USDA Secretary Rollins Says Agreement Reached with Mexico on Strengthening Response to Screwworm

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins says an agreement has been reached with Mexico on how to handle a damaging livestock pest called New World screwworm. The agreement was reached after Rollins sent a letter to Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture last week threatening to limit Mexican cattle imports coming through the southern U.S. border.

Screwworms can infect livestock, wildlife, and in rare cases, they can infect people. The screwworm flies leave maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, doing significant and often fatal damage.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said earlier this week that Mexico had been working to respond to the screwworm outbreak and strengthening its prevention efforts.

The U.S. typically imports over one million Mexican cattle every year. Blocking Mexican cattle imports would only tighten U.S. supplies that have dropped to their lowest levels in decades. Washington blocked Mexican cattle from late November 2024 to February 2025 after Mexican officials discovered the screwworm, which America eradicated in 1966.

Rollins also announced a major win for American agriculture by securing the Mexican government’s agreement to meet the current water needs of farmers and ranchers in Texas. That’s part of the 1944 Water Treaty, which the U.S. said Mexico hasn’t been living up to.

The Mexican government committed to transferring water from international reservoirs and increasing the U.S. share of the flow in six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries through the end of the current five-year water cycle.

“Mexico finally meeting the water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers under the 1944 Water Treaty is a major win for American agriculture,” said Secretary Rollins.

The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico solidified a plan for immediate and short-term water relief to meet the needs of Texas farmers and ranchers for this growing season. It includes water releases and continued commitments through the end of this cycle, which concludes in October.

Source: NAFB News Service