Fur Industry Still Strong in Wisconsin
Friday, July 24th, 2020 -- 9:07 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -The fur industry in Wisconsin continues to be strong.The latest numbers on mink production indicate that the state led the U.S. at just over a million pelts harvested during 2019, about one percent less than the previous year's harvest. Nonetheless, Wisconsin's production still accounted for 38 percent of the nation's total pelt output. The number of females bred in Wisconsin to produce kits during the past year fell 56 percent at 107,670. Pelts produced in 2019 by color class were: Black at 62 percent, White at 15 percent, Blue Iris at eight percent, and Sapphire at four percent. The remaining color classes accounted for 11 percent.
The report no longer indicates how many farms each state has, but Wisconsin led the nation in that category several years ago with around 70. Nationally, mink pelt production during 2019 totaled 2.7 million pelts, down 15 percent from the year earlier. Females bred to produce kits totaled 359,850, down 48 percent from a year ago. The U.S. value of pelts produced during the crop year was $59 million, down about a third from 2018 levels.
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