WATCH | New World Screwworm Press Conference

Added: 2026-06-10

[00:00:26]I don't know.

[00:00:28]There's 10 more.

[00:01:24]It's a safe bet.

[00:03:12]Originally, Welcome to Texas.

[00:06:37]I'll try Let's start.

[00:09:12]two minute warning.

[00:09:15]>> You guys can come up hill seats too.

[00:09:21]Excuse me, everyone. If we could start filling up these front seats up here, that'd be amazing. Thank y'all. Just take any seat open. Thank you very much.

[00:10:21]No, you are fine.

[00:10:37]Until then, live shot.

[00:11:14]I know it's going to sound like size of awesome.

[00:12:09]Are you doing first day? Early It's better.

[00:13:42]I just want to do it.

[00:14:11]public health service.

[00:14:12]>> Yes, sir.

[00:14:14]>> No, that's great.

[00:14:18]>> We can do that.

[00:14:19]>> I have some friends in the back that have said something similar.

[00:14:25]>> We can have a pit. We should have a When you get the little silver thing Uh hello everyone and uh thank you for being here today. My name is Brook Rollins. Uh so grateful to the incredible Governor Greg Abbott uh who changed his schedule last minute to be here. Uh we decided late last week that uh it was imperative that we get down here and and show again uh the incredible partnership with our uh friends here in Texas and on the ground, the Texas Animal Health Commission. Uh again, just so very very grateful. We've got a couple of speakers. I'm going to lay out uh and also have a couple of announcements for the press and for those who are with us today. Uh then the governor will offer uh some remarks as well. Uh again I really appreciate he just did this I believe last uh Thursday or Friday but uh this is an ever evolving and dynamic situation and we uh are continuing to make progress. Then we have uh some extraordinary uh leaders behind us representing wildlife representing the cattle rancher representing USDA representing uh the Texas Animal Health Commission and uh and so we'll hear from them and then we'll open it up for some questions.

[00:16:26]Again, we're here in Kurville, Texas today to discuss the threat of the new world screworm and what it poses to our nation's stock and wildlife. What we are doing to combat it with our state, local, and bational partners. Last Wednesday, of course, June 3, USDA confirmed the presence of a new world screworm case within the United States here in Texas in the umbilical wound of a calf in Zali County in southern Texas where I'll be heading. Actually, I'll be down there on Thursday. The calf has been treated and is recovering. Then on June 5th, just two days later, we confirmed a second positive detection in a 30-day old calf, also located just a few miles away in Zavala County.

[00:17:09]Yesterday, USDA confirmed two additional cases, one in Texas in a calf in Lasal County, and another in Leia County, New Mexico in a dog that we are hearing has been moved up from Mexico. And today uh just a couple of hours ago, we had an additional confirmation in a goat in Gillespie County, Texas. These developments obviously represent a serious threat to our livestock and wildlife, but they haven't caught us offguard. We have been tracking this pest for a long time, and we have fought before, and we will do so again. I want to briefly walk through a timeline. A lot of people don't realize uh how far back this goes in our country's history.

