Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plan to fund and build a domestic sterile fly production facility, calling it a critical step in protecting Texas livestock and wildlife from the New World screwworm.
The announcement came Friday, Aug. 15, at the Texas State Capitol, where USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined plans to construct a $750 million factory on Moore Air Base near Edinburg, about 20 miles from the Texas-Mexico border.
Officials say the facility will breed billions of sterile male flies to be released into the wild within a year, aiming to prevent the pest from spreading north from Mexico and causing potentially catastrophic losses to the U.S. cattle industry.
“The commitment to fund and construct a domestic sterile fly production facility is not just welcome news, it’s a vital investment in safeguarding our livestock, wildlife, rural communities, and consumers who rely on a safe and stable food supply,” Boening said. “A domestic outbreak of NWS could result in catastrophic losses, with estimates of $1.8 billion annually in Texas cattle alone and more than $10.6 billion nationally.”
The USDA also announced plans to deploy $100 million in technology, including fly traps and lures, increase border patrols with mounted “tick riders,” and train dogs to detect the parasite.
Officials say the U.S. will keep its border closed to cattle, horse, and bison imports from Mexico until officials confirm the pest is being pushed south toward Panama, where sterile fly programs have largely contained the problem.
Rollins called farm security national security and warned that Texas and other border states are on the front lines.
The parasite, which attacks cattle, wildlife, pets, and occasionally humans, was eradicated in the U.S. in the 1970s through similar sterile fly releases.
Boening said Texas Farm Bureau members had advocated for a domestic production facility and worked with USDA and congressional leaders to reach the milestone.
He praised the Trump administration for taking decisive action and said the bureau looks forward to continuing collaboration to protect livestock, wildlife, and the state’s agricultural economy.
The Texas factory would be the first of its kind in decades on U.S. soil. The sterile males are released in numbers large enough to outcompete wild males, producing eggs that do not hatch and eventually reducing the pest population.
Mexico’s agriculture ministry said the two countries also signed a screwworm control plan involving monitoring, certified livestock corrals, and limited movement of animals within Mexico.
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