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NCBA says increased sterile fly production is critical to stop NWS from reaching the U.S. border

New World screwworm has been inching closer to the U.S. border and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says pushing it back remains a priority.  

CEO Colin Woodall says reports of New World screwworm have been on the rise, and that’s expected to continue as temperatures warm up.  There have been more than 15 reported detections of NWS in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and there are 13 cases currently active. 

“USDA is doing everything they can to try to slow it down as much as they can,” he says. “And so that’s why they’ve shifted what we call these polygons, the area where they map out where they are dropping these sterile flies, that is now moving into South Texas.” 

 He tells Brownfield the key to eradicating the pest is the number of sterile flies available. “And right now, we still only have one facility that is producing about 115 to 117 million flies a week,” he says. “We know that once it gets further into northern Mexico and into Texas and beyond, that we’re going to need anywhere from 4 to 500 million flies.” 

Woodall says it will be at least a year before the domestic fly facility comes online, but the facility in Mexico could be up and running this summer.   “And that would give us at least another 100 million a week,” he says.  “Every fly counts right now.”

While the goal is to keep the pest out of the U.S., the industry does have tools to treat animals if needed.

The are no detections of NWS in the United States, and the northernmost active case is still about 200 miles away from the southern U.S. border. 

AUDIO: Colin Woodall, CEO, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association