Improving sow longevity reduces culling for preventable reasons, improves welfare outcomes across production cycles, and reduces the environmental and economic costs of replacement gilts.
Sow longevity is a welfare metric that captures system quality holistically. Sows culled early are typically experiencing welfare problems — lameness, reproductive failure, or injury from aggressive group dynamics — that the system failed to prevent. Extending productive life requires addressing these root causes: appropriate flooring to prevent hoof problems, sufficient space and resources to reduce aggression, and selection of genetics adapted to group housing systems. Progressive producers who achieve average sow lifespans of 5+ parities demonstrate that these goals are achievable and represent simultaneously better welfare and better economics.