MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (RFD-TV) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins met in Mexico City this week to discuss reopening the border to Mexican feeder cattle amid continued concerns over the New World Screwworm.
While both governments praised the cooperation on eradication efforts, no timeline was set to resume imports. According to a press release from the Mexican government, “the two leaders held a respectful, cordial and productive discussion reviewing progress in technical and commercial cooperation in the agri-food sector, as well as other matters of mutual interest.”
For decades, Mexico has been a critical supply partner for U.S. feedyards — historically shipping more than one million feeder cattle per year north, with flows typically strongest into Texas and New Mexico. This year, shipments have been near zero since spring, leaving a hole in a market already dealing with its smallest cattle herd in decades.
“Both delegations reaffirmed the importance of maintaining permanent, high-level communication channels between the relevant authorities of both countries,” said Mexico’s statement about the meeting. “They renewed their commitment to combating screwworm in cattle, facilitating agricultural trade, and protecting animal health in North America.”
The pause comes as cattle supplies remain historically tight and domestic calf numbers struggle to meet feedlot capacity. Industry sources estimate roughly a quarter-million head are currently staged in northern Mexico, ready to move once USDA lifts restrictions. Those cattle represent weeks of potential placements for U.S. yards and could offer gradual relief to packer throughput and wholesale beef supplies.
The Sheinbaum–Rollins meeting signals progress, but the focus remains on fully containing screwworm before cross-border movement resumes — a process driven by surveillance benchmarks and sterile-fly deployment rather than price pressure.
In the meantime, the delay intensifies financial stress in cattle country. Smaller and family-owned feedlots in Texas and New Mexico — already short on placements — face rising risk of empty pens, consolidation, or closures if imports remain stalled. The reopening question now sits at the intersection of food security, animal-health strategy, and rural economic stability: restoring a once-routine cattle flow that helped balance supply on both sides of the border has become a critical test for the beef supply chain.
