On August 15, 2025, Secretary Brooke Rollins stood at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, flanked by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, to deliver a message that resonated far beyond the Lone Star State’s borders. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), she announced, is launching a $750 million initiative to construct a vast factory on Moore Air Base outside Edinburg, Texas, just 20 miles from the Mexican border. The mission? To breed billions of sterile male New World screwworm flies—a tactical move to protect the American cattle industry from a flesh-eating parasite making alarming advances northward through Mexico.
"Farm security is national security," Rollins emphasized, underscoring the gravity of the threat. According to the Associated Press, the New World screwworm, once a formidable foe for American ranchers, had been largely eradicated from U.S. soil in the 1970s thanks to a pioneering method: releasing sterile male flies to disrupt the breeding cycle of the wild population. The strategy worked so well that fly factories in the U.S. were shuttered for decades. But now, with the parasite creeping closer—an infestation was reported just 370 miles south of the Texas border in July—the USDA is ramping up its defenses once again.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. If the screwworm were to establish itself in Texas, the economic fallout could reach into the billions, threatening not just cattle but also wildlife, household pets, and, in rare cases, humans. Retail beef prices, already at record highs, could soar even further, fanning the flames of inflation and putting additional strain on consumers nationwide. As Rollins put it during her news conference, "All Americans should be concerned. But it’s certainly Texas and our border and livestock producing states that are on the front lines of this every day."
The USDA’s plan is as ambitious as it is urgent. Within a year, the new Texas factory aims to be releasing up to 300 million sterile male screwworm flies each week. These flies, unable to produce viable offspring, will mate with wild females, which only mate once in their brief lives. The result? Eggs that never hatch, and a wild population that dwindles away. It’s a race against time, and the numbers are staggering: the Panama fly factory can produce up to 117 million sterile flies per week, and a new Mexican facility is expected to add another 100 million. But with the Texas plant, the U.S. is poised to take the lead in this high-stakes biological battle.
But the factory is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Rollins also detailed a $100 million investment in advanced technology, including fly traps and lures, and an intensified border patrol effort. “Tick riders” on horseback—evoking images of the Old West—will join the fight, while specially trained dogs will be deployed to sniff out the parasite. The border, meanwhile, remains firmly closed to cattle, horse, and bison imports from Mexico until the pest is pushed back toward Panama, where containment efforts had held until late last year. This is no small matter for Mexico, whose cattle industry has been hit hard by both the screwworm and the repeated closures of the U.S. border—three times in the past eight months alone, according to reports from CultureMap Houston and the Associated Press.
In June, the USDA announced plans to convert an existing fruit fly breeding factory at Moore Air Base into a facility dedicated to producing sterile screwworm flies. Alongside this, a new site is being developed to gather flies imported from Panama and release them via small aircraft, with both projects carrying a combined price tag of $29.5 million. The goal is clear: to end U.S. reliance on fly breeding operations in Mexico and Panama, a priority for President Donald Trump’s administration. “It’s a tactical move that ensures we are prepared and not just reactive, which is today what we have really been working through,” Rollins explained, as quoted by the Associated Press.
Cross-border cooperation remains a linchpin in this fight. Mexico’s Agriculture ministry announced that Secretary Julio Berdegué Sacristán and Rollins have signed a screwworm control action plan. This agreement includes monitoring with fly-attracting traps and a mandate that livestock can only be moved within Mexico through government-certified corrals. On the X social media platform, Berdegué expressed optimism: “We will continue with conversations that lead to actions that will permit the reopening of livestock exports.” The hope is that these coordinated efforts will eventually allow for the safe resumption of cross-border trade—a lifeline for ranchers on both sides.
For the American cattle industry, the specter of the screwworm is all too familiar. Decades ago, the pest’s flesh-eating maggots caused untold misery and economic loss, until the U.S. pioneered the use of the sterile insect technique. By flooding the environment with sterile males, wild females were left with no chance to reproduce, and the population collapsed. The approach was so successful that it became a model for pest control worldwide. But nature is relentless, and as the screwworm pushes north again, the old playbook is being dusted off—with some 21st-century upgrades.
Still, challenges abound. The rapid northward movement of the screwworm through Mexico has already forced the USDA to suspend live-cattle imports across the southern border, as reported by KCBD in May. The economic pain is felt keenly in both countries, with American officials worried about the ripple effects on beef prices and inflation, while Mexican ranchers face devastating losses and restricted access to their largest export market.
As the new Texas factory gears up for operation, the sense of urgency is palpable. The USDA’s multi-pronged approach—combining cutting-edge technology, old-fashioned horseback patrols, and international collaboration—reflects the complexity of the threat. It’s not just about protecting cattle; it’s about safeguarding an entire way of life, from the family ranches of Texas to dinner tables across America.
The next year will be critical. If the USDA’s efforts succeed, the screwworm may once again be pushed back, sparing the U.S. cattle industry from a costly and painful resurgence. If not, the consequences could be felt in every grocery store and steakhouse in the country. For now, the battle lines are drawn, the flies are being bred, and the hope is that science—and a little bit of Texas grit—will carry the day.