STURGIS, S.D. – Just days after the CEO of R-CALF USA said the phased reopening of ports along the southern border to live cattle imports from Mexico was a mistake, the USDA is pausing planned port openings.
Last week, Bill Bullard with R-CALF said the northward spread of New World screwworm in Mexico is still very much a threat and that the organization was disappointed with USDA’s decision.
The organization also recently sent a letter to Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins asking the department to reconsider and reverse the decision.
This week, USDA did just that.
While USDA announced a phased port re-opening strategy for cattle, bison, and equine from Mexico beginning as early as July 7, 2025, a newly reported NWS case raises significant concern with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins now questioning the previously reported information shared by Mexican officials.
“We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southern border,” she said.
Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA) has reported a new case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz in Mexico, which is approximately 160 miles northward of the current sterile fly dispersal grid, on the eastern side of the country and 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border. This new northward detection comes approximately two months after northern detections were reported in Oaxaca and Veracruz, less than 700 miles away from the U.S. border.
In June, Secretary Rollins launched a plan to combat New World Screwworm by increasing eradication efforts in Mexico. USDA also announced the refurbishing of a sterile fly dispersal facility in South Texas.