The Agriculture Department says a new Texas facility producing sterile New World screwworm flies will begin operating in spring 2027, months ahead of the previously announced schedule, as officials respond to the first U.S. infestation in three decades.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that a Texas facility designed to produce sterile flies for controlling New World screwworm will open ahead of schedule in spring 2027.
The agency had previously said the plant would begin operating at the end of 2027.
The accelerated timeline follows the discovery in June of the first U.S. infestation of the parasitic New World screwworm fly in 30 years.
The infestation was detected in Texas and could threaten as much as $1 billion in losses to the state’s livestock industry.
One of the primary tools used to suppress screwworm populations is the release of sterilized male screwworm flies. When the sterile males mate with wild females, no viable offspring are produced, reducing the population over time.
Most sterile screwworm flies are currently produced at a facility in Panama capable of generating approximately 100 million flies each week.
According to a Monday post from USDA’s New World Screwworm Rapid Response account, the planned Texas facility is expected to add another 100 million sterile flies per week by the end of 2027.
USDA said production from the Texas operation could increase to as many as 300 million sterile flies per week by the end of 2028.
Experts have estimated that roughly 500 million sterile flies per week would be needed to push the screwworm population southward toward the Darien Gap, the rainforest region separating Panama and Colombia.
The Texas facility is intended to expand domestic production capacity as agriculture officials work to contain the parasite and protect livestock from further spread.
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