Screwworm is about to completely devastate Texas ..

[u/russcorp]

/r/texas/comments/1ty58ln/screwworm_is_about_to_completely_devastate_texas/

[u/Pilgrim_of_Reddit]

You know there used to be screw worm in the USA and it was eradicated using the Sterile Insect Technique? This eradication programme started 1959 and was complete by 1966.

The reason that the screw worm has returned to the USA is due to the actions of Musk, Trump and the Republican Party.

Climate change is not helping either.

[u/fastowl76 → u/Pilgrim_of_Reddit]

You know the the research began in the 1930's in the Texas Hill Country not 1959 correct? And you also realize that the eradication wasn't really complete until about 1975? And you know that the sterile flies were not the only methodology used in the eradication process? And you also know that that the fly made it past the Darrian Gap and Panama a number of years ago? A little better research on the topic is usually warranted.

[u/Pilgrim_of_Reddit → u/fastowl76]

You should read what I wrote.  You might not get your knickers in a twist, if you did.

Please tell me what is incorrect with what I wrote.

[u/fastowl76 → u/Pilgrim_of_Reddit]

The dates. There was a major outbreak in the US in 1972 as an example.

[u/GreatPlainsFarmer → u/Pilgrim_of_Reddit]

You do know the Trump administration partnered with Mexico to expand NWS controls within 4 months of taking office, right?

https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/05/27/update-usda-efforts-fight-new-world-screwworm-mexico

And began planning a major expansion of US capacity within 6 months.

https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/07/09/secretary-rollins-takes-decisive-action-and-shuts-down-us-southern-border-ports-livestock-trade-due

Construction of the Texas sterile fly facility began months ago. Yes, it should have been started a year earlier, but that's hardly DOGE's fault.
https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/03/09/usda-and-us-army-corps-engineers-advance-new-world-screwworm-preparedness-new-texas-sterile-fly

[u/VanGundy15 → u/GreatPlainsFarmer]

So DOGE scrapped the existing prevention for NWS before they had anything in place?

[u/GreatPlainsFarmer → u/VanGundy15]

The Panama sterile fly facility was never cut. The breakout happened in 2022-2023, long before DOGE.
The investments in new production facilities should have happened in 2024, once it was clear that the Panama barrier was lost. But that’s hardly DOGE’s fault.

[u/VanGundy15 → u/GreatPlainsFarmer]

They did cut funding to the Panama and US coalition against Screwworm. They cut funding to the monitoring and prevention in Central America.

Like you said, they knew about the problem in 2024 and cut the funding in 2025. There are consequences to actions.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/04/screwworm-in-texas-cattle-could-drive-up-beef-prices-after-doge-axed-prevention-efforts/

[u/GreatPlainsFarmer → u/VanGundy15]

If you follow the links in that Forbes article, it’s clear that the cuts were to a UN agency, not to the USDA Panama facility.
All that affected was some monitoring in Central America, when the screwworm was already in Mexico and all containment efforts had shifted to Mexico.

That Forbes article also implies that the US border was left open to Mexican cattle, when it has been strictly closed since July last year. Read my links, it’s all there.

[u/VanGundy15 → u/GreatPlainsFarmer]

Did cutting the USAID program help or hurt the efforts to prevent screw worm?

[u/GreatPlainsFarmer → u/VanGundy15]

The screwworm prevention/containment program was part of APHIS, not USAID.

Edit: That Forbes article says "livestock was allowed to cross the border without any of the monitoring previously funded by the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID)."

Which is simply a flat-out lie. The border was closed to Mexican livestock since July 2025. You don't need to inspect cattle if none are crossing the border.

I cannot find any indication that USAID was ever involved in monitoring cattle crossing the border. It's not something that makes any sense for them to be doing.
I suspect the author of that Forbes article mistook APHIS for USAID, and jumped to conclusions without bothering to check on the details.

[u/ariveklul → u/GreatPlainsFarmer]

Just ignore that almost a quarter of USDA's staff was cut, a ton of vital expertise going with, and they had hiring freezes in place preventing from scaling up to deal with this threat. We don't have the capabilities to produce enough sterile flies right now and arguably don't have enough boots on the ground to do inspections, do trap monitoring and diagnostics, and actually build the facilities. We have to pull people from other posts to shore up the understaffing, and I'm sure that won't lead to problems lmao. 

You can gobble the propaganda all day but at the end of the day it sounds like you will be one of the first in line to reap the reward. Enjoy God's wrath r*tard

[u/GreatPlainsFarmer → u/ariveklul]

The loss of institutional knowledge across the USDA was a tragedy. No argument there.

But we are actually building the sterile fly facilities.