NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD NEWS) — USDA has confirmed New World screwworm in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas, marking the first detection of the livestock pest in the state since 1966. Larvae were identified in the calf’s umbilical area, and USDA reports no additional detections to date.
USDA and Texas animal health officials are forming a unified response team and establishing a 12.5-mile (20km) infested zone around the detection. Response measures include quarantine, livestock movement controls, surveillance, and expanded trapping.
Officials are also moving sterile fly releases into the affected area. USDA says ground-release chambers will be deployed immediately, adding to the 4 million sterile flies already aerially dispersed each week in the area.
For ranchers, the detection raises immediate concern over animal health, treatment costs, and cattle movement. USDA urges producers to check livestock and pets for enlarging or draining wounds, especially around newborn animals’ navels, and report suspected cases quickly.
USDA says the food supply remains safe and is working to limit trade restrictions to defined geographic areas. The response now depends on quickly identifying additional cases and containing the pest before it spreads.
Industry Experts Urge Producers Not to Panic
After more than a year of preparation, the New World screwworm has been officially detected in the United States. While the discovery has placed the livestock industry on high alert, analysts and industry leaders say the situation remains manageable.
Tom Leffler joined Market Specialist Scott Shellady on Thursday’s Commodity Talk and stressed that the detection does not pose a food safety risk.
“The most important thing for everybody to realize is that it is not hampering our food safety. There’s no risk to our food safety. This is not a disease,” Leffler said.
He explained that screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds, where larvae feed on living tissue before dropping to the soil and eventually emerging as adult flies.
Leffler said sensational descriptions of the pest risk create unnecessary concern in the marketplace.
“We’re going to be able to control the screwworm. It’s not the end of the world. Let’s just hope everybody can keep a calm head this morning,” he said.
Tracy Tomascik with the Texas Farm Bureau also joined Market Day Report to provide an update on the confirmed case and outline response efforts underway in South Texas.
“As of now, the only confirmed case is in a three-week-old calf located on a ranch in Zavala County, South Texas, not far from the border,” Tomascik said.
He noted that state and federal animal health officials have already implemented containment measures, including a temporary stop-movement order and a designated quarantine zone.
“The initial phase of the protocol, when you find an index case—in this case, what’s happened—a 72-hour stop order was placed on that ranch, and then a quarantine and stop-movement zone was designated by the Texas Animal Health Commission,” he said. “Right now, state and federal agencies are working with landowners to increase surveillance and evaluate surrounding herds to locate any additional cases.”
Tomascik said while the detection presents a management challenge, it is not considered a food safety issue, and producers now have more tools available than during past outbreaks.
“This is a management issue. By no means is this a food safety issue, but a production and productivity situation,” he said. “The burden falls on livestock owners, wildlife managers, and landowners, and it will require time, effort, and additional expense. But we have a much larger toolbox than we did 60 years ago, including improved treatments, surveillance technology, and sterile fly programs.”
He added that Texas producers are actively engaged in surveillance efforts and encouraged continued reporting of any suspected cases.
“We’re encouraging producers to continue and even ratchet up surveillance efforts,” Tomascik said. “The ‘see something, say something’ approach is critical, because the screwworm fly does not care what species of animal it finds. It needs a warm-blooded host to complete its life cycle, and we have tools available to stop it quickly once identified.”
Tomascik also said livestock movement can continue under current protocols, provided animals are inspected and cleared through existing permitting and monitoring systems.
The Big Concern: AI-Driven Markets React to Headline Risk
While the biological threat may be contained, Leffler says market reaction remains a significant concern.
“Might also mention, since the all-time record high on May 1st in August feeder cattle to yesterday’s low, we’ve dropped $38.65, the lowest level we’ve been since March 16th. And that is a real large loss to the cattlemen right there.”
Shellady suggested markets could initially react negatively to the news, but Leffler believes the long-term cattle fundamentals remain supportive.
“We’ve lost more cattle due to drought and other situations, and it’s going to continue to keep the fundamentals tight, which should be price-positive to the market,” Leffler said. “We should start to see these cash markets start to work their way back up.”
Both analysts expressed concern that algorithm-driven trading could amplify fear-driven market moves, worried that AI trades might make a tough situation worse.
“The guys are concerned,” Leffler said. “They’re not overly worried, but they are concerned because they’re worried that people will take this wrong, react wrong, and they’re worried about how the AI consideration might push this market down.”
The Real Worry: Added Costs May Be the Biggest Challenge
Other analysts believe the largest long-term impact may be the added expense of monitoring and treating livestock.
Arlan Suderman with StoneX joined Tony St. James and Eliza Petry on Thursday’s Market Day Report and said the industry has benefited from a year of preparation.
“I think keeping the border closed over the past year has really helped us slow its movement in the United States, but the USDA has largely been on top of this,” Suderman said. “They have a plan in place. They’re working on this along with industry groups.”
Suderman said producers will likely face increased labor and treatment costs as they monitor cattle more closely.
“This is mostly a problem for the cattle producers,” he said. “What this means is that they have to spend more time and expense inspecting their cattle on a daily basis and treating them. If they do so, they can maintain their herd. It just increases their costs, and that’s the main problem here.”
Brady Huck with Advanced Trading echoed those concerns, saying management practices will likely tighten at the producer level.
“I think you’re going to be monitoring the health of your own animals much more closely,” Huck said. “You’re going to be paying attention to what animals you bring into your herd, into your pastures, your neighbors, the fence. You know, fences keep animals where they’re at, but animals can get through fences too.”
