Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association President Stephen Diebel today issued the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced plans to resume live cattle imports at the port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, within the next 30 days, followed by the phased reopening of two additional ports of entry in New Mexico:
“Our members need the ability to maintain commerce, but they also need assurance that every reasonable safeguard is in place to reduce the risk of New World screwworm. USDA’s decision to conditionally reopen limited ports of entry to cattle imports through a phased approach reflects many months of work by USDA, state partners and cattle raisers to strengthen the nation’s response to New World screwworm.
The temporary closure of the border provided valuable time to strengthen surveillance, expand sterile fly production and distribution, and implement protocols needed to manage New World screwworm. That work has laid the foundation for this measured, phased reopening.
Our priority has always been twofold: protecting the U.S. cattle herd and wildlife while ensuring cattle raisers can continue to operate and markets can function. TSCRA will continue closely monitoring the situation and will not hesitate to urge the immediate closure of these ports should science indicate the risk has changed.
We want to thank Secretary Rollins, our federal and state partners, and our members for their continued commitment to this issue, and we look forward to continuing the fight alongside them to eradicate this pest.”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) released a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement that they will be reopening the port of entry at Douglas, Ariz. to shipments of cattle in 30 days. This is the first part of a phased reopening that will include ports of entry in Columbus and Santa Teresa, N.M. in the second phase, after further biosecurity assessments.
“Secretary Rollins and her team at USDA have been fighting the spread of New World screwworm with an aggressive five-point plan and comprehensive response playbook. Their work – along with the diligence of cattle producers in border states – bought the United States valuable time to improve our domestic readiness. The whole-of-government response has put us in a strong position to begin safely and gradually reopening our southern border to cattle shipments,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “This decision will help normalize business for cattle operations throughout the border states and Southern Plains. We appreciate the continued work of USDA to support American producers and the U.S. cattle industry.”
