The fur market is close to being done. A tiny few can pencil out a profit on fur only trapping. Looking at the cost of living and the value of a dollar prices have never been worse and it ain’t close. Still love doing it but the reality sucks

WELL........All my bought back beaver from March sold at $13.79 ave. Muskrat ave. a little lower with the collection I sent IMO, but not bad. Mink did squat!!!! Sold 3 cotton mink! Total of $6.

For me,Mink were much better at the Nafa march sale than at FHA.Well I really cant say because FHA still has 80% of them after 2 sales now.Nafa cleared them all.
I don't mind them holding on to fur instead of give it away, if the buyers for a particular item are not at the auction.

Right on Boco! Had 59 spring muskrat averaged $2.87 that's $2.56 after commission and sold 51 of them. I was shocked to say the least! $62.25 average for 8 coyotes and still have 6 up there. One real good one, the other five not so much. I'm ok with that! I'm real happy with FHA...

What year is this ? 1960?? LOL

I shipped few pelts this year. Not to give away any secrets, but most everything went to the taxidermy trade this year. Sure, takes a lot of time to prep, but the returns were certainly well worth the extra time. Wife and I averaged $60 on red foxes, unbelievable $60 on striped skunk, and $45 on Idaho marten. Beaver, muskrats, coyotes, coon went to FHA, but no complaints. Personally, I'll trap every year 'til I tip over...

Jack

I think everybody will still trap as many as they can, I know I will. That'll be where it ends though.

I was there, were you?

I was pretty happy. My coyotes averaged $60 on the nose. I sold around 30 of them and a few fox which went for around $30. My badgers are getting sent off to Moyles.

Looks to me like if you had western beaver, you would have been better off with all of them in section III at FHA. Section I Western beaver only averaged 8 something and the section III averaged over 9. Talk about screwed up.

IT's what the market wanted Don.

"The market" wanted my fur cheap. "The market" is going to do without this year. We will see if "the Market" rethinks their wants and desire next year or over the Summer. I applaud both Auctions for holding the line somewhere. (At least on my stuff)

It would be good to have better fur value but this is the market we have. I sold a few over 200 rats for 4.10 average which is about $3.70 or so net. I have a bit over 50 of the better rats left. My coon averaged $13.89 b4 commissions. I talked with several trappers who sold locally this year who typically ship. One averaged $3.75 on rats with about 125 or so. He averaged $8 straight trough on put up coon and that is the worst to the best.
It appears by reviewing and talking with others that in our slow rat market selling local was not a bad option this year, maybe within 25 cents either way. It seems many buyers can find markets or better stated outlets for rats than say coon, mink or fox. To me the advantage this year was to ship the better coon for sure. Lot of caution in the local market about coon yet as few want to tie up that higher input market and maybe have a slower turn around.

All in all I am not upset about shipping my fur. In fact the last two years I have shipped almost all of my fur where in the past I did about 30% locally.

Bryce

Don, I think that may be because here in the West most of our beaver are currently taken in October and early November. They have thick leather (much more so than eastern's) and almost no underwool. The Canadian auctions only make two sections for beaver nowdays, so a significant portion of paler southern pelts go into the westerns. This would seem to me to be pretty unatractive to the hatter market that wants the wool for felt making, again IMO.

Somebody asked how the fur market is doing.All I can say is, what fur market.

Some $220 lynx and $104 Marten so Im smiling.

How anyone can look at beaver prices at the two auctions and say there has been any uptick in prices must be smoking something. Don Wolfe you’re right. What fur market. Western coyote and cats after those game over

I think I might have covered my gas. Good enough.....

How many green frozen beaver did groney buy for $4.00?
No matter what boco say's there Isn't beaver market no matter where or when you trap them.

IMO it doesn't matter where the fur is sold, FHA or NAFA or even locally. We are all subject to what the world is willing to pay for it. Also it depends which auction the two right buyers at that bid against each other. I am not going to bash either of the auction houses for the price of furs. A person should maybe be thankful if the auction houses held back fur because they didn't think they were getting enough for it. I had coyotes that were held over from last year at the Jan. auction at FHA and they averaged better then most of the ones I sent this year. I didn't trap coons this year because the coons I trap I have to travel for. I new they were going to be down. I watch the markets pretty close. We will not see good prices on these for at least a couple of years yet. The beaver I trap were all problem beaver the last 2 years, close to home. Why not trap them when nobody else will. I just locked up some more trapping property for the seasons to come. This is just my opinion, hopefully nobody gets in a bunch over this.