The U.S. government has announced plans to build a $750 million facility in southern Texas dedicated to breeding billions of sterile flies. This initiative aims to prevent flesh-eating maggots from Mexico from crossing the border and threatening the American cattle industry.
Secretary Brooke Rollins shared details on Friday, indicating that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects to start producing and releasing sterile male New World screwworm flies within a year at the new factory located at Moore Air Base, just 20 miles from the border. The USDA will also invest $100 million in technology, including fly traps and lures, while enhancing border patrol efforts with mounted “tick riders” and trained dogs to locate the pest.
Furthermore, the U.S. will maintain its ban on cattle, horse, and bison imports from Mexico until officials are confident that the pest is being pushed back toward Panama, where it was previously contained. Over the past eight months, imports have been halted three different times, the most recent being in July due to an infestation reported about 370 miles from Texas.
Officials are deeply concerned that if the screwworm reaches Texas, it could cause significant economic damage, potentially adding to the already soaring retail beef prices. The parasite poses risks not only to livestock but also to wildlife, pets, and occasionally, humans.
“Farm security is national security,” Rollins stated during a press conference in Austin, alongside Texas Governor Greg Abbott. She emphasized that all Americans should pay attention, especially those in Texas and other livestock-producing states who face this issue daily.
The screwworm has been a problem for the American cattle sector for decades but was largely eradicated in the 1970s through a program of releasing sterile male flies. After achieving this success, fly breeding operations in the U.S. were closed.
The Mexican cattle industry has suffered due to these infestations and the resulting U.S. border closures. In response, Mexico’s Agriculture Ministry announced a collaborative action plan with the U.S. to monitor the situation and restrict livestock movement within Mexico.
The new Texas facility will be the first fly-breeding factory in the U.S. in decades and signifies a renewed commitment by the USDA to use sterile fly breeding to control the pest. The sterile males are meant to mate with wild females, ensuring that no new offspring are produced, gradually reducing the wild fly population.
Additionally, plans are in place to repurpose an existing factory for breeding fruit flies into one for breeding sterile New World Screwworm flies, with total expected costs around $29.5 million. The new factory in Texas is projected to produce up to 300 million flies per week, aiming to reduce reliance on breeding facilities in Mexico and Panama.
“This is a proactive approach that prepares us rather than just reacting to threats,” Rollins remarked.