[00:17:49]The earliest documentation of the new world screwworm is from 1842 in the southeast southwestern United States. In 1935, almost a hundred years after that first documentation, USDA launched our first educational program almost a hundred years ago for producers on how to protect their livestock from these infestations after animal movement into the Southwest caused an increase of cases back in the 30s. In the 1950s and 1960s, USDA scientists developed the incredible sterile insect technology that is still our best tool to combat this pest where you are literally at ground zero for that research here in Kurville at this facility. In 1966 after that facility uh after that uh after that product was developed that science I should say was developed the continental US was declared free of the indigenous new world screwworm. That was in 1966. In 1986 the US Mexico commission succeeded in pushing the new world screworm out of Mexico. 1986. From 1994 to 2006, USDA cleared the new world screw entirely from Central America, pushing it back past the dairian gap, where we assumed it would stay forever, um, at least until we saw it moving in the last five years again. In 2016, I know you all know there was a confirmed case in deer in the Florida Keys that was uh, successfully treated in a bit of a one-off. We don't think it's really relative uh to today, but important to note that we did have something in 16 by um this year of course. Um and you all have heard me say this, but I think it's important. We have been prepared and preparing since early last year for the in America. Now, this does trace back to the last administration and the open border policy and the movement of millions of people and their animals up through from South America through Central America. Uh in 2022 is when the biological barrier in Panama at the Darian Gap was breached in 2022 and then of course um by the end of the last administration, the pest had reached Mexico and began moving northward. Our administration took immediate action uh once we returned to office early last year, rapidly strengthening alongside our partners here in Texas the border protections and increasing the oversight containment efforts in Mexico, buying us and against all odds, every model showed that the new world screw would be here in Texas by early last summer. So, we bought ourselves an additional uh year to prepare for this moment. A couple of quick key action items I want to touch on. Number one, expanding sterile fly production and dispersal capacity. Uh you all are probably tracking that. Uh we launched that last year, but earlier this year opened both a dispersal facility in South Texas, but also invested tens of millions of dollars in refitting the uh the fly facility in Matapa, Mexico beginning last year, which uh those sterile flies will begin to come online this month. So very good timing. Uh, of course the massive um facility we're building in Moore had uh in the production facility we broke ground just a couple of months ago expecting to reach in the hundreds of millions of additional sterile flies by uh mid next year. This morning uh as I was driving in to Kurville, we received an update from the US Army Corps of Engineers, General Butch Graham, who reports to our great secretary of war, Pete Hgsth. They all along since we started having these conversations uh last March a year ago last March have prioritized these facilities. It is a uh a war department facility that is building this under the army corps of engineers but they uh they have put it at the very top of their priority list which is how we got it permitted in just a couple of months. Groundbroken contractor secured uh and building underway. But as of last Wednesday, they have now put one of their top commanders, Colonel Matt Chase, on this as his sole project to help us combat the New World Squer. Taking the same approach they took to rebuilding schools in Maui within a 100 days. Uh building a massive reservoir project in the Everglades, uh cutting that time of build in by 80% and cutting years off of their projects. This project already was on warp speed, but now it has been put at literally the very top priority for the Department of War and the Army Corps of Engineers. We're also, of course, expanding the sterile fly dispersal along the US Mexico border and conducting the first ever ground release of the New World screworm fly uh via a ground release vehicle back in February of this year. Again, all of these efforts to ensure that we did everything we could to contain the screw room south of the border to give us more time to prepare as we're building. Number two, and I'll talk about this, this is uh a bit of news today. We are advancing our next generation tools and technologies in addition to building out the facilities. Last year, USDA launched our New World Screworm Grand Challenge. I think it was late last summer, investing up to $100 million in innovative solutions from the private the private sector to strengthen eradication efforts and expand sterile fly production. We uh have spent the last couple of months reviewing over 226 applications through the grand challenge. And later this week, we will begin rolling out uh more rapidly than we had planned to until last Wednesday. And we're already moving fast, but but now you will hear of some of those innovations coming out. uh week by week by week. We also opened this building as we mentioned just a few weeks ago, the Canipling Bushland US Livestock Insects Research Laboratory here in Kurville, providing the world's most cuttingedge research capabilities for the New World screworm. Our amazing Kurville scientists, a few standing behind me, are the teams that developed a novel strain for the sterile New World screworm that doubles production output that we will soon be deploying. Under Secretary Hutchkins from USDA himself, a 31-year enmologist will give us more on that in a minute. And finally, we have be we have always been over the last year strengthening surveillance, detection, and preparedness. We are actively monitoring over 8,000 surveillance traps that we set out last year along the US Mexico border and have examined in that time 59,000 plus fly samples and over 19,000 wildlife specimens since January of last year. On top of this, enhancing the border surveillance through increased trapping, uh increasing our mounted patrols, our tick riders, we've been training dogs to detect at the border entry points, not for livestock, but for companion animals, which uh that becomes a problem as these companion animals are moving up through Mexico. Uh we have expanded all monitoring activities and will continue to do so. We've also conducted national preparedness exercises beginning last year for this particular moment with our federal, state, and international partners. Of course, our New World Screworm playbook, which which is at screwworm.gov, has all of this information. So, we ask that you uh continue to uh to review that as you're reporting this out. We have a unified uh incident command team with the Texas Animal Health Commission and our partners in the governor's office. Of course, you all know we established a 20 kilometer infested zone around the detection from last week and will continue to implement movement controls and surveillance in the region.

[00:25:37]We have expedited targeted release of the sterile flies which mate with the new world screw flies and prevent them from reproducing by immediately deploying 4 million. We got the confirmation on Wednesday. By Wednesday night, we had already begun to deploy up to four million uh ground release chambers in that particular area and we'll continue to do so in the areas that are coming online with a confirmation. We've increased trapping for the New World Screw Room along the border and just outside of the dispersal area and of course as I mentioned um the surveillance the single a lot of really important things here but I just think it's so important to give a big shout out to our ranchers from South Texas.

[00:26:19]many of them represented here today. We they now become the front lines for this battle. We now know what the enemy looks like. We now understand what we have to do. And for those men and women, our ranchers along the border, and frankly throughout Texas who are have eyes on their cattle in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, who are the front lines to ensure that we can do everything we can to protect our livestock industry. I just I I can't tell you how incredibly impressed and moved I am in the year of working with our Texas cattle raisers organization.

[00:26:56]They've been extraordinary and so many of our ranchers on the ground uh as we built this out to prepare for this moment. So I continue to uh just be so grateful. Uh I also want to continue to ensure this does not affect the food supply system. This is not a virus. It is not a disease. It is a pest. And so we uh obviously are treating it as such, but the food supply system remains intact and couldn't be safer or better than any other food supply system in the world. And the final thing I'll say, and one of the speakers you'll hear from today, a new face to the battle, uh, is my friend and our new senior adviser for the new world screw preparedness, uh, John Bellinger. John is on the board of regents at Texas A&M, an incredibly important partner, Dr. Seville, Dr. Kaufman, Dr. Lamb, just everyone that has been such a great partner in this.

