Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is on stage with Texas Governor Greg Abbott talking new steps to stop the spread of New World Screwworm.
Rollins says USDA will build on their five-point plan that is already in place. USDA will be building a domestic sterile fly facility in Edinburg, Texas, where they will be able to supply 300 million flies per week. They are also dishing out $200 million to help in the meantime, which will buy technology that officials can use to bridge the gap until the facility is built.
Rollins calls the plan a tactical move and says USDA will be proactive with this situation.
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“We got to do something now!”
The event will be hosted during National Farmers Market Week and will run this summer from Sunday, August 3 to Friday, August 8, daily from 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET.
His department will be using a synthetic bait called “Swormlure Five,” which is engineered to smell like an open wound, attracting Screwworm flies to the bait
The network includes labs across the country that track diseases like New World Screwworm, which could see a rise in cases with hurricane season approaching.
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins made the announcement yesterday at the grand opening of a new food safety lab in Missouri, where researchers will do Listeria testing.
