USDA announcement of new sterile fly production facility comes after Heinrich push for investment, introduction of STOP Screwworms Act
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration, welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that it will begin construction on a new domestic sterile fly production facility to combat the growing New World screwworm (NWS) outbreak in Central America that threatens to spread and wreak havoc on the U.S. cattle industry.
In June, Heinrich welcomed a USDA announcement of a sterile fly dispersal facility, which came on the heels of his introduction of the Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act with U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas). The legislation authorizes funds for and directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to begin construction on new sterile fly production and dispersal facilities to combat the spread of the NWS.
“I’m proud that our work to push USDA for further investment has resulted in a $750 million sterile fly production facility to help combat the current New World Screwworm outbreak. This builds directly on last month’s announcement of a new sterile fly dispersal facility. Together, these facilities are critical to tackling the spread and protecting New Mexico’s livestock, wildlife, and food supply,” said Heinrich, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Earlier this month, Heinrich co-sponsored an amendment that was included in the Senate-passed Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture Appropriations bill to require a report from the Secretary of Agriculture to Congress on the New World Screwworm domestic readiness and response initiative at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, including information on sterile fly production.
Background:
The New World screwworm (NWS) is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on livestock, wildlife, and in rare cases, humans, and populations of NWS are moving toward the United States at an alarming rate. They can cause serious damage to their host, including death. In May, the USDA announced the suspension of live cattle, horse, and bison imports through the southern border in response to the growing spread of the NWS and recent outbreaks in Mexico.
This new facility in Edinburg, TX, at Moore Air Force Base will produce up to 300 million sterile flies per week to combat NWS. This will be the only United States-based sterile fly facility and will work in tandem with facilities in Panama and Mexico to help eradicate the pest and protect American agriculture.
The dispersal facility announced by the USDA in June will disperse sterile male screwworm flies produced at the existing Panama and Mexico facilities and the new Texas facility into infested areas to help combat the spread of the screwworm. The sterile fly technique was instrumental in eradicating NWS from the United States in the 1960s and from Mexico in the ‘90s, as sterile male flies can outcompete local populations and effectively wipe out an entire generation of screwworms in a given area.
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