[00:27:44]Uh John is on the board of regents at that great and esteemed institution in College Station and uh is chair of the commission on research, but most notably he has tremendous private sector experience in the cattle industry, having founded the food safety net services and more specifically a depth of knowledge in building infrastructure.

[00:28:04]So, we're already have a fire lit, but he is going to spend all day, every day making sure that this infrastructure continues to build out at rapid pace.

[00:28:12]So, John, I want to welcome you to the team, and I'm so grateful. We'll hear from you in just a second. But now, again, I'm going to turn it over to my partner, uh, Governor Abbott. And again, so grateful for all of you being here and Governor Abbott, your great partnership. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:28:30]>> Thank you, Secretary Rollins, and thank you for being here. Thank you for uh what you and your agency are doing to help Texas and the United States uh combat uh the screw worm. Thank you for the resources that you're providing.

[00:28:41]Thank you for uh working alongside Texas. I too want to thank the the ranchers who were here today as well as those who join me on Friday as well as those across the entire state. As Brook Rollins pointed out, listen, you guys are on the front line. We're here to serve you, to help you, to aid you to respond to issues that you're experiencing on your ranches, issues that you want to avoid occurring on your ranch. And our goal is to be lock step with you every single day. Also, our state representatives and state senator who joined with us today. We are in the district of House Representative Wes Verdell who joins us and uh now his district has been affected by this. Uh I think we're in the senatorial district for Pete Flores whose district is affected by this as well as uh uh Don Mclofflin, a representative whose district was first affected by this in the state of Texas. I thank them for being here and joining us as well as working with us on rapid solutions for their districts as well as for the state of Texas. also want to express my gratitude for Nate Sheets for joining with us and advising us and working with us as we continue to address this growing problem. To to double down on something that Secretary Rollins mentioned, there is a wellestablished prevention and solution for the spread of the screworm that the federal government has implemented in the past and that is sterile flies. Prevention requires the release of millions of sterile flies in targeted regions. The USDA is now importing and dispersing those flies in South Texas and will recalibrate to deploy those sterile flies as needed and where needed. The USDA is also constructing that new sterile screworm production facility in Edinburg, which we need to get up and running as quickly as possible.

[00:30:29]Beginning last year, I directed state agencies to establish the Texas New World Screworm Response Team. This team brought together livestock producers, veterinarians, wildlife experts, and federal partners to prepare in advance.

[00:30:45]Earlier this year, in January, I issued a statewide disaster declaration for all 254 counties in the state of Texas to mobilize resources and to strengthen Texas's prevention and response efforts in advance. Today, I'm sorry, Friday, I updated the statewide disaster declaration to make two things clear. I authorized the use of all available resources of state government to respond to this disaster and to reassign all resources needed to address the spread of the screw worm. I am making available any and all state personnel, including personnel from our university systems to accelerate the movement of sterile flies into Texas and to accelerate the construction of the new sterile screworm production facility in Edinburgh. just one example of this and that is Texas A&M will immediately deploy fly testing facilities to all of the affected areas.

[00:31:49]Spearheading a larger role for Texas A&M is John Bellinger whom Secretary Rollins made reference to earlier. John Bellinger is on the board of regents and has the most experience and knowledge of anybody on the board of regents for Texas A&M about how to address this issue uh including knowledge of how to construct uh these biolabs that are necessary in order to produce the sterile flies. He is marshalling or he is marshalling all of the expertise and personnel at Texas A&M to ensure Texas A&M is leaning into solving this problem in Texas. Then today I activated the state emergency operations center. It is staffed 247 365.

[00:32:37]Agencies related to the new world screworm will be present seven days a week and available as needed 247.

[00:32:45]Personnel expected to be there include those from the Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas A&M Agro Life Extension Service, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the state department of health services. In addition to that, uh we have announced a certified inspector program, an issue that was raised on Friday was was an inadequate number of inspectors. We are solving that today. Uh by this weekend, uh the Texas A&M Agro Life Extension in coordination with the Texas Animal Health Commission will publish a new new world screworm training module so ranchers and cattlemen can be certified to inspect their animals to ensure no interruptions to the continuity of business. Additionally, the Agra Life Extension has moved mobile equipment to Ubaldi for closer onsite testing that can be moved elsewhere as needed.

[00:33:53]Here's what Texans can do right now.

[00:33:56]Check your animals daily. Check for any wounds, even small wounds like tick bites on navls or newborns or other openings. Treat wounds promptly and work to reduce fly populations around your operations. Report immediately any suspicion of new world screwworm and wounds to the Texas Animal Health Commission. Anyone can report. You don't have to be a veterinarian to report. If you come upon an animal that you suspect of having the screworm, do not move it.

[00:34:28]You can report suspected cases to the Texas Animal Health Commission 24hour veterinarian call line at 1 800-5508242.

