South East Farm Press Logo

The specific cause of the deaths was not known as of Jan. 14, but the department said the deaths may be related to a specific lot of Producer’s Pride 20% All Natural Cattle Cube.

Farm Press Staff

January 14, 2019

2 Min Read
haire-cattle-grady-a-web.jpg

Last week, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced it had received multiple reports related to acute deaths in cattle.

The department’s Division of Agricultural Environmental Services and the Division of Animal Industry began investigations into the cattle deaths. Local law enforcement agencies and veterinarians were also involved in the investigations, the department said in a Jan. 11 statement.

The specific cause of the deaths was not known as of Jan. 14, but in the Jan. 11 statement, the department said the deaths may be related to Producer’s Pride 20% All Natural Cattle Cube, lot number 8DEC22MUL2, manufactured by Purina Animal Nutrition, and distributed to forty Tractor Supply Company stores in Florida and Georgia at the following locations:

Starke, Fort Pierce, Saint Cloud, Chiefland, Lake Wales, Sebring, Okeechobee, Eustis, Haines City, Newberry, Bradenton, Palatka, Wauchula, Zephyrhills, Deland, Lake City, Orlando, Arcadia, Dunnellon, Fort Myers, Saint Augustine, Live Oak, Jacksonville, Homosassa, Macclenny, Bartow, Perry, Groveland, Gainesville, Cocoa, Osteen, North Fort Myers, Loxahatchee, Crawfordville, Palm Coast, Hudson, Sarasota, Port Charlotte,  Riverview, and Kingsland, GA.

Tractor Supply Company voluntarily removed the product in question from its shelves in all 40 stores. In addition, Purina Animal Nutrition initiated a voluntary market withdrawal of the affected product. Consumers may discard the product or return it to their retail purchase location for exchange or refund.

According to Purina Animal Nutrition, there are no expected impacts to human health currently.

The Florida Department of Agriculture collected product and cattle samples from across the state and is in the process of conducting laboratory tests. The department conducted on-site verifications at Tractor Supply Company locations, outreach to Purina Animal Nutrition to facilitate the voluntary withdrawal of the affected product, as well as outreach to the agricultural community.

Veterinarians or producers who are aware of sudden unexplained deaths in cattle should contact the State Veterinarian’s Office at 850-410-0900 (after hours for emergencies please contact 800-342-5869) or [email protected].

For feed-related complaints or concerns, please contact the Bureau of Inspection and Incident Response, Division of Agricultural Environmental Services, at 850-617-7996 or [email protected].

Source: The Florida Department of Agriculture, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like