Versailles, Ohio: The United States and Mexico have reached a critical agreement on the management of New World screwworm, a dangerous pest threatening livestock, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Monday. The development came shortly after Rollins warned that the U.S. might impose restrictions on cattle imports from Mexico if action was not taken.
New World screwworm is a parasitic insect that infests livestock, wildlife, and, in rare cases, humans. The maggots from the screwworm fly burrow into the flesh of living animals, often causing severe injury or death.
In a letter sent on Saturday to Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegué, Rollins warned that the U.S. would block livestock imports from Mexico starting April 30 unless Mexico intensified its efforts to combat the pest. Speaking during a visit to an Ohio egg production facility, Rollins confirmed that she had communicated directly with Berdegué and that an agreement was reached.
“More will be released on that in the next few hours. It came to a good resolution,” Rollins said.
Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed that Mexico had been actively addressing the screwworm threat and was bolstering its control measures.
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The United States typically imports over a million cattle annually from Mexico. Any disruption in imports could exacerbate already strained U.S. cattle supplies, which are at their lowest levels in decades due to prolonged drought conditions impacting grazing lands. A tighter cattle market risks driving beef prices even higher.
From late November to February, the United States temporarily halted Mexican cattle imports following the detection of screwworm in Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which eradicated the pest domestically in 1966, remains determined to prevent its return.
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The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) also raised concerns after reports emerged that Mexico had hindered U.S. efforts to suppress the pest south of the border. The association recently held discussions with officials at the Mexican Embassy in Washington.
“Screwworm is very destructive and could cost American producers millions of dollars a year if it reaches us,” said Buck Wehrbein, NCBA president and a cattleman from Nebraska.
