The welfare implications of high-yielding dairy cow production that causes premature culling and short productive lifespans.
Dairy cow longevity is a welfare indicator that encodes the cumulative health burden of dairy production. Cows that live and produce for 5-6 years before premature culling are experiencing a level of metabolic stress, disease, and reproductive failure that prevents them from reaching their biological potential. The economic rationality of short productive lives has driven breeding and management decisions that optimize for peak yield without regard for the cow wellbeing over a full productive life. Welfare-positive dairy farming that focuses on cow longevity tends to produce healthier, more welfare-positive animals — and increasingly demonstrates better economic outcomes than the high-yield-short-life model that has dominated the industry.