Overview

• The USDA will invest $750 million to construct a sterile-fly production facility at Moore Air Base near Edinburg, Texas, aiming to breed 300 million sterile male flies weekly within about a year.
• Alongside the factory, USDA plans to allocate roughly $100 million for traps, lures, mounted “tick rider” patrols and canine teams to elevate surveillance along the US-Mexico border.
• Live cattle, horse and bison imports from Mexico remain suspended until authorities confirm the screwworm is being driven back toward Panama.
• Under a newly signed US-Mexico control action plan, both governments are jointly funding a $51 million sterile-fly plant in Chiapas that is expected to begin operations in 2026.
• Mexican ranchers continue to face economic hardship from export bans, distressed cattle sales and thousands of livestock infections amid ongoing regional outbreaks and human cases, including a reported death.