 * PA : * 900 * 2,900 5,900 * SD : * * * * 7,600 UT : 91,600 2,400 15,000 700 100 7,800 9,300 56,300 WA : 17,000 * * 10,400 * WI : 92,300 6,900 1,100 2,500 6,900 20,300 24,400 : Oth : 31,700 12,200 10,600 3,500 200 1,800 4,200 15,100 Sts : : US :328,500 48,500 29,900 14,400 300 34,800 92,900 140,200 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : Misc. & : : Pearl :Lavender : Pink : Violet : White : Unclass- : Total : : Hope : : Type : : ified : :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : * * * 51,400 IL : * * 14,700 IA : * 2,700 * 36,600 MI : 500 300 800 200 14,000 MN : * * * 68,500 NY : 400 400 6,800 OH : 19,700 OR : * 52,000 PA : * * * * 19,100 SD : * 23,000 UT : 500 400 900 185,000 WA : 30,900 WI : * * * 4,800 500 162,000 : Oth : 5,000 2,100 1,000 2,300 2,600 31,200 Sts : : US : 6,000 2,100 1,400 6,100 9,100 700 714,900 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Demi-buff includes crossed of dark brown, violet, pastel, standard, pearl or others. * Included in other States in each respective color class to avoid disclosing individual operations. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits: Number By Color Class, Major States and United States, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : : : : : States: Stan- : Ranch : Demi- : Pas- : Pale : Sap- : Gun : Mahog- : dard : Wild : buff 1/: tel : Brown : phire : Metal : any ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number : ID : 9,900 9,200 * * * 8,100 3,100 18,500 IL : 10,700 * * IA : 17,600 200 * * * 5,600 3,600 MI : 7,100 200 400 400 300 3,300 MN : 21,000 16,100 * 400 * 14,100 14,500 NY : 3,200 700 2,100 100 OH : 9,800 * * * * 7,000 OR : 18,400 * * 3,700 32,000 * PA : * * * 3,100 5,700 * SD : * 5,700 * * * 3,500 UT : 80,200 * 19,100 * * 11,700 5,600 54,700 WA : 14,900 * * 12,600 * WI : 75,900 3,900 1,700 3,300 6,500 23,100 36,000 : Oth : 17,200 6,500 15,100 5,300 200 4,600 13,800 10,500 Sts : : US :285,900 41,600 36,100 10,100 200 40,200 115,900 151,700 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : Misc. & : : Pearl :Lavender : Pink : Violet : White : Unclass- : Total : : Hope : : Type : : ified : :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : * * 56,400 IL : * * 12,200 IA : 1,800 * * 35,000 MI : 400 500 600 200 13,400 MN : * * 67,600 NY : 100 6,200 OH : * 21,100 OR : * 57,200 PA : * * 300 * 18,300 SD : 23,200 UT : * * 175,000 WA : 31,300 WI : * * * 5,700 400 157,700 : Oth : 1,700 1,800 800 2,300 4,200 2,700 30,600 Sts : : US : 4,000 1,800 800 3,100 10,500 3,300 705,200 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Demi-buff includes crossed of dark brown, violet, pastel, standard, pearl or others. * Included in other States in each respective color class to avoid disclosing individual operations. Survey Procedures: Data for mink production are collected from all known producers. State Statistical Offices use all known sources of producers to ensure that their lists are as complete as possible. All known mink producers are mailed a questionnaire and given adequate time to respond by mail. Those that do not respond by mail are telephoned or possibly enumerated in person. Great care is exercised to ensure that all operations are accounted for. Major auction houses which handle virtually all producer sales provide mink pelt price data in June. Prices are collected at the point of first sale by producers, before marketing costs are deducted. Reliability: Sound statistical methodology is employed to derive the estimates from reported data. All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for inaccessible operations are accounted for through the expansion of the reported data or by imputation based on individual historical data. Survey data are subject to non-sampling errors such as omissions and mistakes in reporting and in processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized by carefully reviewing all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Revision policy: Estimates for the previous year are subject to revision when current estimates are made. Revisions are the result of late or corrected data and are generally within one-half percent. The next "Mink" report will be released in July 1999. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) 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