In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays features comments from Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association President Steven Diebel and USDA Chief Scientist Scott Hutchins, who offered reassurance and insight as the livestock industry faces New World Screwworm.
Five Key Takeaways for Producers
During the Monday, June 8th, USDA Media hosted by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Victoria, Texas, cattle producer and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association President Steven Diebel urged producers to focus on facts rather than fear.
Diebel outlined five key points that livestock producers should keep in mind as the industry responds to the New World screwworm threat. “Number one, no need to panic. We have had a plan in place, and we’ve had that plan, and we know it works.”
Next, he emphasized that consumers should remain confident in the safety of the food supply. “Meat is safe. We do not have a food safety issue.”
Diebel also stressed that animal movement can continue under established protocols. “Treated and inspected cattle can move. We’ve talked about these protocols with Animal Health Commission, Parks and Wildlife Department, and all of our partners for many months now.”
Another important message was that New World screwworm infestations can be successfully addressed when identified quickly. “New World screw worm is highly treatable, and if detected early, can be very solvable.”
Finally, Diebel encouraged producers to remain vigilant and communicate any suspected cases immediately. “Monitor and report. We really want to reiterate to the producers, it is so imperative to report that way those solutions can be expedited to those ranches, and we’ve eradicated this pest, and we’ll certainly do it again.”
USDA Scientists Pursuing New Tools
USDA Chief Scientist Scott Hutchins discussed several research efforts currently underway to improve the detection and suppression of New World screwworm.
One focus is identifying the specific scents that attract female screwworm flies. “We have a very aggressive effort to discover the very specific attractants that the screwworm female, in particular, zeros in on.”
Researchers are studying odors associated with blood, wounds, and umbilical cords to develop more precise monitoring systems. “We’re looking for those volatiles that come from the umbilical cord, that come from blood, that come from other things, so that we can zero in on that specific odor.”
Hutchins said those discoveries could lead to improved trapping and suppression technologies that target screwworm flies without affecting other insects or the environment. One concept being explored is a modern SWASS (Screwworm Adult Suppression System), which would use highly specific attractants and control methods to target New World screwworm adults while minimizing impacts on non-target species. “We’re going to develop one that’s very specific that allows us to do what we need to do without any collateral impact to the environment, and very focused and specific.”
Confidence in the Sterile Fly Program
While researchers continue developing new tools, Hutchins emphasized that the proven sterile insect technique remains the backbone of eradication efforts. “We should have a lot of confidence in this, in the sterile insect technique.”
He pointed to the historical success of the program in the southeastern United States. “Florida and the Southeast, which was very heavily infested with the screw worm in the 50s, completely eradicated the pest in 1959 with only the use of the sterile insect technique.”
The Novo Fly
Among the developments is a newly developed sterile fly strain known as the Novo fly. “The Novo fly, Novo is Latin for new, and it’s the root for innovate. And this particular innovation is exactly that.”
According to Hutchins, the breakthrough will significantly increase the effectiveness of sterile fly production. “It’s going to allow us to almost instantaneously double the number of flies, sterile flies, that we put in the fight, because it’s going to allow us to produce only male sterile flies.”
Currently, about half of the sterile flies produced are females, which do not help control the pest population. “If you have a plant that produces 100 million flies as we do today, 50% of those are sterile females. They do us no good in this particular fight. So, by going to 100% male sterile males, we’re able to instantly double our production.”
Hutchins believes that increased sterile male production will provide a major advantage in future eradication efforts. “It’s going to give us a tremendous edge in that regard.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR above for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
