“Daisy” blinks her gentle brown eyes under the harsh barn lights. Although she’s just four years old—young by any natural standard—her milk yield is dipping. A year ago, she was considered a “top producer,” but now her worth is carefully weighed against the cost of feeding and housing her. This is where every commercial dairy farm, from small family operations to huge industrial complexes, decides the fate of cows like Daisy: the moment her milk no longer justifies her expenses.

Daisy’s World: Where Milk Matters More Than Life

The term 'dairy farming' reveals its central focus: milk, not cows. Whether a farm has 30 cows or 3,000, the goal is to produce and sell as much milk as possible. For Daisy and every cow like her, the business hinges on her 'productive lifespan'—how many years she’ll reliably boost overall milk production (and profits).

Yet despite marketing images of meadow-grazing cows, most don’t see the idyllic life depicted on milk cartons. In reality, many are sent away for slaughter around age 4–5—long before reaching their natural lifespan of 15–20 years. For Daisy, once her milk yield starts to falter, she’s labeled “unproductive” and her time quickly runs out.

Daisy’s Daily Life: Repeated Pregnancies & High-Yield Pressures

Daisy’s existence revolves around continuous pregnancies. To produce milk, she must keep getting pregnant and giving birth—yet she never gets to raise her calves, since humans take them shortly after birth, so her milk can be diverted for sale. This cycle is physically draining and heightens her risk of painful conditions like mastitis (udder infections), lameness (leg and hoof problems), and reproductive failures.

Ironically, the industry often touts ‘cow comfort’ strategies—like gentler handling or calmer barn environments—as if to counterbalance these stresses. However, these measures are typically pursued because studies show they can boost milk yield, rather than for the cow’s genuine well-being. But from Daisy’s vantage point, any extra bedding, personal attention, or slower milking pace only happens when it’s cost-effective. If adding an extra layer of straw doesn’t pay off in added milk, the farm might skip it.

Daisy vs. the “Tractor”: Her Life Through the Cold Lens of Profit

On a dairy farm, an old tractor that breaks frequently is eventually replaced—its costly repairs no longer justifying continued use. Sadly, Daisy is treated much the same way. Her life, with all its richness and complexity, is reduced to a balance sheet where every expense is weighed against her milk output.

Each year, around 38% of dairy cows in North America are removed from herds, either through culling or death. Voluntary culling—targeting cows with below-average milk production—accounts for about one-third of these removals. Meanwhile, the remaining two-thirds are involuntary, often due to infertility or health conditions such as mastitis, lameness, and metritis. Risks are highest during early lactation, a period when over half of all dairy cow deaths occur from complications like milk fever or retained placenta. These conditions are worsened by the relentless demands of industrial milk production and the genetic strain to maximize output.

Farmers must balance these risks against profitability. Cows who avoid culling manage to stay healthy, conceive on time, and produce enough milk to offset their feed and care costs. They pass through a demanding cycle of non-milking events in each lactation: insemination, pregnancy confirmation, dry-off, and finally calving, which restarts the process. Any disruption in this cycle—whether due to reproductive failure, disease, or injury—threatens a cow’s place in the herd.

When Daisy’s numbers no longer look good on paper—if her milk yield drops or her health becomes too expensive to maintain—she is removed. The decision may be labeled “voluntary” or “involuntary,” but the outcome is the same. Like a worn-out tractor swapped for a newer, more efficient model, Daisy’s fate is sealed the moment her economic value declines.

Daisy’s Life, Our Responsibility

It can be jarring to learn that “culling” is integral to dairy production, no matter the label—“organic,” “humane,” or “family-run.” These labels don’t change the fundamental reality; they merely adjust protocols within the same profit-driven system. For Daisy and countless other cows, this system ensures one outcome: being shipped to slaughter at a fraction of their natural lifespan.

Yet Daisy is more than a data point. She is a sensitive, social being who has been reduced to a milk machine by spreadsheets and cost-benefit charts. Her life, like the lives of millions of others, is shaped entirely by market demand for milk.

But consumer choices have the power to disrupt this cycle. By leaving dairy off your plate, you stop supporting an industry that measures a cow’s worth by gallons of milk. Every glass of plant-based milk or dairy-free creamer is a small but significant step toward a kinder world where no cow endures a life defined by “productive lifespan” metrics.

Please ditch dairy. Every cow deserves more than a ledger entry that reads “unproductive.”

Sources & Further Reading

1. USDA–APHIS (2016). Dairy 2014, Reference of Dairy Cattle Management Practices in the United States.
   https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/dairy14_dr_parti_1.pdf

2. Progressive Dairy (2025). December report on dairy cows culled for beef.
   https://www.agproud.com/articles/61000-december-report-on-dairy-cows-culled-for-beef

3. McGill University Quebec Study (YouTube video on cost-benefit analysis of dairy cows).
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqerGBbPGQQ

4. Carvalho, M. (2022). Optimizing culling and herd structure for better profitability, Progressive Dairy.
   https://www.agproud.com/articles/55480-optimizing-culling-and-herd-structure-for-better-profitability

5. Penn State Extension. “Cull Rates: How is Your Farm Doing?”
   https://extension.psu.edu/cull-rates-how-is-your-farm-doing

6. Canadian Dairy Information Centre. “Culling and Replacement Rates in Dairy Herds in Canada.”
   https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/canadas-agriculture-sectors/animal-industry/canadian-dairy-information-centre

7. Cambridge University Press. “Review: Overview of factors affecting productive lifespan of dairy cows”
   https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/animal/article/review-overview-of-factors-affecting-productive-lifespan-of-dairy-cows/EF3D233CB84CE8AE36769A1966C67C34

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