“Longevity of a dairy cow can be defined as the total lifespan of a cow or as the length of productive life (1). The productive lifespan of average dairy cows in industrialized countries varies from <3 years (2) to at least 4.5 year (3). These cows calve for the first time at ~2 years of age, which brings their total lifespan from birth to departure from the herd between 4.5 and 6.5 years. The average total lifespan of dairy cows in the Netherlands in 2018 was 5.5 years (4), while the natural lifespan of dairy cattle is ~20 years (5). Hence, cows are culled well before the end of their natural lifespan, which is common for animals in dairy livestock production. The decision to cull a cow is primarily driven by economic considerations as made by the farmer. Therefore, dairy replacement management decisions largely determine the average productive lifespan of dairy cattle (6).” VREDENBERG 2021 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33912606/ - Frontiers
“Productive lifespan of dairy cattle may be defined as the time from first calving to exit from the herd when the cow is no longer sufficiently productive. Exit occurs through either death or removal from the herd by the herd manager. The productive lifespan of average cows varies from less than 3 yr (Pinedo et al., 2014; SEGES, 2018) to at least 4.5 yr (Kerslake et al., 2018) in countries with modern dairy industries. Cows calve for the first time at 2 yr of age, which brings their total lifespan from birth to exit from the herd to between 4.5 and 6 yr. The natural lifespan of dairy cattle is approximately 20 yr (Nowak, 1999). Cows exit the herd on average much earlier than at the end of their natural lifespan, which is common for animals in agriculture and driven by economic considerations. Therefore, management decisions largely determine the average productive lifespan of dairy cattle (Fetrow et al., 2006).” DEVRIES 2020 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32089299/