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Texas cattle producer says protecting the U.S. cattle herd is top priority as USDA weighs reopening border to Mexican cattle
A cow-calf operator in southeast Texas says when it comes to resuming live cattle imports from Mexico protecting the health of the U.S. cattle herd is the top priority. Stephen Diebel is president of the Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association. “We want to do what’s best for the industry, but I think first and foremost, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got assurances in place to protect that in order for the border to be open,” he says.
During the organization’s recent meeting, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA is considering a phased reopening. She said more details on the plan would be available within the next month. The U.S. border has been closed to live cattle imports from Mexico more than a year due to the persistent threat of New World screwworm. There have been no cases of the pest detected in the United States.
Diebel tells Brownfield the only way to effectively fight the pest is with sterile flies, but more production is needed and it will take time. There are currently about 100-milion flies being produced at the COPEG facility in Panama. “Then the Matapa facility is coming on with maybe an additional 65 to 70 million flies per week,” he says. “And then also the Moore Airfield base, which will be the new fly production facility in South Texas and Edinburgh. And that’s going to produce another, you know, maybe 300 million on top of that.”
The facility in Matapa, Mexico is expected to start production sometime this summer and the facility in south Texas is projected to be online by late 2027.
New World screwworm has continued to push north in Mexico, but for the most part, has stayed around 200 miles south of the Texas border.
There have been no cases of New World screwworm detected in the United States.
AUDIO: Stephen Diebel, Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association
PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW CATTLE TO COME ACROSS THE BORDER……YOU CAN NOT TRUST MEXICO AT THIS POINT! WE MUST WAIT FOR MORE PROTECTION!