Mexico-to-US cattle shipments to restart next week after tense battle with screwworm

United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins connected Monday announced gradual, “risk-based larboard re-openings for cattle, bison and equines” from Mexico opening adjacent week.

In a property release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said that U.S. ports volition reopen successful phases aft a lengthy closure to Mexican livestock imports owed to the damaging New World screwworm pest. 

The borderline crossing astatine Douglas, Arizona, was chosen arsenic the archetypal larboard of introduction successful the phase-in of renewed cattle imports from Mexico, successful portion for the bordering authorities of Sonora’s past of collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (cochise.az.gov/X)

The screwworm, a taxon of alert eradicated successful the U.S. for decades, had been moving northward successful Mexico. The pest tin infest livestock and wildlife and transportation maggots that burrow into the tegument of surviving animals, causing superior and often fatal damage.

The larboard re-openings volition hap arsenic follows:

• Douglas, Arizona – July 7
• Columbus, New Mexico – July 14
• Santa Teresa, New Mexico – July 21
• Del Rio, Texas – Aug. 18
• Laredo, Texas – Sept. 15

After each re-opening, the USDA volition measure the concern to guarantee nary adverse effects arise.

The USDA said the Douglas, Arizona, larboard volition beryllium the archetypal to unfastened due to the fact that it offers the lowest risk, based connected neighboring Sonora’s geography and past of collaboration with the USDA connected carnal wellness issues. 

Fight against screwworm ramps up with reopening of sterile alert works successful Chiapas

The Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA) — a Mexican institution that provides marketplace analysis, terms forecasts, and consulting services for the cultivation and nutrient sectors — applauded the USDA announcement.

“This gradual reopening is the effect of a liable binational effort, highlighting the value of maintaining carnal wellness arsenic a pillar of Mexico’s cultivation competitiveness,” GCMA wide manager Juan Carlos Anaya said.

“At the aforesaid time, this improvement provides certainty to producers and exporters, promoting the orderly betterment of unrecorded cattle exports and contributing to marketplace stableness connected the bluish border,” Anaya said.

The USDA attributed its determination to the results of “extensive collaboration betwixt USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service experts and their counterparts successful Mexico to summation New World Screwworm (NWS) surveillance, detection, and eradication efforts.”

The USDA said it volition proceed moving with Mexico’s National Service for Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) connected outreach, acquisition and grooming efforts “to rise consciousness and enactment producers connected precocious alert astir NWS.” It volition besides proceed relying connected Senasica’s cardinal laboratory for diagnosing cases.

The Mexican Meat Council said that since ports were closed connected May 11 home livestock producers were unable to export astir 650,000 caput of cattle and different livestock, a nonaccomplishment of astir US $700 million.

With reports from Reuters, El Economista, El Universal and Vanguardia