Lv Gn 3 (7-08) Mink National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released July 11, 2008, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Mink" call Toby Paterson at (202) 720-0585, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Pelt Production Down 1 Percent Mink pelt production in the United States in 2007 totaled 2.83 million pelts, down 1 percent from 2006. Wisconsin, the largest mink producing State, produced 914,100 pelts. Utah, the second largest producing State, produced 599,430 pelts. The number of pelts by color class as a percent of the total U.S. production in 2007 is as follows: Black at 52 percent, Mahogany at 20 percent, Blue Iris at 10 percent, Demi/Wild at 5 percent, White at 4 percent, and Sapphire at 4 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 5 percent. Value of Pelt Production Up 34 Percent Mink pelts produced during the 2007 crop year, sold in 2008, were valued at $186 million, up 34 percent from $139 million a year ago. The average price per pelt for the 2007 crop year was $65.70, up $17.30 from $48.40 in 2006. Females Bred Down 1 Percent Female mink bred to produce kits in 2008 totaled 691,170, down 1 percent from the previous year. Percent of total females bred to produce kits in 2008 by color class: Black at 54 percent, Mahogany at 20 percent, Blue Iris at 9 percent, Sapphire at 4 percent, Demi/Wild at 4 percent, and White at 3 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 6 percent. Number of Mink Farms Up 1 Percent There were 283 mink farms producing pelts in 2007, up 1 percent from a year ago. The three leading States were Wisconsin with 71 farms, Utah with 65 farms, and Idaho with 24 farms. Special Note The number of mink farms also raising fox will no longer be published. Mink: Pelts Produced and Females Bred, by Color Class, United States, 2006-2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Pelts Produced :Females Bred to Produce Kits Color :----------------------------------------------------------- Class : 2006 1/ : 2007 : 2007 1/ : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Black : 1,395,700 1,461,200 357,700 370,600 Demi/Wild : 175,600 145,030 31,930 29,610 Pastel : 61,550 65,250 16,680 14,950 Sapphire : 110,400 103,080 29,110 29,040 Blue Iris : 300,710 276,920 69,130 65,030 Mahogany : 591,400 565,380 137,350 135,430 Pearl : 66,030 59,540 15,280 13,240 Lavender : 7,760 10,450 2,650 1,690 Violet : 20,560 21,580 5,730 6,230 White : 125,500 104,480 27,520 23,550 Misc. & Unclassified: 11,440 14,990 3,008 1,800 : US : 2,866,650 2,827,900 696,088 691,170 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. Mink: Farms, Pelts Produced, Price, and Value, United States, 1988-2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Mink : Pelts : Average Marketing : Value of Year : Farms : Produced : Price : Mink Pelts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Number Dollars Dollars : 1988 : 1,027 4,453,100 32.30 143,835,130 1989 : 940 4,603,600 20.40 93,913,440 1990 : 771 3,365,700 25.50 85,825,350 1991 : 683 3,268,200 21.90 71,573,580 1992 : 571 2,900,000 23.80 69,020,000 1993 : 523 2,620,300 34.10 89,352,230 1994 : 484 2,623,200 33.00 86,565,600 1995 : 478 2,803,100 53.10 148,844,610 1996 : 449 2,783,200 35.30 98,246,960 1997 : 452 2,993,300 33.10 99,078,230 1998 : 438 2,938,100 24.80 72,864,880 1999 : 398 2,812,500 33.70 94,781,250 2000 : 350 2,666,100 34.00 90,647,400 2001 : 329 2,565,300 33.50 85,937,550 2002 : 324 2,607,300 30.60 79,783,380 2003 : 305 2,549,000 40.10 102,214,900 2004 : 296 2,558,100 47.10 120,486,510 2005 : 275 2,637,800 60.90 160,642,020 2006 1/: 279 2,866,650 48.40 138,745,860 2007 : 283 2,827,900 65.70 185,793,030 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. Mink: Pelts Produced by Color Class and Number of Farms, Major States and United States, 2006 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States : Black :Demi/Wild: Pastel :Sapphire: Blue Iris :Mahogany: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :-------------------------- Number ------------------------- : ID : 79,000 14,500 11,500 74,000 IL : 52,000 IA : 87,000 8,500 MI : MN : 56,000 40,000 40,000 76,000 OH : 45,000 2,800 23,000 OR : 147,000 11,000 84,000 PA : 25,000 12,000 14,000 SD : UT : 275,000 54,000 7,000 7,000 220,000 WA : 36,000 27,000 WI : 550,000 11,000 40,000 97,000 102,000 : Oth Sts 2/: 43,700 67,100 50,550 37,600 11,710 96,400 : US :1,395,700 175,600 61,550 110,400 300,710 591,400 : :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : Total : Number : Pearl :Lavender : Violet : White :Unclassified: Pelts :of Farms :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 204,500 25 IL : 65,520 7 IA : 141,250 17 MI : 9,500 54,550 9 MN : 800 242,950 23 OH : 78,300 7 OR : 283,900 18 PA : 2,000 66,000 10 SD : 82,500 3 UT : 1,500 622,890 66 WA : 92,000 9 WI : 800 57,000 5,500 890,200 69 : Oth Sts 2/: 66,030 6,960 19,760 57,500 3,940 42,090 16 : US : 66,030 7,760 20,560 125,500 11,440 2,866,650 279 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. Published color classes may not add to the State total. Mink: Pelts Produced by Color Class and Number of Farms, Major States and United States, 2007 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States : Black :Demi/Wild: Pastel :Sapphire: Blue Iris :Mahogany: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :-------------------------- Number ------------------------- : ID : 95,000 12,500 78,000 IL : 47,000 IA : 80,000 8,500 MI : MN : 53,000 42,000 31,000 70,000 MT 2/ : 9,000 OH : 43,000 21,000 OR : 158,000 11,500 88,000 PA : 27,000 9,500 12,000 SD : UT : 260,000 7,000 10,500 220,000 WA : 62,000 15,000 WI : 590,000 10,500 38,000 91,000 98,000 : Oth Sts 3/: 37,200 103,030 54,750 37,080 8,420 78,380 : US :1,461,200 145,030 65,250 103,080 276,920 565,380 : :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : Total : Number : Pearl :Lavender : Violet : White :Unclassified: Pelts :of Farms :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 221,000 24 IL : 59,060 7 IA : 135,850 17 MI : 10,000 52,580 9 MN : 17,000 218,500 23 MT 2/ : 25,930 8 OH : 73,500 9 OR : 278,500 18 PA : 9,000 70,240 11 SD : 73,000 3 UT : 1,900 599,430 65 WA : 95,000 9 WI : 1,600 50,000 4,400 914,100 71 : Oth Sts 3/: 59,540 8,850 21,580 25,580 1,590 11,210 9 : US : 59,540 10,450 21,580 104,480 14,990 2,827,900 283 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ Montana previously published in "Other States" category. 