Improving sow reproductive longevity in commercial pig production reduces welfare costs of repeated reproductive stress while improving farm sustainability and reducing sow replacement rates.
Sow longevity is both a welfare and sustainability indicator. Sows culled in their third parity have experienced the stresses of gestation, farrowing, and lactation three times without reaching their productive potential, while replacement gilts impose additional environmental costs. Farms that invest in sow health management, housing design, and longevity-selected genetics simultaneously improve welfare and profitability over time. The longest-lived sows in well-managed herds demonstrate that extended productive lives are compatible with commercial performance, challenging the assumption that rapid turnover is economically necessary.