Modern dairy cows are often culled after just 2-3 lactations due to lameness, mastitis and reproductive failure. Extending productive lifespan is both a welfare priority and an economic opportunity.
Dairy cow longevity is a proxy welfare metric of significant value: a cow that lives to five or six lactations has, by definition, been free of the serious health problems that cause early culling. Lameness in particular causes prolonged suffering — a lame cow may go undetected for days or weeks before treatment, experiencing chronic pain from digital dermatitis or sole ulcers. The biological mismatch between the milk yields selected for in modern Holsteins and the nutritional capacity of early lactation creates a metabolic vulnerability window that drives the health cascade leading to early culling. Genetic selection for health and longevity traits, combined with better nutritional management and proactive hoof care, offers a path to both improved welfare and reduced herd replacement costs.