He said proximity to confirmed cases will likely determine how intensively producers respond.
“The closer you are to the reported cases, I think the more attention you’ve got to pay to what’s happening right there,” Huck said.
Despite the added vigilance, Huck emphasized that consumers should remain confident in the safety of the beef supply.
“But I think the important thing right now is it’s important for consumers to know that U.S. beef is safe,” he said. “Consumers can have confidence that U.S. beef is safe to eat, safe to consume.”
Huck added that while screwworm cases can be serious if left untreated, producers have effective tools available when issues are identified early.
“If you’ve got a calf that gets hit by the screwworm, it’s not fatal if you can get to it,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of tools to deal with it as long as you get to it in a timely manner.”
The Big Question: Can We Now Resume Cattle Trade with Mexico?
Suderman also noted that questions remain regarding cattle movement restrictions and the future of the feeder cattle import ban from Mexico.
“We heard that there’s a 12-mile quarantine area around where it was first identified. How might that expand? Will there be limitations on the movement of cattle out of Texas to feedlots elsewhere?” Suderman said. “There are a lot of implications for that, very few for the consumer from that standpoint, other than the increased cost to the producer.”
While keeping the border closed helped contain the parasite in Mexico for nearly a year, Suderman wonders whether now might be an appropriate time to end the import ban on feeder cattle.
“What does this mean for keeping the border with Mexico closed? Is there a reason to keep it closed, or do we now see more feeder cattle coming north from Mexico, increasing our supplies to feedlots and packers here in the United States?” Suderman told RFD News. “There are pros and cons to that. And so that’s what we’ll be navigating here in the weeks and months ahead.”
Industry experts are increasingly worried that the prolonged halt on feeder cattle imports from Mexico could permanently reshape the U.S. beef supply chain, especially as Mexico continues to expand its processing capacity.
Beyond Beef: Other Animals Potentially at Risk
Experts note that screwworm is not limited to cattle and can affect a wide range of animals.
“Any animal, frankly, even down to pets,” Suderman said. “If you see any open wound, continuously check that wound and treat it to help it heal and monitor it just to make sure there’s nothing in there.”
Suderman said USDA, the Texas Animal Health Commission, the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and other industry groups have spent months preparing for this possibility and are now implementing established response plans.
“They’ve got a plan,” Suderman said. “So now it’s time to go on the offense, if you will.”
The dairy industry is closely monitoring recent confirmation of New World screwworm while also celebrating National Dairy Month, with more than 70 on-farm events scheduled across the state throughout June.
Chad Vincent with Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin joined us to discuss industry response to animal health concerns and the importance of June Dairy Month in connecting consumers with modern dairy production.
Vincent said the industry is actively monitoring developments related to New World screwworm in coordination with veterinarians and state and federal animal health officials. He emphasized that the pest does not impact the safety of milk or dairy products, and that the primary focus remains on protecting animal health and keeping producers informed.
“The good news is, I mean, this is a livestock pest, and this has absolutely no effect on the safety of milk or dairy, which is really near and dear to the dairy industry in the state of Wisconsin,” Vincent told RFD News. “We’re working with veterinarians, working with the state experts, the federal experts, and right now it’s really just monitoring it and making sure that we keep the farmers up to date on everything they can do to make sure that they continue to keep the herd safe.”
The conversation also highlighted Wisconsin’s June Dairy Month events, which include breakfasts, farm tours, and educational activities designed to welcome consumers onto dairy farms and provide a firsthand look at how milk is produced. Vincent noted that these events help bridge the gap between farmers and consumers by offering transparency into animal care, environmental stewardship, and day-to-day farm operations, while also helping dispel common misconceptions about modern dairy production.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s really a chance for them to get out and see firsthand,” Vincent explained. “And what we find is it dispels a lot of myths and misconceptions that they might have about what happens on a dairy farm. When they get on there, and they meet the farmers, they meet the families, they see the community, they actually get to go on tours and see how the cows are treated.”
Key Takeaway: Food Safety Not at Risk
USDA officials and industry analysts continue to stress that New World screwworm does not pose a food safety threat.
“If a wound is treated quickly, that animal will completely recover,” St. James explained. “And if it’s, let’s say, a calf, it can go right back into the food supply. It’s not a food safety issue.”
However, Suderman said investors and traders may react to headlines without fully understanding the biology behind the pest.
“It’s not what we know that we fear; it’s what we don’t know and how they respond,” Suderman said. “Even the algos, many of them respond simply by reading headlines.”
Final Thought: Trade Concerns Remain on the Radar
Analysts are also monitoring whether trading partners could use the detection as justification for restricting U.S. beef imports.
“It’s always something you need to monitor in case a country uses this politically as an excuse to cut off exports of U.S. beef to their country,” Suderman said.
However, he noted that countries such as Mexico and Brazil have continued exporting beef despite dealing with screwworm and said there is little biological justification for trade disruptions.
Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions echoed that assessment, describing the current situation as primarily a headline-driven market event.
“The good part that we know is this is not harmful to the food supply. There’s no risk to humans consuming this meat,” Hoops said. “It can be contained, can be controlled, but it is the first outbreak since 1966, and it just is going to have headline risk. That’s all there is to it.”
Hoops added that the longer-term fundamentals of the cattle market remain largely unchanged and suggested the situation could eventually influence discussions surrounding cattle imports from Mexico.
