‘MAGA Warrior’ Texas ag chief blasts USDA over a flesh-eating pest threatening America's beef supply

Key Points:

• The New World screwworm fly, a parasitic pest harmful to livestock and sometimes humans, was detected in Texas and New Mexico for the first time since 1966, prompting USDA intervention to contain its spread.
• The USDA is reviving the sterile insect technique, releasing sterile male screwworm flies to mate with wild females and reduce population growth, a method key to eradicating the pest in the 1960s.
• Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller criticized the USDA’s approach as slow and ineffective, advocating for additional measures like bait and targeted pesticides, and claiming the sterile insect release involves both sexes mating with each other rather than wild flies.
• USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins condemned Miller’s comments as dangerous and unserious, highlighting tensions between Miller, a Trump-backed politician, and the current USDA leadership amid a growing screwworm threat in Texas.
• Economically, the screwworm poses a significant risk to Texas cattle and wildlife industries, with potential losses estimated at billions of dollars; the USDA is investing heavily in sterile insect production facilities while Miller urges faster and broader action.