News

NWS border closure update

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says there are no plans to resume imports of live cattle from Mexico anytime soon. 

Rollins told reporters during Commodity Classic that New World screwworm is still too close to the U.S. “Every day, I get an update and every day, I have to make the decision to continue to protect livestock on our side of the border. 

She says making the decision to keep ports of entry closed is an incredibly difficult call. 

But until the new production facility comes only, there aren’t  enough flies to eradicate the pest. “My hope is that we can do enough with what we have to push it back, and once we do push it back, then we will look at Douglas, Arizona. Then, we will look at New Mexico, and we’ll begin to think about that. 

But as of today, Rollins says the pest continues to move northward. 

She says a new dispersal facility just opened in Edinburg, Texas and the sterile fly production facility is set to open this summer in Metapa, Mexico.  It will produce an additional 50 to 60 million flies per week once it is operational.  She says the department continues to move the dispersal area (often referred to as the polygon) into southern Texas. 

The USDA says the sterile pupae will be dyed a different color to help officials quickly rule the fly out as a threat. 

Rollins says the department has added more boots on the ground and has added air surveillance to monitor movement of New World screwworm. 

New World screwworm has NOT been detected in the United States.  U.S. ports have been closed to live cattle imports from Mexico for more than a year.