High-production dairy cows in intensive systems face welfare challenges from the metabolic demands of modern milk yields, lameness, and reproductive management.
High-yield dairy genetics have created animals whose metabolic demands during peak lactation exceed their biological capacity to sustain. Cows divert calcium from bones, develop ketosis, and become immunosuppressed in the first weeks after calving. Lameness on concrete floors causes chronic pain that affects feeding, social behavior, and milk production. The productive life of a high-yield dairy cow is a fraction of her potential lifespan because her body is depleted long before old age.