Lv Gn 3 (7-09) Mink National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released July 10, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Mink" call Chris Hawthorn at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Pelt Production Down 1 Percent Mink pelt production in the United States in 2008 totaled 2.79 million pelts, down 1 percent from 2007. Wisconsin, the largest mink producing State, produced 910,100 pelts. Utah, the second largest producing State, produced 549,700 pelts. The number of pelts by color class as a percent of the total U.S. production in 2008 is as follows: Black at 54 percent, Mahogany at 22 percent, Blue Iris at 10 percent, Demi/Wild at 4 percent, and Sapphire at 3 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 7 percent. Value of Pelt Production Down 38 Percent Mink pelts produced during the 2008 crop year, sold in 2009, were valued at $116 million, down 38 percent from $186 million a year ago. The average price per pelt for the 2008 crop year was $41.50, down $24.20 from $65.70 in 2007. Females Bred Down 5 Percent Female mink bred to produce kits in 2009 totaled 659,400, down 5 percent from the previous year. Percent of total females bred to produce kits in 2009 by color class: Black at 52 percent, Mahogany at 22 percent, Blue Iris at 10 percent, Sapphire at 4 percent, and Demi/Wild at 4 percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 8 percent. Number of Mink Farms Down 3 Percent There were 274 mink farms producing pelts in 2008, down 3 percent from a year ago. Special Note The number of operations by State will no longer be published on an annual basis. State level numbers will only be published in conjunction with the Census of Agriculture every five years. The number of operations at the U.S. level will continue to be published on an annual basis. Mink: Pelts Produced and Females Bred, by Color Class, United States, 2007-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Pelts Produced :Females Bred to Produce Kits Color :----------------------------------------------------------- Class : 2007 1/ : 2008 : 2008 1/ : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Black : 1,461,200 1,497,800 370,600 343,100 Demi/Wild : 145,000 114,800 29,700 25,300 Pastel : 65,300 61,400 15,000 19,800 Sapphire : 103,100 94,900 29,000 28,500 Blue Iris : 276,900 268,100 65,000 65,100 Mahogany : 565,400 604,200 135,500 143,900 Pearl : 59,500 42,700 13,200 12,400 Lavender : 10,500 3,700 1,700 1,600 Violet : 21,700 36,800 6,200 5,300 White : 104,500 50,100 23,600 11,700 Misc. & Unclassified: 15,100 12,200 1,800 2,700 : US : 2,828,200 2,786,700 691,300 659,400 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. Mink: Farms, Pelts Produced, Price, and Value, United States, 1989-2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Mink : Pelts : Average Marketing : Value of Year : Farms : Produced : Price : Mink Pelts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Number Dollars Dollars : 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 : 279 2,866,650 48.40 138,745,860 2007 1/: 283 2,828,200 65.70 185,812,740 2008 : 274 2,786,700 41.50 115,648,050 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 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 : 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 2/: 37,200 103,000 54,800 37,100 8,400 78,400 : US :1,461,200 145,000 65,300 103,100 276,900 565,400 : :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : Total :Number of : Pearl :Lavender :Violet : White :Unclassified:Pelts 3/: Farms :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 221,000 24 IL : 59,100 7 IA : 135,900 17 MI : 10,000 52,600 9 MN : 17,000 218,500 23 MT : 25,900 8 OH : 73,500 9 OR : 278,500 18 PA : 9,000 70,300 11 SD : 73,000 3 UT : 1,900 599,500 65 WA : 95,000 9 WI : 1,600 50,000 4,400 914,100 71 : Oth Sts 2/: 59,500 8,900 21,700 25,600 1,700 11,300 9 : US : 59,500 10,500 21,700 104,500 15,100 2,828,200 283 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 3/ 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, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States : Black :Demi/Wild:Pastel :Sapphire: Blue Iris :Mahogany: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :------------------------- Number ------------------------- : ID : 98,000 11,000 2,800 8,500 12,500 95,000 IL : 51,000 IA : 108,000 9,000 MI : 26,000 MN : 55,000 31,000 1,700 26,000 73,000 MT : 14,000 OH : 46,000 24,000 OR : 158,000 12,000 85,000 PA : 30,000 10,700 11,500 500 SD : UT : 235,000 8,500 6,000 205,000 WA : 57,000 17,000 WI : 600,000 10,000 39,000 