Pockets of social media are going crazy as farmers are reporting to each other that Tractor Supply (TSCO) private label "Producer's Pride" chicken feed may be to blame for the lack of egg production on their farms:

Bottom line:

Tractor Supply chicken feed is being blamed for low egg production by poultry farmers across the country, in growing numbers.

We do not know the veracity of these claims, but we are starting to see a substantial negative impact on consumer sentiment levels for Tractor Supply stores and their private-label brands.

Because this story has not made it to any mainstream reporting, and chicken feed was not mentioned in this morning's (impressive) earnings release or conference call... we believe the chicken feed issue contains a set of potential risks not yet identified by Wall Street.

While it is still far too early to know if this will materialize into any negative impact for Tractor Supply or its private label partners, it is clear from the trajectory and sentiment of online mentions that Tractor Supply's Reputational risk, Legal risk, Regulatory risk are each greater than zero and have yet to be priced into the stock(s).

We will continue to monitor chatter levels closely.