The markets are ready for the U.S. border to reopen today for shipments of cattle, bison, and equines from Mexico. Imports to the U.S. were shut down in early May on concerns of New World Screwworm.
Today’s reopening is part of a phased plan by the USDA. Right now, the crossing in Douglas, Arizona, poses the lowest risk, according to the Department. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says after the crossing reopens in Arizona, the Department will reevaluate to make sure no cases of the disease resurface.
Other parts of the USDA’s plan include reopening the Moore Air Base in South Texas as a sterile fly facility. The U.S. currently has a sterile fly facility in Panama and is retrofitting a facility in Mexico to produce sterile flies. Officials in Texas are dispersing fly traps along the Rio Grande to monitor the pest.
Douglas, Arizona, is just one of five crossings on the calendar to reopen this year. Later this month, crossings in Columbus and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, are set to open. Then, in August, crossings in Del Rio, Texas, are scheduled to resume, and in mid-September, the crossing in Laredo, Texas, could get the all-clear. All of these reopenings are dependent on the current cases of New World Screwworm.
“USDA can no longer keep wasting its time and personnel to deploy Commissioner Miller’s infamous traps, which USDA has deployed, tested, and has proven ineffective.”
October 14, 2025 01:19 PM
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“Good flies? Is that like a good fire ant?” Miller said. “I don’t know what a good fly is. I don’t know if they’re afraid to kill house flies or stable flies, but I’m ready to kill the screwworm fly.”
October 13, 2025 01:28 PM
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Large animal veterinarian Dr. Rosalyn Biggs with Oklahoma State University warns producers may not be prepared for the real threat of New World Screwworm.
October 09, 2025 01:10 PM
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Mexico’s tougher, two-step treatment and added checkpoints are catching cases before they can spread—good news for producers near the border.
October 07, 2025 10:55 AM
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October 01, 2025 10:02 AM
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Fewer placements and historically low marketings point to tighter cattle supplies ahead, with Nebraska and Kansas gaining ground as Texas feedlots face supply pressure and the threat of New World Screwworm.
September 24, 2025 03:40 PM
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What is it like working cattle with an outbreak of New World Screwworm so close to home? Wayne Cockrell, with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, joined us on Wednesday to discuss.
September 24, 2025 12:29 PM
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“We believe that it is just a matter of days or weeks... before we see New World screwworm in Texas.”
September 23, 2025 11:08 AM
September 23, 2025 09:42 AM
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