U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced on July 15, 2025, that the U.S. plans to build a $750 million factory on Moore Air Base outside Edinburg, Texas, about 20 miles from the U.S. and Mexico border. The facility will be able to increase domestic sterile fly production up to 300 million flies per week to combat the spread of New World screwworm.
The USDA also plans to provide $100 million in technology, such as fly traps and lures, and step up border patrols by "tick riders" mounted on horseback and train dogs to sniff out the parasite.
“NWS is a devastating pest,” the USDA press release states. “When NWS fly larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal. NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds and, in rare cases, people. It is not only a threat to our ranching community – but it is a threat to our food supply and our national security.”
The U.S. border will remain closed for live-cattle imports until there are reports the fly is pushing back toward Panama. No reports of New World screwworm have been confirmed in the U.S. yet.
Find more information on the USDA website.