[00:34:38]That's 1 8005508242.

[00:34:43]If you observe deer, feral hogs, exotic game animals, or other wildlife showing signs of infestation or unusual wounds, reported immediately to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or your local Texan Parks and Wildlife Wildlife Biologist, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologist can be reached at 512 389450.

[00:35:09]512-389-4505.

[00:35:13]Pets like dogs and cats with outdoor exposure and untreated wounds need close monitoring as well. This is a highly treatable condition if acted upon quickly.

[00:35:27]Bottom line is this. Texas is resilient.

[00:35:31]Our producers, veterinarians, and state officials are among the very best in the United States. It is critical to stay vigilant and stay informed. We prevented and eradicated this pest before. We can do it again. Back to you, Secretary.

[00:35:47]>> Great. Thank you, Governor.

[00:35:53]Uh, very well said. Next, Admiral Michael.

[00:36:02]Dr. USDA has led a unified national effort.

[00:36:10]We've deployed enhanced surveillance and strengthen our border defense strategy.

[00:36:14]We've supported crossber operations with our partners in Mexico and Central America. These efforts have bought us critical time. We've had over a year and a half to prepare. How has that played out? We've been able to work with many of the people around here in this room today. people that are individuals in this state who are critical to the success of being able to beat this back.

[00:36:37]We have worked with people to be able to have additional time so we can do trainings as the secretary mentioned uh exercises to be able to utilize the new world screworm playbook which actually is available on my favorite website screwworm.gov.

[00:36:52]Please let it be yours as well. Uh this website allows you the opportunity to see all of the data when it happens. One of the biggest things that we have the opportunity to address are those uh misinformed individuals that are out there that put information that isn't quite correct, isn't quite align with the science, please go to screwworm.gov.

[00:37:12]If you don't like what you see, please email us at screwwormusda.gov.

[00:37:19]So that website is critical. The reason is is because it shows you the cases as we know them. As we confirm them, they are put up there. It shows you where we're doing our work. the work that we're doing is not just with USDA, it's with our partners in Texas Animal Health as well as Texas Park and Wildlife.

[00:37:35]There he is. Uh we can't do what we're doing. And in fact, uh the secretary turned me around on the plane when that first case was even suspected. Got off the plane and within three hours I was on Dr. Dingis's doorstep with a garment bag and only two days of clothes.

[00:37:51]This is really important. And I joke about that a little bit because the connection between USDA and Texas animal health and Texas Park and Wildlife is critical to this success. One of the greatest things that Texas Animal Health oftentimes tells people is this is something that is detectable. This is something that is preventable and this is something that is treatable. One of my other favorite things that they say is the best thing that you can put it on it is your eyes. The best thing you can put on it is your eyes. If you see it, tell us. let us know. Work through Texas Animal Health, work through Texas Park and Wildlife to be able to tell us where it is. As the secretary mentioned, there is no danger to the food supply.

[00:38:33]It's much better to have these discussions after a year and a half of preparedness and working with each other than exchanging business cards just today. We celebrate the partnerships that we have with industry, with higher education, uh Texas animal health, Texas Park and Wildlife. We have fantastic things that are coming along the way.

[00:38:53]One thing I did want to share with you today is as recently as today is we will be starting to engage on a um a trial to look at ivormectin in feed as it relates to uh wildlife populations. The FDA, USDA, Texas Park and Wildlife will be looking at this to be able to validate is this something that works. So we're looking at the possibility of using ivormectin andor other products just as of today. It doesn't stop. As the secretary mentioned when we talk about the grand challenge, the offer was put out there for hundred million dollars of ideas. You couldn't stop. You gave us $700 million worth of ideas. The plan is to be able to, as the secretary mentioned, to be able to announce that and start immediately moving on it. Last but not least, what we need most is your help. We need you to keep working with the systems in Texas to let us know when those cases are there. We cannot do our part to support this fight with the sterile flies. We cannot do our part as far as supporting with trapping and other types of surveillance. We can't do our part to serve to be able to provide you data on screwworm.gov if you don't work with our partners at Texas Animal Health and our partners at Texas Park and Wildlife.

[00:40:10]Thank you for being here today.

[00:40:12]>> Thank you.

[00:40:16]>> Our great partner, Dr. Bud Dingis, leading the effort on the ground. Dr. Dingis.

[00:40:25]>> Well, good afternoon and u first want to start out by thanking Secretary Rollins for her decisive and quick leadership uh to enhance our toolbox uh pre preventing the spread of new screworms. Thank you, Governor Abbott, for the resources that you have provided uh in this fight. So, thank you for the opportunity to hear current information regarding uh what's going on with our response efforts here in Texas. Uh the USDA, Texas Animal Health Commission, and Texas Parks and Wildlife teams are on the ground infested zones conducting active animal surveillance, establishing checkpoints, connecting with land owners and producers for sterile fly release locations, conducting ground and aerial release of sterile flies, and educating animal owners and the public on the pest and how to prevent the spread. Uh we are in close coordination with our partners um taking the regulatory uh action we have been preparing for since 2024.

