Tag Archives: USDA

USDA: Screwworm Grand Challenge

By Staff Report

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced Tuesday the launch of the New World Screwworm (NWS) Grand Challenge. This funding opportunity marks a pivotal step in USDA’s comprehensive strategy to combat NWS and prevent its northward spread.

“This is a strategic investment in America’s farmers and ranchers and is an important action to ensure the safety and future success of our food supply, which is essential to our national security,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “These are the kinds of innovations that will help us stay ahead of this pest and protect our food supply and our economy, protecting the way of life of our ranchers and go towards rebuilding our cattle herd to lower consumer prices on grocery store shelves.”

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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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