Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says it will take most of December to get up and running when it comes to feeder cattle being imported from Mexico into the United States. Dr. Peel provides this chart below that shows that typically about 22 percent of Mexican cattle come in November and December. He explains “If we assume that half of November and all of December is impacted, I estimate that imports will drop by about 250,000-300,000 head from what would have otherwise been imported. That’s about an 18 percent drop in annual imports. It looked previously like we were on track to import about 1.5 million head and now it looks like 1.2 – 1.3 million head.”
According to Dr. Peel- “USDA is saying that the border (west of Texas) could be open in about three weeks. They could have the pens ready and USDA approved in that time. But seven days quarantine after they start checking animals would mean essentially no more animals in 2024. I doubt that the quarantine period could start any sooner than the three weeks preparation. ” Dr. Peel adds that the biggest port is Santa Teresa, New Mexico. That will be the most important one to get things moving again.
The Texas Cattle Feeders has discussed the process and timeline in a special email to their membership. According to TCFA: USDA-APHIS’ goal is to reopen some of the cattle crossings in the next three weeks or so. (as discussed above by Dr. Peel)
USDA-APHIS spent 3½ hours on a call with their Mexican counterparts on Monday to outline and discuss expectations. The length of time it takes to reopen the crossings is largely dependent on how quickly Mexico moves.
Crossings where cattle are inspected on the Mexican side of the border will reopen first. For now, that means the crossings in New Mexico and Arizona. Reopening the crossings where cattle are inspected on the U.S. side of the border will take more time. Recall that because of safety concerns for USDA employees on the border several years ago, cattle inspections at several crossings were moved to the U.S. side.
USDA-APHIS is requiring that the Mexican government establish additional pre-export pens to verify the safety of Mexican cattle. As soon as the Mexican government identifies the pre-export pen locations, USDA-APHIS veterinarians will visit those facilities and approve them for use as pre-export pens. Memorandums of Agreement will also be executed with those facilities.
At these pre-export pens, cattle would be inspected by a Mexican government veterinarian to verify cattle identification and cattle health status. The cattle would also receive ivermectin by injection and be held/quarantined for 7 days at the pre-export pens.
After the 7-day quarantine period, cattle will be given a health certificate and allowed to move to approved ports in Chihuahua and Sonora. At the ports, cattle will be subjected to the normal crossing protocols, where they are dipped and inspected by USDA-APHIS veterinarians.
The primary prevention measure of New World Screwworm is production and distribution of sterile flies. Today, there is only one remaining sterile fly production facility that is located in Panama. Mexico is working to retrofit fruit fly facilities to ramp up production of sterile flies to help build a barrier between Mexico and Guatemala. (Editor’s note- that will take months- if not years)
