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.
Border closures tied to the threat of New World Screwworm continue to stall Mexican fed cattle imports, tightening U.S. feeder cattle supplies over time — triggering feedlot closures that hinder herd rebuilding efforts, threaten the beef supply chain, and shrink production while consumer prices stay elevated.
February 23, 2026 01:40 PM
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Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller joins us to discuss the cattle herd rebuild, trade concerns, and how ranchers would define “America First” policy priorities.
February 13, 2026 12:50 PM
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The USDA opened a new sterile fly-dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in South Texas to prevent a potential outbreak of New World screwworm and protect the small U.S. cattle herd.
February 12, 2026 10:47 AM
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RFD NEWS Correspondent Frank McCaffrey was in Mission, Texas, where state and federal officials addressed growers and producers at a round table event hosted at a citrus grower’s facility. He shows us how welcome news was all around.
February 10, 2026 12:05 PM
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Top issues facing the beef industry took center stage at CattleCon this year in Nashville.
February 06, 2026 04:58 PM
Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, spoke exclusively with RFD NEWS about what Congress is doing to address screwworm concerns, including funding for a sterile fly production facility in Mexico.
February 06, 2026 12:07 PM
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