The New World Screwworm has surfaced in U.S. cattle and the response has been swift: sterile fly releases, cross-border coordination, new production facilities, and federal simulations to get everyone pulling in the same direction. This piece walks through why sterile insect technique is our best tool, how past international work informs the response, what USDA and partners have already put in place, and why protecting ranchers and food supply has been treated like a national priority.
Finding screwworm in American herds is a serious wake-up call, but it is a problem we know how to fight. The simplest, most effective approach is also straightforward: mass releases of sterile flies that mate with wild screwworms and collapse their numbers. That tactic has historical success and buys time while surveillance and containment work continue.
As someone who farmed row crops, raised cattle, and served as Ambassador to U.N. food agencies, I know how quickly pests can unravel rural economies. Transboundary animal diseases do more than bite livestock; they can hollow out supply chains and leave lasting damage on communities. That perspective has driven the focus on practical, tested defenses rather than theory.
International coordination matters because pests do not respect borders. In Rome, dealing with Desert Locust taught a blunt lesson: global responses and funding coordination are mandatory if you want results. We used those same playbooks for African Swine Fever and Fall Armyworm—rapid action, clear communication, and investment in containment infrastructure.
US SHUTS SOUTHERN BORDER TO LIVESTOCK IMPORTS TO STOP SPREAD OF DEADLY FLIES
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins moved early and deliberately once screwworm reemerged near U.S. herds. On April 26, 2025, she secured cooperation with Mexico to open airspace for sterile fly releases, eased duties on key equipment, tightened surveillance, and established direct lines of communication across the binational response. Those steps kept the infestation from exploding while production and logistics were ramped up.
Stopping the flies requires capacity, and capacity takes investment. The USDA partnered with Texas officials to fund an $8.5 million sterile fly dispersal facility in South Texas at Moore Air Force Base, designed to put out as many as 300 million sterile flies each week. Parallel investment of $21 million boosted production capacity in southern Mexico so releases there could blunt northward movement before it became unmanageable.
Coordination across agencies turns plans into action. In January 2026, USDA, Homeland Security, CDC, and Interior ran a two-part screwworm simulation that drew more than 250 decision-makers from federal, state, local, and tribal governments. Exercises like that iron out who moves when, how to close vulnerable pathways, and how to scale responses quickly when a new outbreak appears.
These steps matter because time and preparation are the only things that reduce the harm to producers and consumers. Sterile insect releases are proven; infrastructure upgrades and binational flight corridors make them practical at scale. The smart move is to double down on what works, keep supply lines short, and ensure farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to protect animals and livelihoods.
The current effort reflects a broader approach: act early, partner broadly, and fund the infrastructure that prevents small outbreaks from becoming economic disasters. That’s how you defend American agriculture and show support for rural communities who feed the nation. The choices made so far make clear that protecting farmers and food supply is being treated with the seriousness it deserves.
