The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is defending its response to the New World screwworm outbreak in Texas, which has affected the state’s livestock industry. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee that the agency was well-prepared for the outbreak and had kept it at bay for months before the first case was confirmed in a South Texas calf in early June.

Response Efforts

The USDA has received $1.3 billion in emergency funding to tackle the outbreak, which has allowed the agency to expand its capacity to produce sterile flies to combat the pest. However, stakeholders on both sides of the aisle agree that the country is not producing enough sterile flies to eradicate the problem. Experts project that 500 million sterile flies are needed weekly to combat the pest, but the U.S. government is currently producing about 100 million every seven days.

The USDA has broken ground on a $750 million facility in Edinburg, Texas, which is expected to come online in late 2027 and produce 300 million sterile flies per week. The agency has also invested in a facility in Metapa, Mexico, to increase its sterile fly production capacity.

Blame Game

A blame game has ensued, with leaders of both political parties trying to determine who is at fault for the lack of capacity to combat the outbreak. Rollins has pointed to the Biden administration’s border policies as a contributing factor, while Democrats have criticized the Trump administration’s cuts to the USDA staff in 2025.

Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.