Modern dairy cows are often culled by age four or five, far short of their natural 20-year lifespan. Understanding the welfare and economic case for extended productive life is key to systemic reform.
The routine early culling of dairy cows reflects a production model that has optimized for peak milk yield without adequately accounting for long-term animal welfare costs. High genetic merit cows experience metabolic stress during early lactation that increases susceptibility to ketosis, displaced abomasum, and mastitis. Lameness, one of the leading culling reasons, causes chronic pain that affects millions of cows globally. Systems that invest in preventive hoof care, lower stocking densities, and nutritional management reduce lameness prevalence and extend productive life. Longer-lived cows represent better welfare outcomes and reduced replacement heifer demand, which has genuine environmental and economic co-benefits that make the case for longevity-focused dairying compelling to producers.