R-CALF USA is criticizing the USDA’s reopening of southern border ports to live cattle imports from Mexico, citing the ongoing threat of the New World screwworm.
Officials with the organization argues the decision puts the U.S. cattle industry at risk and urges the USDA to reverse course, close the border, and assist Mexico and Panama in containing the pest. Believing reopening now compromises the health of U.S. livestock and citizens, calling the move premature and dangerous.
The USDA resumed imports this week in Douglas, Arizona, and plans to gradually reopen from west to east, monitoring impacts along the way.
R-CALF and cattle producers warn that an outbreak of screwworm in the U.S. could strain an already limited labor force and hurt individual producers. Saying the situation further highlights the need to rebuild and rely on domestic beef supply chains. In response to the threat, USDA is also investing in a new dispersal facility in Texas to help mitigate the pest’s spread from Mexico.
Photo Credit: USDA
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