I can't help but wonder how long a company like Fur Harvesters Auction house can stay afloat. They still have to make payroll and pay their operating cost such as rent, taxes, and utilities. This also holds true for the larger fur buyers operating in the US. Look what happened to NAFA just last year before all of this Coronavirus started.

eventually there will be a big fire and a small market.

Do not conflate the two auction houses. NAFA thought they were a loan agency and pandered to ranch fur. Also I do not think there is much in the line of payroll since there are very few that actually do work there. As for going broke, well, if you cannot sell what you have it is hard to keep taking more and piling it up. Unless things straighten out fairly soon I fear we have seen the industry come undone. LLL

Our District 10 president talked to groney a few days ago. And groney plans on running his fur routes this coming trapping season. He said he is still selling fur over seas and plans on doing so this year.He didn't mention any prices.

This is the best news that I have heard all year!

It will be interesting to see what Groenwald’s prices are when he starts buying. He may be running his routes but will he be paying enough to get trappers to trap and bring him fur. Guess we shall see in a couple of months........

Probably won't be much but at least we have a market. And we can always walk away. He will get my beaver since he Is looking Into a market for dorsal skinned beavers.

Trinkets and beads. Unfortunately they will get all the fur they need from those who will take a couple bucks for this pile and no value but we will get rid of it for you pile. It is better than just "doing it for the fun". LLL

Well at least It takes away any guess work as to what your going to get for your fur.

What is a Dorsal Skinned beaver?

It's where you wreck a perfectly good beaver and drastically reduce your marketing options by making the opening cut down the middle of the back instead of the belly.

LOL Your wrong.

Most of the beaver In today's market are hatter beaver and It makes no difference on how they are opened.
The thing groney Is looking at Is keeping the belly fur In tack so you don't have to sew It together. There seems to be some interest In the belly fur on beaver so gorney Is going to try and market It.
He told me that he will pay the same money on hatter beaver no matter how they are opened. We already have some beaver trappers ready to do it that way to see If It will improve prices.

Better to try something new to see if it'll help the market than stay in the same lane getting the same price

i like it

The dorsal skinning deal with the hatter beaver is being done to see if interest can be developed for widespread use of the belly fur as plates by the garment industry. GFW is going to have some dorsal skinned pelts dressed and shop them around to see if they can generate interest. Don't know if you don't try......

will be harder to flesh. i dont clean skin i just hog them off. then shave that tough stuff off the back. turn them sideways and scrape the belly. goes pretty quick like that.

GFW buys them green Frozen here. Their fleshing machine does not care where the opening cut is and I do not have to flesh or stretch. And from the looks of the last auction, it does not look to me like the extra work of fleshing and stretching is a profitable use of my time anyway.

I do flesh and stretch a few each year to have tanned as I get requests for a few pelts. Otherwise, I just rough skin, fold in half and freeze.

I sold 67 finished Missouri beaver 10 days ago to a country buyer for a $9.51 average. $18 top. 14 he weighed as hatters.
Yes the beaver market sucks, but add in selling the tail and castor and free food for the hounds all winter..........yea, it still sucks.
It is what it is. I sold 25 to a furrier for $20 each. Helped a little.

The other thing you can do Is case skin them then the fleshing Is easier if you go that route and groney can split them any way he wants.