Texas Beef Industry Faces New Challenge From Screwworm Threat

WHO:

The Texas Tribune - James Henderson operates the Bradley 3 Ranch near Memphis in the Texas Panhandle.

The Texas Tribune - David Ortega is a professor in food economics and policy at Michigan State University.

The Texas Tribune - Brooke Rollins is the U.S. Agriculture Secretary.

Bloomberg - Jeff Simmons is the President & CEO of Elanco Animal Health.

WHAT:

Bloomberg - Jeff Simmons, Elanco Animal Health President & CEO, stated that the pest is expected to spread but can be managed effectively through current interventions.

Common Dreams - The Trump administration is spending at least $1 billion to fight the screwworm outbreak, a significant increase from the previous annual USDA spending of about $15 million.

Common Dreams - The facility expected to release around 300 million sterile flies per week is not expected to be fully operational until the end of 2027.

The Guardian - The USDA has released 4 million sterile flies on the ground and 4 million sterile flies in the air to combat the outbreak.

The Guardian - The most recent case of screwworm was reported on June 12 in Sutton County, Texas, where a sheep was discovered with the infection.

The Guardian - The infected animals include cattle, goats, sheep, and one dog.

Common Dreams - The Trump administration is spending at least $1 billion to fight the screwworm outbreak.

Common Dreams - The facility expected to release around 300 million sterile flies per week is not expected to be fully operational until the end of 2027.

Bloomberg - Jeff Simmons, Elanco Animal Health President & CEO, stated that while the pest is expected to spread, it can be managed effectively through current interventions.

The Guardian - Twelve animal cases of screwworm have been confirmed, a significant increase from the first case detected in a calf on June 3. Of these, 11 remain active and one is inactive.

The Guardian - The most recent case was reported on June 12 in Sutton County, Texas, where a sheep was discovered with the infection.

The Guardian - Other cases have been identified in the Texas counties of Edwards, Tom Green, Gillespie, La Salle, and Zavala, as well as in Lea County, New Mexico.

The Guardian - The infected animals include cattle, goats, sheep, and one dog.

The Guardian - Texas’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, warned that the spread of screwworm should "set off alarm bells across the country."

The Guardian - The USDA has released 4 million sterile flies on the ground and 4 million sterile flies in the air to combat the outbreak.

The Texas Tribune - The New World screwworm is a parasite that can cause severe damage to livestock, potentially leading to the need for destruction within 72 hours of infection.

The Texas Tribune - Beef prices nationally rose 12.9% in the past year according to the Consumer Price Index Report for May.

The Texas Tribune - Texas’ beef cattle industry contributed about $7.2 billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product from 2018 to 2021.

The Texas Tribune - The sterile fly facility to combat the screwworm outbreak is expected to be completed by November 2027.

Bloomberg - There are at least 12 confirmed cases of screwworm infections in Texas, including eight heads of cattle.

WHERE:

The Guardian - The most recent screwworm case was reported in Sutton County, Texas.

The Texas Tribune - The Bradley 3 Ranch is located near Memphis in the Texas Panhandle, approximately 90 miles southeast of Amarillo.

The Texas Tribune - The Texas Panhandle is one of the biggest cattle-producing regions in the U.S., contributing $6 billion annually and producing 85% of Texas' beef.

WHEN:

The Texas Tribune - The sterile fly facility construction will be completed by November 2027.

The Texas Tribune - The Smokehouse Creek fire occurred in 2024 and became the state’s biggest wildfire ever, killing more than 15,000 head of cattle.

WHY:

The Guardian - Texas’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, warned that the spread of screwworm should "set off alarm bells across the country."

Common Dreams - Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins attempted to shift blame for the screwworm outbreak onto the Biden administration during a Senate hearing.

The Guardian - Miller called for the deployment of the Screwworm Adult Suppression System (Swass) to combat the outbreak effectively.

The Texas Tribune - The return of the screwworm is a new challenge for Texas ranchers already facing inflation, drought, and wildfires.

The Texas Tribune - President Trump’s trade war in 2025 exacerbated issues in the beef industry.

HOW:

The Guardian - Pennsylvania’s agriculture department has issued a precautionary quarantine order to impose stricter controls on the import of susceptible livestock from affected areas.

The Guardian - The strategy to combat the screwworm includes killing fertile flies with Swass while overwhelming the remaining population with sterile flies.

The Texas Tribune - Ranchers are taking extra precautions during tasks like branding and castration to prevent screwworm flies from laying eggs in open wounds.

Bloomberg - Current interventions to manage the screwworm population include the release of sterile flies.

(UPDATED June 17, 2026 12:21 UTC)

Elanco Animal Health President and CEO Jeff Simmons has indicated that the screwworm pest is expected to spread, but he believes it can be effectively managed with current interventions. In response to the outbreak, the Trump administration is allocating at least $1 billion for control efforts, a significant increase from the previous USDA budget of about $15 million annually. Meanwhile, Texas's agriculture commissioner has raised alarms about the situation, and Pennsylvania's agriculture department has implemented a precautionary quarantine to tighten controls on the import of livestock from affected regions.

(UPDATED June 17, 2026 06:42 UTC)

The Trump administration is investing at least $1 billion to combat the screwworm outbreak, with plans to release around 300 million sterile flies each week, although the facility won't be fully operational until the end of 2027. During a Senate hearing, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins attempted to shift the blame for the outbreak onto the Biden administration. In response to the situation, Pennsylvania's agriculture department has issued a precautionary quarantine order to enforce stricter controls on importing susceptible livestock from affected areas.

(UPDATED June 16, 2026 23:27 UTC)

Twelve animal cases of screwworm have been confirmed, marking a significant rise from the initial case detected in a calf earlier this month, with 11 of those cases still active. The most recent infection was reported in Sutton County, Texas, where a sheep was found with the disease, prompting Texas’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, to warn that the spread should "set off alarm bells across the country." In response, the USDA has released a total of 8 million sterile flies to combat the outbreak, utilizing a strategy that involves killing fertile flies while overwhelming the remaining population with sterile ones.

(UPDATED June 16, 2026 20:12 UTC)

In Texas, ranchers are facing a new challenge with at least 12 confirmed cases of the New World screwworm, a parasite that can severely damage livestock and may necessitate destruction within 72 hours of infection. To combat this outbreak, a sterile fly facility is set to be completed by November 2027, while ranchers are taking extra precautions during branding and castration to prevent screwworms from laying eggs in open wounds. The beef industry, already strained by inflation, drought, and the impacts of President Trump’s trade war in 2025, saw a national price increase of 12.9% over the past year, highlighting the urgent need for effective management strategies.