Houston Daily

Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins have announced a $750 million investment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a new Domestic Sterile Screwworm Production Facility in Edinburg, Texas. The facility aims to address the northward spread of the New World screwworm, a pest that poses a threat to American livestock producers.

"Texas agricultural producers feed the world, with our state's food and agriculture sector supporting over 2 million good-paying jobs and creating over $867 billion in total economic impact," said Governor Abbott. "All of this is at risk because of the New World screwworm. Working with Secretary Rollins and agricultural community leaders nationwide, we will combat the New World screwworm threat right here in Texas by building a new $750 million facility to breed hundreds of millions of sterile screwworm flies. Together, we will eradicate New World screwworm threat to protect our nation's food supply and economy.”

Secretary Rollins emphasized the urgency of domestic action: “We have assessed the information on the ground in Mexico and have determined we must construct an additional sterile fly production facility in the U.S. to stop the northward advancement of this terrible pest that is threatening American cattle production," she said. "President Trump has made it clear that we must take all necessary steps to protect our country from foreign pests and diseases that threaten our economy and way of life. Today we are announcing a major investment to further America’s existential role in protecting our country and secure our borders from this national security threat. The construction of a domestic sterile fly production facility will ensure the United States continues to lead the way in combating this devastating pest. If our ranchers are overrun by foreign pests, then we cannot feed ourselves. USDA and Customs and Border Protection are constantly monitoring our ports of entry to keep NWS away from our borders. We are working every day to ensure our American agricultural industry is safe, secure, and resilient.”

Currently, there is no domestic production of sterile screwworm flies; all operational outbreak needs rely on flies produced in Panama. The planned Edinburg facility will be able to produce 300 million sterile flies per week, which would triple existing capacity.

The announcement was made at a press conference attended by Congressman Tony Gonzales, Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller, Senator Charles Perry, several state representatives, Texas A&M University Chancellor Glenn Hegar, and other leaders from local, state, and national agricultural sectors.

In June, Governor Abbott directed both the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Animal Health Commission to form a joint response team after observing recent advances by the New World screwworm into northern areas.