Tag Archives: New World Screwworm

Senior Screwworm Advisor Announced

By Staff Report

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins recently announced President Donald J. Trump has appointed John Bellinger as the new Senior Advisor for New World Screwworm Preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will integrate into USDA’s team to help further drive its robust effort to explore all available technologies to combat the New World Screwworm.

“I want to thank John for joining our team as USDA transitions to the next phase of fighting and eradicating this pest from our borders, as we did nearly sixty years ago, yet it came back due to Biden’s failed open border policies,” said Secretary Rollins. “John’s roots in Texas where New World screwworm is at ground zero, and his private sector experience in the related food safety and cattle industries, will help the administration advance our response and protect U.S. livestock.”

John Bellinger
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Livestock Insects Research Lab Opens

By Staff Report

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) opened the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory, a state-of-the-art laboratory facility Wednesday May 27, that will provide the U.S. cattle industry with innovative tools and advanced technologies to manage and eliminate the invasive fly and tick pests that threaten the U.S. cattle industry.

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New Texas Sterile Fly Facility

By Staff Report

Friday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and Lieutenant General William H. “Butch” Graham, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) commanding general, led the groundbreaking for the new sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. USDA is partnering with USACE to construct this facility, which is a cornerstone of Secretary Rollins’ five-pronged strategy (PDF, 1005 KB) to combat New World Screwworm (NWS), expanding the nation’s domestic capacity to protect livestock, wildlife, and public health from this serious pest.

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New World Screwworm Danger

By David Arnett

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins Friday at the Texas State Capitol alongside Governor Greg Abbott and stakeholders from across the country announced the largest initiative yet in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to combat the New World Screwworm (NWS) a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, causing severe injuries and often death. It primarily affects livestock but can also infest pets and, in rare cases, humans. This announcement builds upon USDA’s five-pronged plan issued in June to combat the northward spread of NWS from Mexico into the United States.

The agency asserted in a media release Friday, it is not only a threat to our ranching community — but it is a threat to our food supply and our national security.

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