USDA officially broke ground on a $750 million sterile fly production facility Friday in Edinburg, Texas, marking a major escalation in the fight against the New World screwworm (NWS). Located at Moore Air Base, this facility will provide the U.S. with a domestic supply of sterile flies — up to 300 million per week — to protect livestock, wildlife and the national food supply chain from the invasive parasite.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she did not have an announcement about the reopening of the U.S.-Mexico border. On Wednesday, a report from a state official in Mexico incorrectly claimed that USDA has set a date to resume livestock imports from Mexico. According to Rollins and an USDA APHIS social media post, the claim is not accurate.
“Every day we are analyzing,” she says. “We’ve never been in a better position than we are in today, to a path. Now, I want to be very clear: New World screwworm is only about 200 miles from this border, so there will not be a port opening in Texas until it is significantly pushed back. But New World screwworm is roughly around 800 miles from the Douglas, Ariz., port and the two ports in New Mexico. So, we are looking every day to make sure we are protecting our livestock and national security.”
Rollins did announce she will be at the Douglas port next Friday, April 24, taking a firsthand look at that border crossing.
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