A confirmed case of the New World Screwworm less than 70 miles from the US-Mexico border could further drive up the cost of beef in the Rio Grande Valley, where the weekend barbecue is a common staple.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture said the screwworm was detected along a major highway that runs from Laredo to Monterrey near Sabinas Hidalgo, a city in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. The parasitic fly attacks cattle by entering through a wound and laying eggs. 

Despite the proximity of the flesh-eating pest, Isaac Sulemana, chief of staff for Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez, said there is no objective data that shows the screwworm has arrived in the Valley.

“It moved 300 miles, undetected,” Sulemana said, noting it was found in July about 370 miles south of the border. “We have a robust surveillance system, and there is no confirmation of screwworm in our area.”

The Texas Department of Agriculture announced last week it placed traps along the Texas-Mexico border, from Laredo to Brownsville, in export pens and in port regions around Corpus Christi and Galveston. Flies collected will be identified and sent to a national lab for confirmation.

A rancher’s $1 million stake

Edinburg rancher Giovana Benitez is bracing for a fight against an unseen enemy. 

With about 500 cattle worth roughly $2,000 each, her $1 million investment is at stake.

“We work every day to make sure our cattle are clean, vaccinated, dewormed, and without flies,” Benitez said. “If you do good management, then it’s easier to treat screwworm.”

She’s already taken precautionary measures. 

“I’m making sure our cows are healthy, and there is (nothing) that I’m not doing already, to get ready for possible screwworm,” Benitez said, adding she’s heard horror stories from ranchers who experienced a screwworm outbreak in the 1960s.

At a time when the cattle industry is seeing record-high prices, Benitez said she’s enjoying the profit margin, and she’s using it to improve her processes while ranching alongside her father.

“We reinvest it to improve operations, like we put in better fences or putting more shade for cattle,” Benitez said. “But prices have increased over everything, the cost of fertilizer, medicine, and feed are very expensive, too.”

Market fears and industry response

Eddie Garcia is a sixth-generation cattleman who owns Gulf Coast Livestock Auction, LLC in Alice. The business has become a gathering spot for those in the industry to share ideas in a conducive environment. Garcia said there is not much anyone can do to get ready for a possible NWS invasion.

“Other than what the producer can do at their own place, we’re not set up to treat screwworm,” Garcia said. “If someone buys cattle here and they want them wormed or treated, we can do that, but beyond wormer and fly spray, there is not much else to do.”

While NWS could devastate Texas herds, Garcia predicts beef prices will initially drop for a very brief period if the pest arrives in the Valley.

“In [the] short term, the price of cattle will fall just due to the type of panic that might be associated with screwworm,” Garcia predicted. “If we get an outbreak, would other states ban Texas cattle? That would be detrimental to the market. Our herds are valuable because other states want them.”

Any price drop would be temporary, Garcia said.

“Once we understand the protocols to treat and move the cattle with the (New World Screwworn), the prices will rise again,” Garcia said. “We just have to get the rules in place.”

He believes that despite drought conditions and other challenges, the demand for beef remains high.

“The perception of red meat has changed in our favor,” Garcia said. “People follow high-protein diets, and that’s kind of keeping beef at the forefront; it’s better right now than it’s ever been.”

​​Community resilience

Benitez keeps a wary eye on the border and continues to study how she can best protect her cattle.

“We have a lot of wild hogs. You can’t stop them from coming into the property,” Benitez said. “We don’t know if they’re infected, you don’t know how you’re going to get it. So even if you prepare, which all of us are doing, you don’t know if any of the surrounding wildlife in the future will infect your herd. That’s what makes this so challenging.”

Benitez plans to restrict her herd, and she often seeks advice from the veterinarian.

“We are going to try and manage what we have. I don’t want to over-expand or overdo it,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of employees, and that way we’ll be prepared, because we’ll have to work the cattle ourselves. And as an industry, we all help each other, so if a friend gets screwworm on their ranch, we will go help with that as well.”

She believes working together as a ranching community is the secret to success.

“You have to have a good team, because eventually there’s going to be something you’ve never seen,” Benitez said. “And right now, we need to educate the consumer, because if they eat beef, it doesn’t mean that they will get sick. We need to be sure the public has accurate information.”

Sulemana said the county is also working on messaging with brochures placed at cattle barns and feed stores to alert as many people as possible.

“If we are successful, as we were a generation ago, we will get this under control quickly,” Sulemana said.