The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a coordinated phase reopening of southern cattle ports contingent on Mexico’s adherence to the joint action plan.
Beginning Aug. 24, USDA will open the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry to cattle trade. Then if all goes as planned will initiate the operational steps for openings at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and Columbus, New Mexico. Every animal entering the United States through these ports will undergo a full USDA inspection to ensure it is free of any signs of New World screwworm. USDA’s goal is pushing this pest back to the Darien Gap.
The closest active case to the Douglas, Arizona, port is 325 miles. The reopening timeline will remain flexible and may be adjusted based on Mexico’s progress in meeting the action plan. The opening of ports may be paused if USDA identifies increased risk. However, we have several cases in the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins also announced there was growing momentum behind USDA’s product of USA label with 10 new companies joining the initiative. This would be good and it must be that packers and retailers cannot repackage a foreign product and call it USDA. The industry should have had to label what country it originated from a long time ago.
But the powerful packing industry could make more money by not labeling it, so the industry convinced a lot of state and national cattle organizations that this would not be in the cattlemen’s best interest. I promise you, in my opinion, a lot of money was paid to individuals and organizations to go along with it. I found it very odd last week our futures slipped $8 per hundredweight without any big news. You can call me suspicious, but I would bet you several individuals had inside information early of opening the border.
Futures took a large tumble one day recently and with situations like this the fund traders control the market and that influence often has little or no rhyme or reason with cattle numbers.
The quickest any of these Mexican cattle crossing could be fat would be seven months and if they are calves over a year.
Did you realize that in the span of 10 years, 115 people died in weight-lifting accidents. Only one person died eating donuts in 10 years. Make good choices.
My wife called and said, “Can I just be a stay-at-home wife?” I said, “I don’t care what you do once you get off work.”
My sister called and said, “Just take life one day at a time.” I said, “What else can I do? Skip Tuesday?”
I called a female friend of mine from Mooreland and told her she better be careful that over there where she lives there is a woman driving the wrong way on the highway. She said, “No there are about 20 of them going to wrong way.”
Editor’s note: The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the view of High Plains Journal. Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman and grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
PHOTO: Cowboy moving a herd of cattle. (iStock-#183824417 │ BrandyTaylor)
To read more on the phased reopening of southern cattle ports, read here: https://hpj.com/2026/07/27/usda-plans-phased-reopening-of-southern-cattle-ports-on-aug-24/
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