USDA Accelerates Texas Sterile Fly Facility Opening to Spring 2027 Amid Screwworm Threat

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it has accelerated the timeline for a new Texas facility designed to combat a parasitic screwworm infestation, with the plant now scheduled to open in the spring of 2027. The agency previously projected the facility would not be operational until the end of that year.

The announcement, made in a post on the social media platform X, comes in response to a significant threat to the U.S. agricultural sector. The facility is a key component of the government's strategy to control the spread of the New World screwworm fly.

Economic Threat to Livestock

In June, Texas detected the first U.S. infestation of the New World screwworm in three decades. The parasitic pest poses a severe economic risk, with the USDA estimating potential losses to the state's livestock industry could reach as high as $1 billion.

The primary method for combating screwworm is the sterile insect technique, which involves releasing large numbers of sterilized male flies into the wild. When these sterile flies mate with wild females, they produce no offspring, causing the pest population to collapse over time.

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Boosting Production Capacity

Currently, the U.S. relies on a facility in Panama that produces 100 million sterile flies per week. The new Texas plant is set to significantly boost this capacity.

According to the USDA's New World Screwworm Rapid Response account, the Texas facility will produce an additional 100 million sterile flies per week by the end of 2027. Production is slated to ramp up to 300 million flies per week by the end of 2028. Experts have indicated that a total of about 500 million sterile flies per week are needed to effectively push the screwworm infestation southward toward the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia.