The herd on-farm mortality rate is an indicator of herd animal health and welfare status. The aim of the present study was to describe herd-level on-farm mortality rates and to identify risk factors that contribute to high herd mortality rates. Online or postal questionnaires were sent to 676 Estonian beef farms, and the response rate was 25.4%. The calf (ear-tagged) and cow within-herd mortality rates for the years 2014–2016 ranged from 0.00 to 5.45 per 100 calf-months and 0.00–12.15 per 100 cow-years, respectively. The risk factors for a higher calf within-herd mortality rate in the negative binomial regression analysis were the following: calvings not being monitored at nighttime, bedding not being added daily, a low proportion of calvings occurring during summer, lack of using a consultancy service and conventional herd type compared to organic. Failure to separate sick animals and failure to use new pastures for cow-calf pairs were risk factors for cow mortality. Mortality rate was generally higher in larger herds. In order to lower the mortality rate, it is essential to ensure good calving management, a clean environment, and isolation of sick animals.

牛群农场死亡率是牛群动物健康和福利状况的指标。本研究的目的是描述牛群水平的农场死亡率，并确定导致高牛群死亡率的危险因素。在线或邮寄问卷已发送给676个爱沙尼亚牛肉农场，回复率为25.4％。2014–2016年的小牛（带耳标记）和牛群内死亡率分别为每100个小牛月0.00-5.45和每100个牛年0.00-12.15。在负二项式回归分析中，犊牛群内死亡率较高的危险因素如下：夜间未监测犊牛，每天未添加床上用品，夏季犊牛发生率低，与有机食品相比，缺乏咨询服务和常规畜群类型。未能分离病畜和不使用新的牧场来生产小牛犊是造成母牛死亡的危险因素。大群的死亡率普遍较高。为了降低死亡率，必须确保良好的产犊管理，清洁的环境和隔离病畜。