Average dairy cow productive lifespan has declined dramatically in intensive systems - improving longevity benefits both animal welfare and farm sustainability.
The short productive lifespan of intensive dairy cows reflects a welfare compromise built into production system design. Cows are pushed to peak production through genetics, nutrition, and management that maximize output but accelerate physical deterioration. Early culling is often the endpoint of welfare problems that accumulated over years - lameness, mastitis, reproductive failure - each representing chronic suffering before reaching slaughter. Extending productive lifespan requires addressing these root welfare causes rather than accepting high turnover as inevitable.