Chunn Farms in East Milton, Florida walked out one morning to find their entire specialty flocks dead.
That was May 8 – and Florida Power and Light's response was to tell everyone the herbicide their contractor sprayed is not harmful to animals.
A Florida state senator read that and decided he'd heard enough.
FPL's Contractor Sprayed. Fifty Chickens Died. A Beekeeper Lost Three Quarters of Her Colony. FPL Says It's Fine.
Senator Don Gaetz sent a formal letter to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson on May 28 demanding a "comprehensive investigation" into aerial herbicide spraying that hit Santa Rosa County on May 8 and May 20.
A helicopter operated by Industrial Helicopters LLC of Louisiana – contracted by Florida Power and Light to clear vegetation under power lines – flew a route from East Milton to Pace, spraying Tahoe 3A herbicide along the way.
Chunn Farms lost their entire specialty flocks – Lavender Ameraucanas, Welsummers, and Death Layers – breeds that take years to build and thousands of dollars to replace.
They threw out hundreds of dollars in feed they couldn't risk giving to surviving animals.
Then the reports started arriving from neighbors along the flight path – dead wildlife, the same scene repeated across miles of route.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2060101526513721635?s=20
Mellisa Kalis is a beekeeper in Santa Rosa County and president of the local beekeepers association.
She walked out to her hives on May 8 and found 75 percent of her field bees dead.
A state apiary inspector came out and confirmed it had nothing to do with her beekeeping practices.
FPL's official position: the herbicide is industry standard, approved for this kind of use, and not harmful to animals.
You've heard that script before.
"Won't Harm Anything But Weeds" – Where This Corporate Script Ends
Monsanto told Americans for decades that its herbicides were safe for animals and wildlife.
Their advertising claimed the product "won't harm anything but weeds" and does not pose a threat to animal wildlife.
Bayer – which acquired Monsanto in 2018 – paid $6.9 million to settle with New York's attorney general after the state proved those claims were false and misleading.
The settlement revealed the company had made the same promises and been caught making them in a previous agreement with New York's attorney general.
Same script. Different decade.
https://twitter.com/dotconnectinga/status/2060005531113099482?s=20
Now FPL is telling Santa Rosa County families that an herbicide their contractor sprayed from a helicopter – over occupied farmland, on multiple passes – is not harmful to animals.
The 50 dead chickens and the wiped-out bee colony disagree.
Don Gaetz Is Not Accepting the Statement
Gaetz's letter to Simpson demands GPS records, flight logs, and aerial application data from both spray dates.
It asks for the pilot's full licensing status.
It demands identification of every chemical applied, not just the one FPL is comfortable discussing.
It asks whether the helicopter violated minimum safe operating procedures and whether it created a hazardous proximity to occupied agricultural property.
And the most consequential question in the letter: what exactly is the contractual relationship between Florida Power and Light and the Louisiana company flying that helicopter?
"It is discouraging that a company like Florida Power and Light is using a contractor who apparently has been somewhat careless," Gaetz said. He added that if there's a causal link back to FPL, the company needs to "take action and make sure they don't do this kind of thing to people again."
Commissioner Simpson didn't wait for the letter.
"FDACS launched an investigation yesterday based on a complaint from the impacted farm," Simpson said. "FDACS is on the ground now and we will ensure that all Florida laws and regulations were followed. If not, our department will take appropriate action."
https://twitter.com/annvandersteel/status/2060132929250972019?s=20
He confirmed the EPA has also joined.
That's the Florida Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a sitting state senator – all bearing down on FPL and a Louisiana helicopter company over a family farm in the Florida Panhandle.
What FPL Is Hoping You Don't Ask
Florida Power and Light is the largest electric utility in Florida – 5 million customers, $18 billion in annual revenue, a regulated monopoly Floridians have no choice but to use.
When its contractor killed 50 specialty chickens and destroyed 75 percent of a beekeeper's field colony, FPL's first move was a statement about how the herbicide is safe and industry-approved.
Not an apology. Not a cleanup crew. A press release.
The question Gaetz's investigation will force into the open isn't whether Tahoe 3A is approved for use near power lines.
It's whether FPL's contract with Industrial Helicopters LLC required any safety protocols for the farms and apiaries directly beneath the flight path – and whether FPL exercised any oversight of a contractor it now admits it has used before.
When Monsanto ran the "safe for animals" script, it took a state attorney general and $6.9 million to make them stop.
Chunn Farms doesn't have time for a decade of litigation.
They have dead chickens and an empty coop.
Sources:
- Kennedy Owens, "Sen. Don Gaetz calls for investigation into spraying operation alleged to have caused animal deaths," Florida's Voice, May 28, 2026.
- "Santa Rosa County farm, beekeeper report animal deaths after FPL helicopter spray," WEAR TV, May 29, 2026.
- "Gaetz requests state investigation into alleged FPL spraying that killed chickens, bees," Santa Rosa Press Gazette, May 28, 2026.
- "Low-Flying Helicopter Sparked Dead Livestock And Chemical Drift? Florida Senator Demands Answers," Tampa Free Press, May 28, 2026.
- "Bayer reaches $6.9 million settlement with New York over Roundup weed killer safety concerns," CBS News New York.