[00:41:23]Goal of our response efforts is to prevent the spread of screworm out of in out of the in out of an infested zone but keeping the continuity of business going. We need people in zones and across the state to continue to report suspicions as soon as you see them. Uh if you suspect an animal uh may be infested with new world screworms, notify the Texas Animal Health Commission or your local veterinarian immediately. Quick notification leads to quick detection and quick response to stop this pest from spreading. Animals will still be able to move. We just need to make sure that they are not moving.

[00:41:57]They are moving safely and are not moving the screworm with them. It is important for animal owners to remember infestations from the the pest can be prevented. Animal owners need to look uh their animals look at their animals off as often as possible and stay vigilant monitoring for wounds that can be covered and treated. Uh this is not an infectious disease. This is not a a food u safety issue. These flies may need to lay their eggs in on or near a wound for an animal to become infested. So treat and cover wounds as quickly as possible.

[00:42:31]Animal surveillance is a very large part of how we prevent greater impacts of this pest. This is a highly treatable condition that if caught early can be treated and spread prevented. We have tools in our toolbox to prevent uh devastating impacts that we didn't have before. We want to remind folks that veterary that a veterary client relationship is critical to best address specific animal and and operational needs for treating new world screworm infestations.

[00:43:00]remind you appropriate use of animal prevention and treatment drugs uh will need to be followed. Uh I'll conclude by thanking the great folks on the response teams uh the invaluable partners including local law enforcement uh and their uh for their tireless effort uh to protect animal agriculture. Our response continues. It's going to take partnership between government, industry uh and animal owners to continue work to work together to stop New World screw arms in its tracks. So, I appreciate your time today. Thank you.

[00:43:35]>> Next, I want to introduce Alan Kane with the Texas Parks and Wildlife, uh, who will prove to be one of our most important partners to solve for this as Texas does have a significant amount of wildlife in South Texas. Uh, Mr. Kaine, thank you.

[00:43:50]Thank you, Secretary Loans, and uh I appreciate the opportunity to be here today and all your support and Governor Abbott, your support for the agency and all agencies involved in this critical response. Uh Texans love their wildlife.

[00:44:04]It's an incredibly diverse state. Um and we have, for example, about 5.4 million whitetail deer throughout the state, which is an incredible economic driver uh for many rural communities out there to around $9.6 6 billion just on deer hunting alone. Um the primary role that te Texas parks and wild is going to play in their response is obviously coordinating with our partners at USDA, USDA wildlife services, uh Texas animal health commission and others um to uh monitor wildlife through surveillance, enforcement of live animal inspections of native wildlife movements such as deer breeding, uh wildlife rehab, scientific research permits, and outreach to the public. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has an extensive network of private land owners that our biologists and game boards work with day in and day out. Uh that network encompasses approximately 12,000 uh land owners and and ranch manager contacts, approximately 32 million acres across the state through our wildlife management activities on those properties. this resource, this landowner resource is critical um to help leverage our contacts with those folks to be able to support Texas animal health uh commission and USDA response and engagement with those land owners for fly trapping, establishment of uh release areas and inspection requests and general surveillance in those areas.

[00:45:30]Like you've heard from uh many of the folks speaking today is that landowner cooperation is going to be critical. You guys are the front lines. Wildlife are not like cattle. You can't gather them up. You can't look at them. So, we need you when you're out there in your pastures and driving around checking your cameras um checking wildlife, especially during hunting season this comes up. That's going to be critical because as Dr. Dingis pointed out, the quicker we can find those detections, the quicker we can respond. um that access to not only these land owners, but uh about 1 million licensed hunters in the state of Texas provides us an opportunity to uh an incredible outreach opportunity to get information out, factual information um and how to respond. And we continue to uh work handinand with Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA uh during this uh this pest uh and hopefully we can take care of that uh soon. So, I appreciate your time and uh thank you.

[00:46:29]>> Thank you, Alan.

[00:46:34]>> Thank you, Alan. Uh our under secretary for research, Scott Hutchkins, as I mentioned, himself, Dr. Hutchkins, a 31-year enmologist, uh who's going to talk a little bit about our Novocol, the next steps on that and and the additional work going on. Thank you, Dr. Hutchkins.

[00:46:49]>> Thank you, Madam Secretary, and uh Governor Abbott. Thank you for being here. And as representative of the Agriculture Research Service, I want to also introduce Dr. Kim Lommy, she's the R&D director for this lab in this area.

[00:47:00]So, thank you for that. Um, and a lot thank you for allowing us to host this as well with the screwworm community uh broadly, but also with our stakeholders and our distinguished guests. So, thank you very much. I'm really honored uh to welcome everybody on that behalf to the recently opened nippling bushel US livestock insects research laboratory.

