Consistently Committed to Progress

Every day, NCBA is advocating for America’ s cattle producers at the White House, in Congress and at federal agencies throughout Washington, D. C. This year, NCBA secured numerous wins for the cattle industry to protect the legacy of family farms and ranches, rollback burdensome regulations, safeguard the U. S. cattle herd, and connect more consumers with American beef.

New World Screwworm

The New World screwworm( NWS), a harmful pest for animals and humans, continues to move closer to the U. S. NCBA has worked with Congress and the USDA to find ways to eradicate NWS. In July, the screwworm detection in Veracruz, Mexico, was approximately 370 miles south of the U. S./ Mexico border. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a reclosure of the border after evaluating the science and listening to USDA veterinary staff who assessed conditions in Mexico to make her determinations.

Earlier this year, NCBA supported USDA’ s announcement on the Moore Air Base sterile fly dispersal facility, the site of a new sterile fly dispersal facility in South Texas. NCBA continued to urge USDA to expedite the development of a sterile fly production facility as well to ensure we can produce enough flies to safeguard the U. S. cattle industry. NCBA was pleased by Secretary Rollins’ commitment in August to fund $ 750 million for a sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base which is an ideal location for sterile fly production. The base previously trained fighter pilots in WWII before serving as a dispersal location for screwworm fly eradication efforts in the 1960s and beyond. The base’ s proximity to the border would also make it easy for sterile flies to quickly be deployed to areas of the U. S. most at risk. Currently, only one facility in the world produces sterile screwworm flies. The facility, located in Pacora, Panama, can produce about 100 million flies per week, but to form an effective barrier along the U. S. southern border, we need upwards of 400-500 million sterile flies per week. During the height of screwworm eradication efforts in the 1960s, the U. S. released 500-600 million sterile flies per week.

NCBA supported USDA’ s decision to provide up to $ 100 million to invest in viable innovations which could show rapid advancement of promising technologies that will augment the U. S. production facility and accelerate the pace of sterile fly production, if proven successful.

NCBA also supported USDA’ s investment of $ 21 million to convert an existing fruit fly facility in Metapa, Mexico, to produce NWS sterile flies. This conversion is an important part of the overall strategy to counter screwworms in Mexico, but additional sterile fly production within our borders is also needed to protect the U. S. cattle herd long term. NCBA anticipates U. S. preparedness against NWS will continue to evolve, and NCBA will monitor conditions, coordinate with stakeholders, and work with USDA to protect U. S. cattle farmers and ranchers.

Trade

International trade and foreign market access remain a top priority for NCBA. The Trump administration has actively been engaged in the trade sector. While there have been lots of moving parts and uncertainties, considerable progress has been made with multiple countries that impact the beef industry including Australia and the United Kingdom( U. K.).

As of July, Australia will accept shipments of fresh and frozen U. S. beef, ending decades of bureaucratic red tape and prolonged negotiations that have prevented American cattle producers from accessing the Australian market. NCBA thanks President Trump for delivering yet another trade win for America’ s cattle farmers and ranchers. The U. S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement took effect in 2005 and was intended

16 NATIONAL CATTLEMEN DIRECTIONS 2025