The average dairy cow in high-production systems leaves the herd before her fourth lactation, far short of her potential lifespan, with premature culling driven by health problems that are themselves welfare indicators.
Short productive life in dairy cows is simultaneously a welfare indicator and a welfare cause. The diseases that drive early culling — lameness, mastitis, infertility — cause significant suffering in the cows that experience them. And culling itself, which removes cows often at young ages via slaughter, is the endpoint of a welfare failure. Herds with better longevity have better welfare: lower disease rates, better body condition, and less chronic pain. The alignment between welfare improvement and farm economics through reduced replacement costs and higher lifetime productivity creates a compelling case for investing in the management conditions that extend healthy cow lives.