In a previous article we spoke about the shortage of Fetal Bovine Serum and the impact of nature on FBS availability. Now we will see how farming practices, progress in technology and economic development influence the product market.
Farming practices have been subject to change for a long time. Feedlot breeding becomes popular in a constantly growing number of countries in the world. Although it has a beneficial influence on the meat production (animals gait weight faster) the number of uncontrolled pregnancies dramatically decreases.
The agricultural development of a country or region determines to a large extent the pregnancy rate of the bovines. In regions with developed milk industry the number of pregnant cows is much higher than in regions where animals are bred for meat production.
Periodical herd renewal and rebuilding also lead to temporary shortages as female bovines are intentionally held back for reproduction and are not released for meat production. This cycle can be observed every 5 – 7 years.
Progress in technology is an important factor as well. Portable ultrasonic devices and other methods for pregnancy determination get more popular among farmers. While whole herds were sold for meat production in the past farmers now can plan the herd reproduction better and check female bovines for pregnancy to hold them back as needed. In such cases the number of uncontrolled pregnancies drops and causes FBS shortage over time.
The developing economy of a country leads to people eating more and better meat, retention of cows for reproduction purposes and reduction of fetal bovine serum volumes. A good example for this is Brazil. In Argentina economic uncertainty moved farmers toward switching from animal breeding to soy beans production as this provides short-term profits and is less regulated by the government.
In our next post we will focus on the animal health status of the sourcing country and how this impacts FBS availability.
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