The economic efficiency of swine operations is always a topic of discussion for pork producers and allied industries especially now when feed grain prices are being pushed higher as the demand for bio-fuels increases. However, many factors outside of feed prices influence the breakeven costs and thus economic efficiency for swine operations. Of those additional factors, sow herd performance is typically one of the most important categories. When producers talk about sow herd performance, most producers think about farrowing rate, pigs weaned per litter, or generally the number of pigs weaned per sow per year. We suggest that when talking about sow herd performance we need to take a more holistic view of the sow herd and incorporate sow longevity, more accurately called sow productive life (SPL) into the profit equation. The growing percentage of sows leaving the farm before they recuperate there investment cost has been increasing as of late. These sows are being involuntarily removed from the farm for reasons such as reproductive failure, locomotion failure, and death. This early removal or premature death increases sow replacement rates and has both economic and welfare consequences to the swine industry.