Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the largest initiative yet in the USDA’s plan to combat the New World screwworm. Through a more comprehensive approach, USDA will construct a sterile fly facility in Edinburg, Texas, an ideal location due to the existing infrastructure and proximity to the U.S.-Mexican border. The plant will produce up to 300 million sterile flies per week to combat NWS. USDA will also invest $100 million in developing technology that could show rapid advancement in augmenting the U.S. sterile fly facility. USDA is also working to hire mounted patrol officers, called “tick riders,” at the border, who will provide the first line of defense against an outbreak along the border from wild animals. They will also begin training detector dogs to detect screwworm infestations in livestock and other animals along the border. USDA will also continue working closely with Mexican officials to slow the spread of NWS.
Welcome
