USDA, DHS strengthen coordination against New World screwworm
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Moore Air Force Base Aug. 10. (Photo courtesy USDA.)
Federal agencies are expanding coordination to protect United States agriculture from New World screwworm and other animal and plant health threats.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Homeland Security during an Aug. 10 visit to Moore Air Force Base in the Texas Rio Grande Valley.
The agreement combines USDA’s animal health expertise with DHS border security and inspection authorities to improve detection and response to agricultural threats.
“The United States has the strongest food and agriculture system in the world,” Rollins said. “This new agreement builds upon the National Farm Security Action Plan in partnership with DHS. The MOU further aligns our animal health mission with DHS’s border, security and inspection authorities, so we are better positioned to detect, assess and respond to agricultural threats like New World screwworm. Together, we can move faster and more effectively to better support and protect America’s animals, people and agricultural resources.”
Under the agreement, the agencies will use unmanned aircraft systems and artificial intelligence to improve screening, detection and interdiction at and between ports of entry and within border enforcement zones.
Impacts of the MOU
USDA and DHS also will share actionable bio surveillance and information in real time and establish protocols for coordinated response efforts, joint training and capacity building.
The MOU expands research partnerships, including work with DHS Centers of Excellence, to develop screening, detection and mitigation technologies for NWS and other emerging threats.
The agreement also addresses illegal cattle movement. USDA estimates about 800,000 head of cattle, representing roughly $320 million in illicit trade, are smuggled annually from Central America into Mexico.
Those animals can bypass sanitary inspections and traceability systems, increase biosecurity risks, and potentially allow diseased or unmonitored livestock to move undetected across borders.
USDA said it will work with Mexico to ensure cattle entering the U.S. through approved ports of entry are fully documented and meet USDA import requirements and NWS safeguards.
New sterile fly facility
During the visit, Rollins toured construction of USDA’s domestic NWS sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Force Base. USDA said construction is ahead of schedule, and the facility is expected to open April 1. The facility is part of federal efforts to increase domestic sterile fly production and combat the spread of NWS.
Federal, state, tribal and local partners, along with industry stakeholders, helped develop the MOU. USDA and DHS said they will continue to refine response tools, strengthen coordination and support joint planning efforts. The agencies also will periodically review and update the agreement as preparedness activities and industry practices evolve.
For more information about USDA’s efforts to prevent and prepare for NWS, visit screwworm.gov.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
