Beaver castor shrinkage

[eedup]

How much shrinkage does one expect for beaver castor? Are there some of you that have figured percentages? I used to trade my castor green but ended up with bout forty pounds and was looking for info on percent lost then percent auctions take, seems like quite a racket. imo

[TrapperRon]

Not sure what your getting at here. Castor continues to shrink as it dries, this process is virtually continues until the castor is bone dry and hard. (at which point it would be classed as #3)

I will speak for marketing castor at NAFA. There is no "percentage" taken off of castor. It is put on racks, separated by customer, in a controlled environment and weighed at the time of sale. The weight at the time of sale is what the trapper is paid for.

[Horn]

Ron,

Would one be better off to Dry the castor for a day or two to get a "crust" or "skin" on the outside and send it to the sales as close to the recieving dates as able and let NAFA do the drying??

I too have heard people talk about how much they sent and how much they sold and the difference was more than I thought it would be (I am uneducated and trying to learn) I understand that people will have different moisture contents prior to shipping which is why It would be nice to have a percentage of moisture that was "Ideal" like farmers have for grain.

Is there such a number??

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

[Gibb]

Horn, when drying castor the biggest problem is overdrying it. Castor by its very nature is a hard product to work with, as Ron has stated it is always drying until it turns black and as hard as a rock.
For the trapper the best method is to dry for 3 to 4 days making sure to separate the castor pods so that the center will dry after 2 days. Freeze the castor if you are going to hold it for any amount of time. Before shipping remove from freezer place on cardboard for 3 or 4 days.
You want the castor to be dry with a light brown color. Now you can still expect the castor to lose about 1 third of its total weight.

The problem with not drying the castor enough before shipping is that it will start to mold and get full of maggots before it gets to the auction house.
Jim

[prioritytimberland]

At NAFA each trapper’s lot of castor is kept separate. If it is sold quickly the shrink may only be 10%. If it is kept for a long time the shrink may be much greater 30-40%. The trapper gets paid for the actual weight of the castor at the time of sale but the auction house determines when that sale is.

At FHA each trapper’s lot is graded and weighed. A 3/16th (18.75%) deduction is take off the recorded weights. The lots are then pooled. Regardless of when the castor is sold the trapper will be paid for 81.25% of the weight of the castor brought in.

Castor shrinks continuously. NAFA’s method leaves the risk of shrinkage to the individual trapper. FHA’s method pools the risk of shrinkage among all the trappers. Which way is better? I guess each trapper will have to decide that for themselves.

[thorsmightyhammer]

If castor shrinks that much maybe the houses should move it faster.

If a trapper looks around he'll be way ahead selling it for himself.

53 bucks this year cash in my pocket.

Thats for the weight on the day of sale. Which is 15 to 20 percent more than what the weight would have been from either house.

Took me a few years to learn this expensive lesson.

[Horn]

Thanks for the Information. Any more that you want to share will be appreciated. I am on a mission to learn as much as possible.

[Gibb]

You do not have to rely on just sending to auction, if you look around for someone who makes lures, you may be able to sell directly. Always check to see how your buyer wants the castor handled, with some lure makers they may want the castor frozen green and as a bonus you may be able to sell your oil sacs.
Jim

[eedup]

Thanks for the information. I'm glad horn kept asking questions as I was at the Western National. Thinking that selling in the country cash in hand as 49er said will be the way that I will be comfortable with. I do have bout 50 pounds of undrained oil sacs. Any idea of going market per pound or gallon ?

[TrapperRon]

Gibb answered the question above very well with regards to shipping green castor. If green castor (too wet) is shipped you do stand a chance of loosing it to rot and maggots. Green castor is immediately placed on drying racks if it is still good.

NAFA castors are sold private treaty. Dave Bewick is very familiar and up to date on the value of castor. It is a very limited market with only a hand full of major buyers. It would be uneconomical for them to attend the auction in Toronto.

With rising prices we have to be very careful not to exceed the price where it becomes more economical to use a chemical substitute. At that point they manufacture enough to last a few years and we see a collapse in the castor market.

NAFA pays for the weight at shipping time to the trapper. Payment is at the time of prompt day for sending out the fur checks after an auction sale. If they paid weight from the trapper at time of receiving then they would have to pro rate the price paid to price sold. In other words if they receive a pound of castor and it weighs 13 oz when sold the price per pound/ounce would have to balance out. The bottom line is the auction house is not going to sell at a loss.

Shipping to the fur auction house or private sale is a matter of choice, just like selling your fur. Follow the market, do the math, and sell where you are comfortable.

[eedup]

Math was what i was trying to do. Am i to understand most trappers send castor that is too green? (hoping for more weight) I'm sure the auction houses dont continue to dry castor to that dry black no. 3 stage, which was why i was looking for a number say 15% moisture. I understand that the more moisture in the castor when it arrives at the auction house the more weight loss til its sold. Just was looking for a number that wouldnt be too dry and get down graded but dont want to send it too wet and risk mold rot etc. I realize even if there was a moisture percentage number it would change some in shipping. Guess after working for a furbuyer for nine yrs I should know you get the whole range up there. Thanks again. Dean

[eedup]

Wasnt trying to knock the auctions, have had fur on them many times. Has its ups and downs. Would like to visit one in person some day, but usually in the field trappin.

[TrapperRon]

No did not think you were knocking the auction. Your question was reasonable and deserving of an answer. I can only speak for NAFA on how their castor is handled.

[thebeav2]

I sold mine In the country for $50.00 a pound. NO deduction for shrinkage. I dried It for 3 days I shipped It and they weighed It on the day It arrived and cut me a check.
In my opinion shipping castor to auction Is going to lose you money.

[eedup]

thanks to all