[00:47:20]Just 10 days ago, we had the ribbon cutting here, but I don't want you to think that we've only been doing this for 10 days. uh this site and its previous buildings and and satellite sites have been. This is also our 80th anniversary of doing this work and working in this particular space. So, we have quite a bit of experience and you've heard from the previous speakers just how important the current focus is on tracking and so forth. Our job is to develop the future tools, the tools that are going to allow us to elevate the fight against the screwworm and really take it to that next level. And so, we're very pleased to do that. But the Agriculture Research Service is not alone. We have our great land grant partners and in this state in particular, Texas A&M obviously and Texas Aggro Life and it's that synergy between the land grant system and the federal agencies uh that allow us to really uh do the things that we can all do together. It's such a critical partnership that we have uh and uh so it's a national treasure for us to be able to work with them and to develop that kind of impact and we do it uh at the direction and in the full partnership with our friends at Aphus uh and specifically with the director as the admiral head made reference to. I want to say a few words about what we're doing uh to to elevate uh the fight and the opportunity and the secretary's already made reference to it but uh we have 100% confidence in the sterile insect technique. It was developed by the namesakes of this laboratory, Drs.

[00:48:41]Nippling and Dr. Dr. Bushland. And in the 40s and 50s, they did all they could do. But the tools that we have today and the opportunities that we have today to really build on and amplify that uh activity uh is really uh stunning to uh to study. For example, uh the Agriculture Research Service with their collaborators has developed a novel fly strain uh that was referenced and we refer to it as the Novo. Okay, the Novo fly. Novo is Latin for new and it's the root for innovate. And this particular innovation is exactly that. It's going to allow us to almost instantaneously double the number of flies, sterile flies that we put in the fight because it's going to allow us to produce only male uh sterile flies. So if you have a plant that produces a 100 million flies as we do today, 50% of those are sterile females. Uh they do us no good in this particular fight. So by going to 100% male sterile males, we're able to instantly double our production. So it's going to give us a tremendous edge in that regard. But it's not all that we're doing. We have a number of other activities going as well. We have a very aggressive effort to discover uh the very specific attractants that the screwworm uh female in particular zeros in on. We saw that in the lab today. The secretary had a tour. Uh, so we're looking for those volatiles that come from the umbilical cord, that come from blood, that come from other things so that we can zero in on that specific odor, if you want to think of it in that context, that will attract the female fly uh, and not all of the other flies and all the other uh, indiscriminate activities that go with that. And how can we use that? Well, obviously we can use that for monitoring, but we can also develop what I would refer to as a modern SWAS. SWAS is a word that's been used around. It stands for a screworm adult suppression system. Uh and uh there were some early uh methods used in the 70s to try this very indiscriminate approach. Uh the materials for the lure and the materials uh for the insecticide are no longer really viable uh to utilize anymore. I spent hours on the phone with the EPA last week and fundamentally the ones used in the past are not registerable and not usable. So, we're going to develop one that's very specific uh that allows us to do what we need to do without any collateral impact to the environment and very focused and specific. Uh and even if we don't develop that, we should have a lot of confidence in this in the uh in the sterile insect technique. you know, in Florida and the southeast, which was very heavily infested with the screworm in the 50s, completely eradicated in 1959 with only the use of the sterile insect technique because the swast techniques did not even emerge until the 19 um '7s. So, we have a lot of confidence in that. Last thing I'll say is that we are developing very precise using modeling and artificial intelligence, very precise modeling techniques for the fly and its movement.

[00:51:28]uh the the admiral and the directorate use every week the specific modeling results so they know exactly where to drop the flies and put the flies in order to maintain that because as he had indicated we don't have enough to do the complete push but we do have enough to manage and we do have enough uh to manage uh the growth or the development of it in Texas. So to be sure, we do have big challenges uh ahead, but we are committed to developing the tools and developing the techniques that will allow us to win this fight in the short run, but also uh specifically in the long run. And our discovery goals within the agriculture research service and the USDA and the land grants are 100% focused on this fight.

[00:52:07]>> Thank you, Dr. Hutchkins. Thank you. Um we've got two more quick speakers. Uh I'm going to end with you Stephen just so we can hear uh from the rancher uh to wrap us up. Right now I'm going to turn over to John Bellinger whom I mentioned at the top uh with significant private sector experience especially in building and moving projects out. Uh really really excited I know all the teams are to have him on board again. Uh Mr. Bellinger, thank you. John, please join me.

[00:52:35]>> Thank you Secretary Rollins. It is an honor to be selected for this and thank you for the call on Saturday night and approved yesterday and and it's an honor to be with you and the Trump administration. I look forward to working with you. Governor Abbott, we've worked for three years together solving issues none bigger than this and we will get it solved. I hear you both loud and clear.

[00:53:01]I also want to thank uh chairman of the board of regents Bob Albrittain for allowing me to take on this and still be a regent at Texas A&M.

[00:53:10]Uh look, I've got a passion for this. Uh agriculture is my passion. It's my background.

[00:53:18]Uh I'm unfortunately as old as I am, I doctorred calves in the 60s with that purple spray. I don't know if any of you did that, but uh I remember catching the calves and looking at those maggots and and uh and spraying it and killing them.

