Most commercial dairy cows are culled before age 5 despite a natural lifespan of 15-20 years, and improving cow longevity through better welfare management creates simultaneous economic and ethical benefits.
Dairy cow longevity is a welfare-economics alignment case. Short productive lives driven by preventable disease represent both welfare failure and economic inefficiency. Mastitis, lameness, and metabolic disease that drive early culling are largely preventable through good husbandry. Farms investing in prevention and treatment extend cow longevity while improving profitability. The welfare opportunity is significant: every year added to productive cow life through reduced disease and better care represents both a welfare improvement and a reduction in the carbon and resource cost per unit of milk produced.