The productive lifespan of dairy cows has dramatically shortened as milk yields have increased, raising profound welfare questions about the sustainability of modern dairy farming.
The compression of dairy cow productive life to a fraction of their natural lifespan represents a fundamental welfare failure built into the economics of modern dairying. Each year of a dairy cow's life involves the physical demands of repeated pregnancy, calving, and lactation at physiologically extreme levels. The resulting chronic health problems - lameness, mastitis, metabolic disease - cause persistent pain and distress. Breeding for longevity rather than maximum single-year yield is both ethically and economically rational: healthy cows that live longer produce more total milk with lower veterinary intervention. The welfare case and the economic case align in favour of longevity-focused dairy farming.