[00:53:32]U we were blessed it went away. It's back. Uh it's going to take USDA. It's going to take the state of Texas. It's going to take the Texas A&M system. And it's going to take anybody in the world as they both have said that we can go get and we're going to go get and we're going to turn over every stone. My simple objective is to get more sterile flies. Uh there's a lot of research going on. We'll see. We hope it works.

[00:53:58]Hope we can, you know, come up with something. But the obvious is we need more sterile flies. Whether it's the Novo fly or expanding uh what we have in Panama, in Mexico, getting Edinburg open. And I'm going to turn over every stone to look for another BSL2 lab. And it might be at the University of Texas.

[00:54:21]I don't know because stranger things have happened.

[00:54:26]I'm calling I'm calling Zurwok pretty quick to see if he's got one. But we are going to turn over every stone to find more sterile flies. We have to be ready next spring. And that's the bottom line.

[00:54:40]Thank you again. Look forward to working with each of you. Let me know how I can help you. And please send me any suggestions and thoughts that you might have. Thank you.

[00:54:48]>> Thank you, John. Thank you.

[00:54:52]He mentioned, but it's true that that the idea came to me Saturday afternoon uh to add someone to the team that would be relentless and intentional and and and vigorously search for more solutions. Uh and and John popped into my head for a lot of reasons. I checked with the governor. I said, "What do you think about this?" He said, "I love it."

[00:55:11]And within 12 hours, the White House had signed off on, done the background checks, and approved. And here we are today. So, within 48 hours. So, really appreciate you, John, stepping up in such a significant way with very short notice. I appreciate that. Uh, and finally, and then we'll open up for some questions, is one of our great ranchers and president of the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers and a great partner in all this, Steven Devil. Thank you, Stephen.

[00:55:33]>> Thank you.

[00:55:37]>> Well, thank you, Governor. Um, we appreciate appreciate being a part of this um um historic event. Uh, we we appreciate all the partnerships. We've been working at this for probably uh 18 months or two years now and it's very very refreshing to see the partnerships that we have um we have worked with and we're so so fortunate for that. Uh I'd like to make five points and those points um have already been talked about. Number one, no need to panic. We have we have had a plan in place and we've had that plan and we know it works. Meat is safe. We do not have a food safety issue. Uh treated and inspected cattle can move. We've uh talked about these protocols with animal health commission, parks and wildlife department and all of our partners for many months now. New World Screworm is highly treatable and if detected early uh can be very solvable. Uh monitor and report. We really want to reiterate to the producers. It is so imperative to report uh that way those uh those solutions can be expedited to those ranches. And uh we've eradicated this pest and and we'll certainly do it again. Uh a big thanks to all the partnerships again over the last couple of years and just really want to emphasize um uh the surveillance the enhancements that we can do. We're much better prepared than we were in the 60s and the 70s. So thank you very much for the for the opportunity.

[00:56:56]>> Thank you.

[00:56:56]>> Thank you.

[00:57:00]>> Uh a very quick shout out to the USDA team. Friday I was with President Trump in Wisconsin, which is why I wasn't next to the governor uh when he talked about this two days ago. But we decided to do this Friday afternoon. So the team from Washington pulled this off, put this together for all the press that I know Chad probably heard your Monday turned upside down when we uh when we noticed this uh just a little while ago and then of course to all the team standing beside me. I think it does go to the priority that this issue has uh for all of us working in this space. So thank you. We'll open it up for questions.

[00:57:29]>> We have any idea how long this might >> Would you mind introducing yourself in here?

[00:57:35]>> I'm hold with Fox 7. Meredith, great to have you and repeat your question.

[00:57:39]>> Uh, do we know how do we have any idea of how long this could take to eradicate? Again, I assume we don't know numbers exactly of how many uh of these we have, but any sort of timeline?

[00:57:51]>> Uh, let me just uh briefly touch on that and then governor, unless you want to lean in, I'll have the admiral um lean in specifics. We obviously don't have this number of months uh and days, but what we do know is that we are in a position based on everything we've been building out over the last year that rather than years and years, which is what happened in the 1950s and 1960s, our goal is to have enough sterile flies deployed and out into Texas and wherever else this happens to be, uh before the next summer season pops up. That is the goal. Now, I want to underscore most people would say that is an impossible goal. Uh that normally a facility takes two years to permit, four years to build. Uh we got way behind. Um you know, 100 million flies out of Panama.

[00:58:38]Everyone thought that that would be enough to keep it eradicated. It's we haven't had it here for 60 years. Uh but this is Texas and this is Governor Abbott time and this is Trump time and uh it's a different time and this is why we've built out a pretty significant team. So that's the goal. I don't know Admiral if you want to add anything to that. Anything I didn't get?

[00:58:58]>> Nope. You you got it ma'am. Uh thank you ma'am. So great question. It's hard to know uh until we have additional data.

