National Cattlemen July 2026 | Page 6

From the CEO

Colin Woodall

I remember receiving the call just before Thanksgiving 2024 that New World screwworm had crossed from Guatemala into Mexico. After looking at the supply of sterile flies and the geography of Mexico, it became clear we would have to do battle once again with this gruesome pest. The only question was when.

When is now. New World screwworm entered Texas in early June and began its spread. We were neither shocked nor surprised that it arrived. It took the fly more than a year and a half to make it to us, and the industry put that time to good use getting prepared. The United States was ready.

NCBA began our work with USDA during the last days of the Biden administration, making sure the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service( APHIS) was aware and engaging with us and the Mexican government. APHIS once again proved to be a good partner by putting their best people on this project. USDA provided personnel, expertise, equipment and a lot of money to mount the strongest defense they could in Mexico. Once President Trump was inaugurated, we worked to educate his new team on the New World screwworm threat so they could continue the fight. In May of 2025, Secretary of Agriculture Rollins shut down the border to Mexican cattle as a way to get more of the Mexican government’ s attention and cooperation. It worked and I believe the improved joint effort is what slowed the northward advance.

Since then, we have embarked on a producer education campaign to provide information on the history of New World screwworm and help our members like you begin to prepare for the invasion. We have conducted countless presentations, interviews, podcasts and more to get the word out. Our website holds many resources including guides on how to identify this pest. This topic has dominated every NCBA meeting and leadership call as well.

NCBA isn’ t doing this alone. The state and national partnership is another reason the cattle industry was prepared. Few people expected the fly to show up first in any other state than Texas. The producer leadership and staff of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association( TSCRA), the Texas Beef Council, and the Texas Cattle Feeders Association( TCFA) have led the charge in their state. They have built and led coalitions to educate livestock producers, landowners and the wildlife community. They kept the pressure on the state government to put the required effort into preparation, and they have also worked with USDA-APHIS and Congress to ensure the federal government was working with the state teams.

Cow-calf producers have been the tip of the spear, and TSCRA President Stephen Diebel has been a part of every call, meeting and briefing. His staff haven’ t slept much in months, especially Jason Skaggs and Peyton Schumann, because they have been working to prepare and improve every detail of the response. The Texas Beef Council team has been working overtime to keep this from impacting beef demand, and the TCFA leadership and staff have been instrumental in developing the industry and government response. As I’ m writing this, there is a case in New Mexico and the New Mexico Beef Council and New Mexico Cattle Growers are providing leadership in their state, as well. We will see more state leadership as the infestation spreads.

You will be glad to hear that the Texas State Veterinarian, Dr.

Bud Dinges, is a former chairman of NCBA’ s Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee, and he and his team have worked closely with all of us. Their leadership at the Texas Animal Health Commission also helped develop and drive the USDA“ Playbook” being used to guide the overall response. Playbook development allowed every NCBA state partner an opportunity to provide direction, feedback and edits to USDA. Many of our state partners also worked with their state animal health officials to engage in this process, too.

The response plan was ready, and it is being implemented very effectively. Like any plan, practical application exposes weak points, but the responding agencies and producer groups have been able to pivot and improve the response. The response has not shut down the flow of cattle, and the cattle markets seemed to barely notice. More importantly, it hasn’ t become a sensationalized media story, nor has it impacted beef demand. This is an animal health emergency that is going to inflict economic damage to those in and around the infested areas. The time, resources, money, labor, and animal health products required to fight back and protect our cattle will impact the bottom line. However, the bottom line is that nothing about the New World screwworm situation has been a surprise. It is not a surprise that the fly crossed the border. It is not a surprise that it is spreading. It is not a surprise that the government and industry were ready to spring into action. We will eradicate New World screwworm once again, it is just a matter of time until we have enough sterile flies, or other new technology, to make that happen. Until then, NCBA will work with the state associations and beef councils to win this fight.

6 JULY 2026 www. NCBA. org