Mexican ranchers prepare to resume livestock sales to US under tight controls over screwworm risk
Shipments will start at 700 cattle a day under RFID tagging, electronic screening and U.S. inspections to limit New World screwworm spread.
- On Monday, August 24, 2026, the United States will resume livestock imports from Mexico at the Douglas, Arizona, border crossing, ending a yearlong ban imposed due to New World screwworm parasite concerns.
- The ban, sparked by the New World screwworm fly, dealt a blow to the Mexican cattle industry, which generated $1.2 billion annually before the closure and exacerbated livestock shortages in the United States.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture officials will implement strict inspection protocols, allowing 700 cattle daily in the first week, rising to 900 in the second, and requiring radio-frequency identification tags on all livestock.
- Juan Carlos Ochoa, president of the Regional Livestock Union of Sonora, said ranchers need authorities to think "less politically and more technically," arguing greater cattle flow is needed to address supply shortages.
- Authorities report 1,969 active screwworm cases in Mexico, a significant decline from last year, though veterinarian Arturo Ruiz noted that shipments will gradually increase only if the reopening proceeds smoothly.
49 Articles
49 Articles
Mexico will resume the export of livestock to the United States with restrictions against the sweeping worm, following the closure of the border that hit the revenues of Mexican producers.
Mexico Resumes Livestock Sales to US under Tight Controls over ...
Mexican ranchers prepare to resume livestock sales to U.S. under tight controls over screwworm risk
At daybreak, rancher Martin Alfonso Ibarra takes advantage of the cooler hours in northern Mexico's desert to oversee the milking of his cows and tend to 16 prized calves. Soon, he hopes, they will be headed north to the United States as a yearlong ban on Mexican cattle imports comes to an end.
Mexico resumes livestock sales to U.S. under tight controls over screwworm risk
Ranchers in northern Mexico are preparing to resume cattle exports to the U.S. as a yearlong ban ends. The ban was imposed due to a parasite outbreak affecting cattle industries on both sides of the border.
The US-Mexico cattle border is reopening. Not every American rancher is celebrating
On Monday, the US government will reopen part of the southern border to Mexican livestock following a screwworm outbreak. It has reignited a decades-old debate in the cattle industry.
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