3/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. Published color classes may not add to the State total. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits: Number by Color Class, Major States and United States, 2007 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States : Black :Demi/Wild : Pastel : Sapphire : Blue Iris : Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 23,000 990 3,000 17,500 IL : 14,500 IA : 26,000 2,000 MI : MN : 14,000 9,500 8,000 19,500 OH : 10,500 6,000 OR : 33,000 2,200 18,000 PA : 7,000 3,800 4,000 SD : UT : 70,000 8,500 2,200 2,000 57,000 WA : 15,000 6,000 WI : 132,000 3,400 11,000 24,000 20,000 : Oth Sts 2/: 12,700 13,930 12,290 9,910 2,130 17,350 : US : 357,700 31,930 16,680 29,110 69,130 137,350 : :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : : Pearl : Lavender : Violet : White :Unclassified: Total :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 51,690 IL : 17,920 IA : 38,500 MI : 2,300 12,330 MN : 350 4,400 58,140 OH : 18,900 OR : 57,810 PA : 18,930 SD : 17,300 UT : 470 155,418 WA : 24,750 WI : 500 15,000 1,800 214,900 : Oth Sts 2/: 15,280 2,150 5,380 5,350 1,208 9,500 : US : 15,280 2,650 5,730 27,520 3,008 696,088 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. Published color classes may not add to the State total. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits: Number by Color Class, Major States and United States, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States : Black :Demi/Wild : Pastel : Sapphire : Blue Iris : Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 26,000 1,100 2,200 2,700 18,000 IL : 14,500 IA : 25,000 MI : 6,000 MN : 15,500 8,000 8,500 16,500 MT 1/ : 4,000 OH : 11,500 6,000 OR : 32,000 2,500 19,500 PA : 6,500 3,500 3,300 SD : 3,700 UT : 67,000 10,000 1,600 57,000 WA : 15,000 4,500 WI : 142,000 2,600 11,500 21,000 22,000 : Oth Sts 2/: 5,600 7,910 11,250 9,340 3,930 15,930 : US : 370,600 29,610 14,950 29,040 65,030 135,430 : :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : : Pearl : Lavender : Violet : White :Unclassified: Total :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 51,770 IL : 17,960 IA : 38,400 MI : 1,200 10,300 MN : 3,900 54,100 MT 1/ : 6,690 OH : 20,100 OR : 57,210 PA : 16,450 SD : 17,700 UT : 290 155,910 WA : 22,700 WI : 500 3,200 14,000 790 217,830 : Oth Sts 2/: 13,240 1,190 3,030 4,160 1,010 4,050 : US : 13,240 1,690 6,230 23,550 1,800 691,170 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Montana previously published in "Other States" category. 2/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. Published color classes may not add to the State total. Reliability Statement Survey Procedures: Mink production data are collected from all known producers. Individual NASS Field Offices maintain a list of all known mink producers and use known sources of producers to update their lists. 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. Care is exercised to account for all operations. Major auction houses, which handle producer sales, provide mink pelt price data in July. Point of first sales prices, before marketing costs are deducted, are collected by producers. Estimation Procedures: 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 missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. Field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Revision Policy: Previous year estimates are subject to revision when current year estimates are made. Revisions are the result of late reports or corrected data. Reliability: Mink production estimates are based on a census of all known active producers and therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates are subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality control in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. To assist in evaluating the reliability of the estimates in this report, the "Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the following table. The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past performance and is computed using the differences between first and final estimates. The "Root Mean Square Error" for mink pelts produced over the past 10 years is 1.6 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.83 million pelts by more than 1.6 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 2.9 percent. Reliability of Mink Estimates 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Difference Between :Number of Years : Root : 90 Percent : First and Latest :--------------- : Mean : Confidence : Estimates : First : First Item :Square : Level :-------------------------: Above : Below : Error : :Average:Smallest:Largest :Latest :Latest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :Percent Percent 1,000 ------- 1,000 ------ Number : Pelts : Produced : 1.6 2.9 82 18 0 149 1 4 : Females Bred: 1.5 2.7 19 7 0 28 1 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Based on data for the past 10 years. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch.......................................... (202) 720-3570 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section................... (202) 720-4447 David Colwell - Cold Storage................................................. (202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised.......... (202) 690-3237 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey.................. (202) 720-3244 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs................................................... (202) 690-8632 Toby Paterson - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink.................... (202) 720-0585 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. 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