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Cattle industry urges action as screwworm fly spreads north

The CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the detection of New World screwworm just 70 miles from the southern border is concerning. Colin Woodall says, “Time is no longer on our side.”

He says getting new sterile fly facilities online won’t happen overnight.  “In the meantime, it’s important that the Secretary also continue the work on new technologies,” he says.  “Things such as electronic beams or modular systems that could help get some flies up and going a little bit more quickly than what we would expect from the domestic facility that will be under construction.”

Woodall tells Brownfield that the life cycle of the New World screwworm fly will force producers to spend more time evaluating their cattle. “It can be a matter of hours from the time that the female lays its eggs until the larvae have hatched and start boring into the animal,” he says.  “So you may be out among your cattle on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean on Wednesday you may not have a significant issue on your hands.”

Wayne Cockrell runs a stocker operation in College Station, Texas, and is the cattle health and well-being chair for the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.  He says ramping up sterile fly production is crucial, but so is restricting cattle movement from infested areas of Mexico. “The same process that we had on our southern border with Mexico has got to be implemented there,” he says.  “Until we do that, it’s just going to continue to move northward.”

He says animal husbandry practices for stockers and feedyards aren’t likely to change much, but for cow/calf operators, it’s a different story. “Are there facilities available that you could pen an animal and doctor it,” he asks.  “I say, doctor, not necessarily just to treat for screwworms if you find them, but if you find a cut or an injury on an animal. If you don’t doctor an open wound, that’s just an invitation for a screwworm.”

Cockrell says some producers are bringing back techniques used prior to the pests’ eradication. “Once we brand, we can take some used hydraulic oil, motor oil, and rub that on the brand,” he says. “That certainly helps.”

Woodall says NCBA is urging the EPA to authorize new pesticide products to combat the pests and provide another available tool for cattle producers.  He says the group is pleased that the Food and Drug Administration has announced it is working to authorize emergency treatments for screwworm.

Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development says inspection protocols are helping to minimize the northward spread of New World screwworm.

The agency says Mexico’s National Service of Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality intercepted the animal following a thorough inspection of a shipment of cattle upon arrival at the feedlot.  All cattle in the shipment were treated with ivermectin to prevent any additional risk.  Mexico’s government says the case was detected early, and the larvae were in an early stage, and there was no possibility of the fly emerging, minimizing the risk of NWS spreading in a “free zone”. 

Mexico says the trapping system established throughout northern Mexico has not detected any flies.

Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture, Julio Berdegué, and U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins continue to work together to contain the spread of NWS.