Dairy cows in intensive systems are typically culled after 2-4 lactations, far short of their natural lifespan. Improving longevity reduces the welfare costs of high-turnover systems.
High culling rates in intensive dairy systems reflect the welfare costs of those systems — cows unable to cope with the physiological demands of high production are replaced rather than treated. Herds with genuinely good welfare have longer average productive lives because cows are healthier and better able to maintain condition. Improving dairy cow longevity through preventive health management, lower production expectations, and better transition period care is both welfare-positive and economically beneficial.