At age 47, Ken Durrant was thrust back into the job market after a virulent disease randomly destroyed his livelihood. The disease, a frequently deadly livestock virus, ravaged the herds at Durrant's 60-acre Morgan County mink farm.
For a couple of years, Durrant tried to curtail the spread of the virus by killing off all his mink and then restocking. But nothing worked to resuscitate his business."The minks and the banks made the decision for me," Durrant said.
The outbreak of the latest strain of Aleutian Disease has thinned the ranks of Utah's mink ranchers, yet the Beehive State remains one of the nation's leading pelt producers. Those lucky enough to escape the disease are in a position to pick up the slack left by the less fortunates like Durrant.
The middle-aged rancher, faced with debts and doubts, now works in a Morgan County cement factory.
"It's tough to start over again," he said. "I'm supposed to be in my prime planning for retirement, but I'm finding myself working night hours to make the house payment."
Only one of the six ranches that abut Durrant's is still operating in the once-thriving area. The disease wiped out the other farmers.
"It's like an AIDS for minks," Durrant said.
The disease batters the immune system, leaving the mink susceptible to other illnesses. Researchers at Utah State University are trying to create a vaccine for this latest strain.
But, at a time when many farms are folding, business is booming for Salt Lake County breeder Steven Margetts.
"We've really been fortunate that we haven't been hit by the disease," he said.
The ranch, also run by his brother, Cory, and father, Glen, consists of eight 300-foot aluminum sheds which house anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 mink. The pens are about 30 inches by 10 inches by 15 inches. Young mink, called kits, share cages. Adults, which tend to be aggressive, are separated.
Breeding is not just Margetts' livelihood, but a key part of his family's heritage. And Margetts resents accusations that his way of life is unkind to the environment.
"This industry is environmentally sound because virtually everything is used," he said.
The fur is sold to the Seattle Fur Exchange, a Provo company picks up the carcasses to create fertilizer, pet food and extract the mink oil, and farmers buy the manure. And, he said, the mink feed includes fish and poultry by-products that otherwise would be tossed.
"Utah's been kind of a rural community for years. I think people are a bit more tolerant here," he said.
During the summer interim, Margetts works 11-hour days providing feed, cleaning cages and often vaccinating.
"It's really work-intensive because what you do to one, you have to do to 10,000. It's not a real glamorous business."
But the work seems to be paying off.
"You can make a nice living. This last year was a really good year. But it's cyclical. It's just like any other business. You just hope you have enough good years to get you by."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Utah fur facts
Here are some facts about Utah's mink industry:
- In 1992, Utah was the nation's second greatest producer of mink pelts, with 651,000 skins. Wisconsin led the nation with 696,500 skins.
- Based on the national average pelt price of $24.80, the industry generates about $16.1 million in Utah and $71.8 million nationwide.
- Utah County produces the most pelts, followed by Morgan County. Together, the two counties account for 50 percent of all Utah's pelts.
- It takes about 40 male and 60 female pelts to make a full-length fur coat.
- In a good year, a single pelt fetches $40 to $100.
- Mink are related to the weasel family and come in hues of brown, black, blue and white.
Source: Utah Fur Breeders Agricultural Cooperative and Utah Agricultural Statistics Service