Increasing dairy cow longevity — reducing the rate at which cows are culled from herds — has significant welfare, environmental, and economic benefits.
The short productive lives of modern dairy cows reflect the metabolic demands placed on high-yielding animals and the disease consequences that follow. Cows culled after 2-3 lactations have typically spent significant periods of their lives unwell — with lameness, mastitis, or reproductive problems contributing to their early exit from the herd. Extending longevity requires reducing the incidence of these conditions through better nutrition management, housing, and genetic selection for health and resilience alongside production. Longer-lived cows also represent better welfare overall: they demonstrate that health and welfare interventions have been effective. The alignment of welfare, environmental, and economic incentives around longevity makes this a particularly tractable target for welfare improvement in dairy systems.