Improving dairy cow longevity is simultaneously an economic and welfare objective — cows that live longer avoid repeated transition stress and welfare-costly culling.
Dairy cow longevity is a welfare indicator of considerable importance because early culling removes cows from production before natural lifespan is approached, typically due to welfare-relevant conditions. A cow culled at third lactation due to lameness has spent her productive life in a system that failed to maintain musculoskeletal health. Improving longevity requires addressing the underlying causes of premature culling — lameness, reproductive failure, and mastitis — which are themselves major welfare concerns. The alignment between longevity and welfare is direct: interventions that improve hoof health, reproductive management, and udder health also extend productive lives and reduce the welfare and economic costs of premature culling and replacement heifer rearing. Genetic selection for longevity, combined with herd health management programmes, represents a welfare improvement pathway that aligns commercial incentives with welfare goals.