Cattle detained within the pens of the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union , on the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on November 27, 2024, after america stopped imports of Mexican cattle because of the presence of screwworm.
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Cattle ranchers in Texas and across the nation are involved that the screwworm, a parasitic fly that was as soon as eradicated within the U.S., is threatening a comeback from the Mexican border and current speak from President Donald Trump about importing beef from Argentina is not any long-term resolution for a beef provide chain already underneath stress or shoppers who’ve watched beef costs hit document ranges.
The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs within the open wounds of warm-blooded animals. The larvae then hatches from the eggs and burrows into tissue of animals to feed on them. If caught early, the sick animal could be handled and survive. Human instances are uncommon however could be painful and require medical consideration. In August, the the U.S. Division of Agriculture stated in an announcement that the Division of Well being and Human Providers and Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recognized a case of the flesh-eating parasite in an individual in Maryland who returned to the U.S. after touring to El Salvador.
The New World screwworm was efficiently eradicated from america in 1966. However the Maryland case and different current appearances in Mexico have cattle ranchers in Texas and across the nation on edge. Mexico’s Nationwide Service of Agro-Alimentary Well being, Security, and High quality confirmed on October 6 one other case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Nuevo Leon, a metropolis that borders the U.S. It marked the nation’s second confirmed case in roughly two weeks.
“Texas is a cloth contributor to the meat trade,” stated Andrew Coppin, co-founder and CEO of ranch administration firm Ranchbot Monitoring Options. “You’ve gotten tens of millions of beef cattle alongside the southern border alone.”
The U.S. Division of Agriculture has closed the border to Mexico for imports of stay cattle, bison, and horses on and off since 2024 because of the unfold of the New World screwworm. The border is at present closed. Earlier than the closure, Mexico was an exporter of calves to the U.S., with USDA knowledge displaying the U.S. imported over a million cattle yearly, roughly 3.3% of the U.S. complete calf crop.
Sixth-generation Texas rancher James Clement III instructed CNBC the important thing to eradicating the screwworm menace is years out. To fight the unfold of the flies, the USDA disperses sterile flies into the realm to cease the mating, a scientific technique generally known as sterile insect method (SIT). It was the explanation for the profitable eradication of the flies within the U.S. However Clement stated the flies used beforehand have been introduced in from Panama and whereas the USDA has stated it’s dedicated to creating a home sterile fly manufacturing facility, “that’s a minimum of two or three years away. By then it will likely be too little to late,” he stated.
The USDA didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Clement, whose household enterprise has operated a number of ranches during the last 400 years, stated American ranching has advanced and has turn into extra environment friendly. Whereas that is good for manufacturing, in instances of threats like biohazards akin to screwworm, it’s a problem.
“We require much less labor now so it will be troublesome and difficult to detect an contaminated cattle,” he stated. “We do not have the folks to verify each head of cattle each day. Most of this cattle are free vary and the grass pastures are massive.”
Stopping screwworm unfold
The USDA, alongside Mexico, has been monitoring almost 8,000 traps throughout Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico since July. Greater than 13,000 screening samples have been submitted, with no NWS flies detected.
However Clement says, “that is spreading shortly. A 12 months in the past, screwworm was already in southern Mexico, then it unfold into central and northern Mexico. Now it’s occurring simply south of our border. It isn’t a matter of if screwworm spreads to the U.S., it is when.”
Clement stated the scenario is including to the supply-demand imbalance within the cattle trade which has already elevated attributable to drought. Beef costs have climbed to document highs after cattle ranchers slashed their herds attributable to dried-up lands used for grazing. Feed prices rose because of this.
The worth of stay cattle futures over the previous 12 months.
In line with authorities knowledge, as of July 2025, the U.S. cattle herd is roughly 94.2 million head, the bottom stock since 1951.
Coppin tells CNBC the important thing element to rising herd measurement is water.
“Sometimes, ranches have 1000’s of acres and cattle,” Coppin stated. “Much less grasslands on account of much less water equals smaller herds.”
He estimated 30% of the U.S. continues to be in drought situations.
“The query ranchers are asking themselves is, will I’ve sufficient feed to feed my herd? For this reason grasslands are vital. Feed is a giant enter value that eats into the margin of ranchers,” he stated.
Coppin stated whereas the importing of beef from Argentina might decrease the price of beef for shoppers (futures had dropped sharply after Trump’s feedback however have since trended up once more), for ranchers dealing with drought and screwworm, the incentives to rising herd measurement are dwindling.
“Ranchers don’t desire their product to be substituted,” Coppin stated.
Not too long ago, some U.S. ranchers have begun taking steps to start out rebuilding herds. Nonetheless, ranchers and beef provide chain specialists like Coppin say it takes about two years earlier than beef output rises as a result of it takes time to boost full-grown cattle.
The Nationwide Cattlemen’s Beef Affiliation stated in assertion on Monday after President Trump floated his concept to import beef from Argentina over the weekend that it was urging Trump and Congress to permit the market to work moderately intervene and hurt rural America.
“This plan solely creates chaos at a essential time of the 12 months for American cattle producers, whereas doing nothing to decrease grocery retailer costs,” stated Colin Woodall, CEO of NCBA.
The NCBA additionally cited Argentina’s “deeply unbalanced commerce relationship” with the U.S. Up to now 5 years, Argentina has offered greater than $801 million of beef into the U.S. market. By comparability, the U.S. has offered simply over $7 million price of American beef to Argentina, based on NCBA knowledge. It famous Argentina additionally has a historical past of foot-and-mouth illness, which if dropped at america, may decimate home livestock manufacturing.
Clement stated having the federal government step in and attempt to regulate the markets is just not what the U.S. ought to be targeted on.
“The market will maintain itself,” Clement stated. “We want the federal government stopping and stamping out screwworm. Then we are able to recruit the following era saying, ‘ranching is a occupation that you are able to do to maintain your loved ones, and have a superb high quality of life. The federal government will take care of us by way of biosecurity and the prevention of animal illness. Not manipulating the markets.'”
