Mexico resumes limited cattle exports to US after screwworm pause, relieving ranchers
The phased reopening begins with about 700 cattle a day under new traceability and inspection rules as officials try to prevent another outbreak.
- On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture resumed importing Mexican cattle through the Agua Prieta, Sonora, border crossing, allowing up to 750 head per day to enter Douglas, Ariz., after a year-long suspension.
- Trade was suspended mid-2025 because of the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that triggered emergency protocols in northern Mexico; USDA officials recently designated Sonora and Chihuahua as lowest-risk states for the pest.
- U.S. officials implemented strict safety measures for the reopening, including radio-frequency identification tags for traceability and specialized insecticide dipping vats, to ensure animals entering the country remain free of screwworm infections.
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated the resumption aims to address high beef prices, which rose more than 10% in July as the U.S. cattle herd remains at its lowest level in 75 years.
- If initial imports proceed safely, the USDA plans to expand shipments to Santa Teresa and Columbus, New Mexico, while increasing capacity from 750 head to 1,300 per day in the following weeks.
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WWBLUSDA Begins Phased Reopening of Southwest Livestock Ports
(NAFB.com) – USDA began reopening Southwest ports for livestock trade Monday, more than a year after suspending crossings to slow the spread of New World Screwworm. The phased reopening starts with the Douglas, Arizona, port, while USDA also prepares to reopen Santa Teresa and Columbus in New Mexico. Agri-Pulse said the move comes after a recent screwworm case was detected in a cow in southern Sonora, about 292 miles from the U.S. border. USDA …
Mexico City, Aug 24 (EFE) – Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo celebrated the reopening of the border for the export of Mexican cattle to the United States through Agua Prieta, bordering Arizona, on Monday. He also stated that his state has strengthened its sanitary capacity in response to the spread of the screwworm, which is now present in 30 states. […] The post Mexico Celebrates Reopening of US Border to its Cattle and Strengthens Sanitary Measu…
Mexican cattle imports restart in Arizona as screwworm cases decline
The U.S. livestock port in Douglas, Arizona, became the first along the Southwest border to reopen to Mexican cattle on Monday, but the threat of New World screwworm still remains elsewhere and that means restrictions are still in place.
Agua Prieta, Son., Sonora became the first entity on the northern border to reopen the export of cattle to the United States, in an act carried out from the quarantine of Agua Prieta, headed by Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño and the secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Columba Jazmín López Gutiérrez, with the support of President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
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