93,000 117,000 : Oth Sts 1/: 19,800 72,800 46,900 16,200 8,100 89,700 : US :1,497,800 114,800 61,400 94,900 268,100 604,200 : :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : Total :Number of : Pearl :Lavender :Violet : White :Unclassified:Pelts2/ : Farms 3/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 228,100 IL : 64,700 IA : 154,600 MI : 6,000 45,500 MN : 7,000 196,400 MT : 24,400 OH : 79,200 OR : 2,900 287,600 PA : 2,400 65,100 SD : 76,200 UT : 549,700 WA : 92,500 WI : 3,500 19,000 3,500 910,100 : Oth Sts 1/: 42,700 200 33,900 18,100 6,300 12,600 : US : 42,700 3,700 36,800 50,100 12,200 2,786,700 274 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 2/ Published color classes may not add to the State total. 3/ State level number of operations will only be published every five years in conjunction with the Census of Agriculture. Female Mink Bred to Produce Kits: Number by Color Class, Major States and United States, 2008 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : 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 8,000 11,300 9,300 3,900 16,000 : US : 370,600 29,700 15,000 29,000 65,000 135,500 : :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : : Pearl : Lavender : Violet : White :Unclassified: Total 3/ :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 51,800 IL : 18,000 IA : 38,400 MI : 1,200 10,300 MN : 3,900 54,100 MT : 6,700 OH : 20,100 OR : 57,200 PA : 16,500 SD : 17,700 UT : 300 155,900 WA : 22,700 WI : 500 3,200 14,000 800 217,800 : Oth Sts 2/: 13,200 1,200 3,000 4,200 1,000 4,100 : US : 13,200 1,700 6,200 23,600 1,800 691,300 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 3/ 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, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States : Black :Demi/Wild : Pastel : Sapphire : Blue Iris : Mahogany ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 27,000 2,300 1,000 2,600 22,000 IL : 16,000 IA : 17,500 2,500 MI : 7,500 MN : 14,500 7,500 8,000 19,000 MT : OH : 11,500 6,000 OR : 34,000 2,400 16,500 PA : 6,500 2,800 2,900 SD : UT : 59,000 1,800 58,000 WA : 14,500 2,900 WI : 126,000 3,100 11,500 26,000 23,000 : Oth Sts 1/: 9,100 15,500 15,700 9,200 4,500 15,900 : US : 343,100 25,300 19,800 28,500 65,100 143,900 : :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : Misc. & : : Pearl : Lavender : Violet : White :Unclassified: Total 2/ :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : ID : 57,800 IL : 100 19,000 IA : 28,300 MI : 1,200 10,900 MN : 52,300 MT : 6,000 OH : 20,400 OR : 500 58,400 PA : 16,000 SD : 18,200 UT : 148,800 WA : 19,900 WI : 1,200 4,400 1,100 199,200 : Oth Sts 1/: 12,400 400 4,800 6,100 1,500 4,200 : US : 12,400 1,600 5,300 11,700 2,700 659,400 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ "Other States" include some pelts from the above listed States which were not published to avoid disclosing individual operations. 2/ 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. Prices are collected at the point of first sale, before marketing costs are deducted. 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 0.2 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 2.79 million pelts by more than 0.2 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.3 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 : 0.2 0.3 9 3 0 10 3 4 : Females Bred: 0.9 1.6 10 4 0 13 2 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 Chris Hawthorn - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink (202) 720-0585 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey (202) 720-3244 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs (202) 690-8632 Troy Marshall - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised (202) 690-3237 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. For free access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. Starting with the NASS Home Page at www.nass.usda.gov, under the right navigation, Receive reports by Email, click on National or State. Follow the instructions on the screen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK: 800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada) Other areas, please call 703-605-6220 FAX: 703-605-6900 (Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order acceptable for payment.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ASSISTANCE For assistance with general agricultural statistics or further information about NASS or its products or services, contact the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 800-727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.