Saturday, June 27 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins was in Metapa, Mexico, to officially open the new sterile fly facility.
The sterile fly program was key to the eradication of New World Screwworm from the U.S. in 1966. Female NWS flies only mate once. When they mate with a sterile male, the eggs do not hatch. By releasing sterile NWS flies in and around affected areas, wild flies mate with them, preventing the production of viable offspring.
To expand the production of sterile flies, USDA invested $21 million to renovate and convert an existing fruit fly facility in Metapa.
“Within 8 weeks, we should have 30 million flies, in 12 weeks 50 million flies, and by this fall an additional 100 million flies to deploy,” Rollins posted on X.
While in Mexico, Rollins toured the new facility, met with the USDA team on the ground that made it happen in record time and discussed the importance of integrating the new NOVO fly into production as soon as possible.
“Of course that will double our 100 million weekly sterile flies within months,” she says about the NOVO fly technology.
While in Mexico, she also thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Embajador Ronald Johnson, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, who announced an additional $84 million in funding to expand fly production.
🚨𝐍𝐖𝐒 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 🚨
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) June 27, 2026
On June 18th of last year, our Trump USDA launched a bold 5-point action plan to defeat New World screwworm and protect our great American ranchers.
🪰 Once considered fully eradicated from the United States (since 1966), the NWS breached the Darien… pic.twitter.com/gh1b1sAjP0
“The goal has always been to increase production of sterile flies, and the Metapa facility expands our capacity to better respond and ultimately eradicate New World screwworm,” says Stephen Diebel, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association president. “This facility was a commitment made by Secretary Rollins and USDA last May and the opening of this facility makes true on this promise. We appreciate Secretary Rollins and the rest of the Trump Administration for their steadfast support of Texas ranchers.”
He adds, “Every sterile fly produced helps the U.S. get closer to eradicating NWS and establishing a biological and geographical barrier to protect Texas ranchers and landowners.”
Texas Cattle Feeders Association shared on social media: “The Sterile Insect Technique remains the most effective way to combat New World Screwworm, and today’s opening of the sterile fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico, marks a significant step forward in producing the number of sterile flies needed to eradicate New World Screwworm from the U.S. and then Mexico,” said TCFA Chairman Laphe LaRoe. “We appreciate Secretary Rollins’ and USDA-APHIS’ leadership and commitment to helping producers fight New World Screwworm.”
Current Screwworm Status
As of Saturday, June 27 there are 26 confirmed cases of NWS.
View individual animal cases here: https://bit.ly/USDA-NWSConfirmedCases
See the current infested zones in place here: https://bit.ly/NWS-ZoneMap
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