USDA Expects NWS Sterile Fly Production Facility In Texas To Open Early

USDA recently announced the New World screwworm (NWS) sterile fly production facility being built in Texas will open ahead of schedule. Previously, the agency had indicated the plant would open at the end of 2027, but the timeline has now been moved up to the spring of next year.

The Texas plant is set to produce 100 million sterile flies per week by the end of 2027 and reach its maximum production of 300 million per week by the end of 2028. Once open, it will complement USDA’s ongoing production of 100 million sterile flies per week at the Panama-based COPEG facility and the 100 million flies that eventually will be produced at the Metapa, MX, facility that opened in late June. Experts have said about 500 million sterile flies are needed to push NWS southward to the Darien Gap, the stretch of rainforest between Panama and Colombia.