Talked to my fur buyer a couple days ago(Jim Rosenwald at North Star fur),looking to see where he was at on castor prices.When he told me $65.00 a pound,I knew I wouldn't be making beaver lure to sell this year.
I remember many years ago castor prices sky rocketed,but when beaver prices rose,castor prices dropped.Sure hope those beaver prices turn around soon.
Just how high do you think castor prices will go?
Tom

It is around $90 lb here now and according to my buyer that is near the top limit.Those that use the castor have let him know that any much above where it is now and they will turn to the synthetic as it will then be more cost effective for them.

I’ve been told when it gets to that 60 dollar or so straight run averages they will turn to something else in castors place. So I’d say 60 or so is about the top

I've heard $70 (american) a pound is the ceiling, they switch to synthetics if it goes above that.

I hope it goes to $70 an ounce!!!

Well Jim said he would probably pay more than $65.00 a pound for large quantities.
Tom

Hey tom If you were any kind of a beaver trapper you wouldn't have to buy any. LOL

I'd guess demand will have an effect. People not wanting to trap them for (fur) peanuts means less on the market.

Beav,I used to be able to catch enough to fill my making of MoundMaster--but demand became way more than the number of beaver I could take.But no way can I take a couple thousand beaver .I would have to truck the carcasses to you.Sounds awful spendy to me.
Tom

It is similar to the fur market-when the price of ranch mink gets too high,they start using $10 rats.

Raise the price of lure. If It's stood the test of time It will still sell.

You just going to have to trap more beaver Tom, lol.

It has stood the test of time,but its hard to raise it to where it should be.I have had to turn down hundreds of customers looking for it.Castor prices have more than quadrupled since I began making it.Retail lure prices have not kept up with the costs to make them.
Tom

Yeppers Boggy, you have to leave the house to catch bvr, the easy chair doesnt cut it...........

Steve,as it stands now,I would sell my castors to Jim,and be well ahead of the game.
Tom

Tom Is going to change his name to Picasso master pretty soon. LOL

So we are talking $20 averages for beaver with castor

Don is paying more than $45.

I got $96 for about 1 1/2 pounds of castor. That's more than I got for 5 beaver hides.

The antis' view on trapping won't be very good if people start trapping beaver just for castor.

i just wish boggy would get over being so shy

There is no substitute in my opinion or for my uses than real beaver castor; therefore, it could go higher than some state on here. However I do not believe supply and demand will cause that price to remain at that high point. Plus I was always taught to buy years or more worth of necessary commodity. in the event the market held the price close to a $100 a pound I would expect many lure makers would raise their price vs modifying successful products.

You Can Buy Almost All The Castor You Want Here In New York State For Less Than $50.00 A Pound.

I have Seen Very Little In New York Go For More Than That At The NYSTA Affiliate Auctions Around The State.

At One Of The More Competitive Auctions In Herkimer, N.Y. In Early February, The Average Was A Shameful $45.58 A Pound.

Castor Prices Here Are Pitiful.

w

I offered North star 25lbs Castor dried, lets say I didnt sell him my castor or any of my fur, Never again will I deal with him.
I sold all my castor to a young local buyer for $60, Plus he got all my fur and he paid very generously for the market conditions
Thanks CarlsonFurs!!!

Why? They don’t want you killing them for fur?

I used Tom's Moundmaster #1, GREAT castor lure. GREAT results.

I heard the most you can get for castor is $60-$65 per pound...

I was buying straight run dry castor with no grade at auctions for $45-50 here in NY

I am paying $50.00 on # 1 and #2 castor on a real easy grade and on shells I am paying $25.00. If I remember right, I sold Castor once in my life for around $90.00 on # 1 castor. I can't remember what I sold # 2 and shells for.

Are you saying it’s good now???

They Antis don’t care what you do with the critter. It wouldn’t matter if you were feeding the meat to starving orphans. They don’t want animals to die, period, because they’re delusional enough to believe that’s actually possible.

The answer is in your statement. They are “Anti” their view on Trapping already is not good.

You and Dairy farmers have a lot in common........

I have dealt with Jim for 38 years,always felt I was treated well. If you guys have questions on castor prices call him ,not me LOL-(651)433-2803 .
Tom

It's a bubble right now.

From a lure makers point of view--hope the castor bubble breaks real soon.
What would be even better--much higher beaver prices.That would take care of things in a hurry.
Tom

I know two kid trappers that took their rats to N star fur a long time ago. Well he was a crook then. I hopes he's changed.

I wonder what you could buy caster down in Lacross for. Might be worth the trip for ya, Tom.

When adjusting for inflation, castor has room to go much higher from previous highs.

Hope it does not get too high or rare as some large firm will make a synthetic product and then that market will be lost for good except for small residual markets.

Bryce

2nd rule of economics...if a product gets too expensive, people will go to the next best alternative.

Lots of companies already produce synthetic castoreum but it is more expensive than the real thing. Discussion in earlier posts in this thread indicated that the castor market is not far from the price point where synthetic would become a viable alternative to natural castoreum.

I would be surprised if some of the bigger lure manufacturers are not already experimenting with synthetic castoreum.

Kind of like synthetic oil being more expensive than the real thing.

But synthetic oil has better lubricating qualities than the real thing. Not sure the synthetic castor smells more like a beaver than the real thing.

If synthetic is like everything else that is trying to recreate animal scents, any luremaker using synthetic castor probably will have to have a new lure line.

So there is already an alternative supply, so now are niche is not that we have a valuable product no one else has it is that we are the low cost provider, but we are natural!! Oh boy that should be worth more, but it is not.

Bryce

The main market for castoreum is not trapping lure,lol.

Boco beat me to it. Our N. American use of castor (for lures) is minuscule compared to the main market which is overseas.

We are familiar with the use in lures but the amount of castor used in the perfume industry and as a food additive would probably surprise all of us. Same with skunk essence in the perfume industry.

BTW, Don mentioned getting $90/lb for castor back when it boomed (late 80's early 90's?). I remember that I sent off 25 to 35 lbs to Dominion Soudack somewhere in that time frame and got an advance of $100/lb. (US dollars). If I remember right it was moving at around $130/lb. But then it crashed and went down to way low prices and shortly after that Dominion Soudack ceased to exist. (Not sure if I caused that from my advance or not)!

Anybody remember when Dominion Soudack went under? Boco?

1978
In October 1978, Hudson’s Bay Company acquired the Dominion/Soudack Fur Auction Sales of Winnipeg and its subsidiary, Edmonton Fur Auction Sales. The company contributed Canada’s largest collection of wild fur to the Hudson’s Bay Company offerings.

Well i have large supply in the freezer so find me the best price!!

But they still kept doing business as D. S. didn't they? The castor boom was well after that date. Of that I am certain!

Might of died when hbc went belly up to become nafa

Yeah, that is the right time frame. When did that occur?

87 they sold off a lot of businesses and some more in 89 and 92 was when it became nafa

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Castor Prices Sucked At The Mannsville, N.Y. Fur Auction Yesterday.

Best Any Buyer Offered Was $43.00 A Pound And That Bid Was Rejected by The Trapper.

Other Castor Lots Only Made It Into the High 30's And ALL Were NO SALED !!

What's Currently Happening With Castor Prices Now In Other Northern States ?

w

I sent mine to Mr Don Wolf last week.

Ummm, yeah . It's not liable to change if we were donating the meat to starving families.