Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Friday that USDA is moving ahead with plans to build a sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base near Edinburg, Texas. When complete, the facility will increase domestic sterile fly production by up to 300 million flies per week to combat the spread of New World screwworm. It will complement a sterile insect dispersal facility set to be completed at the same location later this year. The federal government will invest up to $750 million in the project.
“This facility will triple our current output and eliminate our sole reliance on Panama and Mexico for sterile fly supply, putting America first,” Rollins said. “It’s a tactical move that ensures we are prepared and not just reactive, which it to date what we have really been working through.”
Rollins made the announcement at a joint press conference with Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the state capitol in Austin. He recently commissioned a new state-level response team to address screwworm in Texas. Abbott warned of “dire economic consequences” for the state and country if action is not taken to further stop the spread of New World screwworm.
New World screwworm threat continues
During a June 18 press conference in Edinburg, Rollins said USDA was working on a design process for a new production facility. At the time, the secretary said it would likely take two or three years for the brand-new facility to be up and running. On Friday, Rollins did not provide an exact timeline for the construction, but said USDA would be “fast-tracking in every possible way.”
This is the latest attempt to stop the spread of New World screwworm. In June, Rollins announced a five-point plan to combat the pest in the U.S. and in Mexico. That plan included greater coordination with Mexico and between American states, as well as a $21 billion investment in a Mexico sterile fly facility. Sterile flies have proven to be the most effective tools to combat the invasive insects.
In July, USDA banned livestock imports from Mexico for the third time in eight months after the pest was reported approximately 370 miles from the U.S. border. That ban came only days after Rollins announced the start of a phased reopening of the southern border. USDA also closed the border to livestock trade in November 2024 and May of this year after screwworm were found farther north than previously thought in Mexico.
Rollins says the import band will remain in place “for as long as necessary.”
We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we have to protect our cattle industry, our beef industry in this country, and in doing so, protect our food supply, and in doing so, protect our national security for America,” she said. “Do we expect beef prices to continue to rise? Perhaps, but the safety and the security of our beef and our ranchers have to be at the top of our list.”
The secretary says one “silver lining” of the import ban would be potentially making the U.S. less reliant on non-domestic production to meet the country’s food demands. Rollins added she believes the import ban has not impacted prices yet.
Farm groups welcome news
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says Rollins and USDA “answered the call” of cattle producers across the country by establishing the new domestic sterile fly production facility.
“It took decades to eradicate this parasite from within and adjacent to our borders more than a generation ago, and this is a proactive first step,” Duvall said in an Aug. 15 statement. “Cattle markets are already volatile and the introduction of New World screwworm within the U.S. would only increase that volatility.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Collin Woodall echoed those sentiments, commending Rollins and President Donald Trump for their “swift action” to combat New World screwworm. He said the new production facility is “vital news” for U.S. cattle producers.
“Producing flies domestically under American oversight will overcome supply challenges in Mexico and Central America, strengthening our fight against New World screwworm and protecting herds on both sides of the border,” Woodall says.