On August 15, 2025, under the blazing Texas sun, a high-stakes press conference unfolded at the Texas State Capitol. Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins stood shoulder to shoulder, flanked by agricultural leaders, lawmakers, and a throng of reporters. Their message was urgent: a tiny, flesh-eating parasite—the New World screwworm fly—was inching closer to the Texas border, threatening not only the state’s livestock but the entire nation’s food security and economic stability.
For most Texans, the screwworm fly—scientifically known as Cochliomyia hominivorax—was an obscure pest, eradicated from the United States back in the 1960s. But as Rollins explained, the threat was no longer distant. “The threat is real, and the time to act is now,” she declared, referencing recent detections of the parasite just 370 miles south of Texas. According to FOX 4, the screwworm’s larvae burrow into the flesh of living animals, causing severe, often fatal injuries. The parasite doesn’t discriminate: it can infect livestock, pets, wildlife, birds, and, in rare cases, even people.
The economic stakes are staggering. Texas’ food and agriculture sector supports over two million jobs and generates more than $867 billion in economic impact, as detailed by KXXV. Yet all this is at risk. “This could result in billions of dollars in losses a year. It could truly crush the cattle industry and other livestock industry in Texas,” Abbott warned, echoing the fears of ranchers and farmers across the region. Rollins added, “Its peril is not just in the cause but because it endangers the livelihoods of our livestock. It endangers our livestock industry. And it threatens the stability of beef prices across America.”
To confront this looming disaster, the federal government is rolling out its largest initiative yet against the screwworm. As reported by The Texas Tribune and the USDA, the plan centers on an $850 million investment, the lion’s share of which—up to $750 million—will fund the construction of a state-of-the-art sterile fly production facility in Edinburg, Texas, at Moore Air Force Base. This facility, once operational, will produce a staggering 300 million sterile male screwworm flies each week. The sterile insect technique (SIT), which has proven successful in the past, relies on releasing these sterile males into the wild. When they mate with wild females, no offspring are produced, causing the population to plummet.
“The construction of a domestic sterile fly production facility will ensure the United States continues to lead the way in combating this devastating pest. If our ranchers are overrun by foreign pests, then we cannot feed ourselves,” Rollins stated, as quoted in the USDA announcement. The new facility will also create around 300 jobs for the Edinburg area, providing a boost to the local economy even as it serves a national purpose.
But technology alone won’t win this fight. The USDA’s five-pronged plan, unveiled in June and expanded upon at the August press conference, involves a web of federal, state, and private sector collaborations. Up to $100 million will be invested in innovative technologies—novel traps, lures, and therapeutics. Mounted patrol officers, known as “Tick Riders,” will be hired to patrol the border on horseback, serving as the first line of defense against any screwworm incursion. Detector dogs are also being trained to sniff out infestations along the border and at ports of entry, an effort praised by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and agricultural stakeholders.
Surveillance isn’t limited to U.S. soil. The USDA is working closely with Mexican authorities to contain the pest south of the border. According to KSAT, this includes enhancing oversight, providing traps, lures, and training, and verifying Mexico’s eradication efforts. The U.S. has already invested $21 million to renovate a sterile fly facility in Mexico, which will eventually produce up to 100 million sterile flies weekly, complementing the U.S. and Panama’s own facilities. The goal: push the screwworm population back toward the Darien Gap, far from U.S. livestock.
Trade measures have been swift and severe. In May 2025, following detections of the screwworm in Oaxaca and Veracruz, the U.S. closed its southern ports of entry to livestock imports, a move that sent ripples through the cattle industry but was deemed essential by Secretary Rollins. “USDA and Customs and Border Protection are constantly monitoring our ports of entry to keep NWS away from our borders. We are working every day to ensure our American agricultural industry is safe, secure, and resilient,” she told reporters.
The threat is not just economic. As Rollins and Abbott emphasized, the screwworm is a national security concern. Over $100 billion in U.S. economic activity tied to the cattle and livestock industry is at risk, and the ripple effects could extend to grocery store shelves nationwide. “Do we expect beef prices to continue to rise? Perhaps,” Rollins acknowledged, “but the safety and security of our beef and our ranchers has to be at the top of the list.”
Leaders from across the political spectrum have rallied behind the USDA’s plan. President Trump, in a statement, stressed, “We must take all necessary steps to protect our country from foreign pests and diseases that threaten our economy and way of life.” Congressional leaders, state governors, and agricultural organizations—from the American Farm Bureau Federation to the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association—have applauded the swift, decisive action. “This is exactly the kind of forward-looking investment we need to defend our food supply and livestock industry from foreign biological threats,” said Representative Glenn “GT” Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Yet, the fight is far from over. The screwworm, described by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller as “like something straight out of a horror film,” has devastated livestock before. Landowners who remember the outbreaks of the 1950s and 60s are determined not to let history repeat itself. The USDA’s plan is proactive, emphasizing prevention, rapid response, and public engagement. Training webinars, pest alerts, and outreach efforts are underway to ensure veterinarians and animal owners remain vigilant.
As the new sterile fly facility rises in Edinburg and border surveillance intensifies, Texas stands at the front line of a national defense effort. The hope is that with innovation, collaboration, and determination, the screwworm fly will once again be driven back—protecting not just Texas ranchers, but dinner tables across America.