[00:59:06]Uh and so the more we hear from you, the more we in the more information uh that we receive from Texas Animal Health, the more uh information we receive from Texas Parks and Wildlife, the better sense we have. And so we have done this before, as was mentioned, we have seen other countries address this and we've seen how they've been successful and perhaps not as successful as they could have been. A key critical part on this is the state contribution. And so I really want to thank the governor for for not not not just uh the support of Texas animal health and Texas Park and Wildlife, but what he's been able to do to open up all of the state agencies to be able to support us. And so whether it is security, whether it is working with Texas Agriife, it doesn't matter. The more we can work with people, the faster we can be able to address this.

[00:59:56]>> Real quick to help >> understand what it means to the timeline. Whatever the timeline is, our expectation is to get it done faster than that. And we get that done through several strategies. One is through the the whole of government approach where every single state employee in the state of Texas is responsible uh at my direction to to respond to this through the disaster declaration that I issued.

[01:00:20]I've waved any regulations that could slow this down, any purchasing requirements that would slow this down, uh, and ensure that we, uh, bring in people like John Bellinger who are going to accelerate whatever the timeline was before his mission began.

[01:00:35]>> I have a followup to that.

[01:00:36]>> There's so many questions. I'm so sorry.

[01:00:38]If we don't get to your followup with the other questions, then let us know.

[01:00:41]Uh, ask the questioner. Go ahead.

[01:00:43]>> Abra withstar's local news station for Texas here. We talked to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller the day of the first infection. He said that he feels farmers aren't going to report even if they see it because they're worried about being quarantined of government coming and exerting control on their farms. What are you hearing from people on the ground and what would you say to a farmer who may be feeling?

[01:01:08]>> Well, uh first of all, I will work to be judicious. Uh that is a very unserious comment from uh a perhaps unserious a commissioner with just a few months left. It is also a very dangerous um suggestion if you will. Uh I may ask Stephen to respond to that. From my perspective, every interaction, every conversation, I've been on Zoom with our cattle razors in Texas and especially our South Texas cattle raisers non-stop since last Wednesday, but also regularly since last year about how we prepare for that. And uh and the great South Texas ranchers that are actually here, including some of the ranchers where the first case was found, are here today. I'll be on their ranch on Thursday down with them. Uh they have been nothing as you would expect but patriotic know they're part of the battle. We're all on the same team and we have to solve this together.

[01:02:06]Stephen, I don't know if you want to add anything to that, but I think that's so important and I really appreciate the question and the chance to clarify.

[01:02:12]>> Well, as we've educated our producers for the past two years, it's so important to report. Once reporting takes place, our solutions can be had.

[01:02:20]It can be that that quick. So reporting is a very very key key piece to the puzzle. um unreporting uh just uh furthers that problem. So um again our cattle can be treated, inspected and moved. So uh the the need for um you know having those movement controls is very very important.

[01:02:38]>> Thank you.

[01:02:41]>> Thank you for that question. Um, cattle cattle can move or livestock can move, animals can move just as long as they've been inspected, treated, whatever that's going to look like, identified, and have the proper documentation to to prove that they've been met all those requirements. I know people here are quarantined, so on and so forth. We just need to make sure we're not moving animals that are infested out of one of these infested zones. We have to be able to regionalize this in our state because we have livestock in other parts of our state that need to move on a daily basis and we can't have our trade partners embargoing any livestock or animals from from Texas. So >> yes, >> you know the simplicity of this is if you don't report the flies are going to proliferate. They're going to grow. If you report we only have so many flies to drop. You're going to get a priority on those flies. So it's to your economic benefit to tell us what's going on.

[01:03:43]>> Mexico obviously here in the United States. Do you see do you have a timeline for when?

[01:03:51]>> We don't have a timeline. Obviously we're just at the beginning of this now new phase of the battle with it on our side of the border. Uh but we will be watching very very closely. It is an important point that while it is here in Texas, it's still about 800 miles away from the port in Arizona. Uh understanding the significant economic harm and challenge closing the ports have been to some of our feeders and feed lots in this in this side of the border. So it is not lost on me. We will continue to watch the data very very very closely. Uh and if we can move out the way we believe we can to contain the reports come in. We we proliferate proliferate the screworm uh sterile fly technology alongside the other technologies that we're looking very closely at when we can open at least the ports that are far far away from the current outbreak. Having said that, I will stand by the decision all day every day to close those ports. It did give us an additional year and it also brought Mexico to the table to be our partners to keep it as long as possible south of the border. Thank you. Yes, sir.

[01:04:58]>> Yeah, Josh. Thank you. Farm Progress.

[01:05:02]>> You too.

[01:05:03]>> Couple more details on the dog.

[01:05:06]You said it was came from Mexico. Do we know how it got over? Was it wild?

[01:05:12]>> Dr. Dus, that'd be great. Thank you.

[01:05:15]>> It's still a live story. It just We got a little more.

[01:05:18]>> So, uh, we received a report Saturday night that this dog u was brought over by a New Mexico resident to a vet clinic there in Andrews County. The dog remains there, is being treated. Um, we're following up on on the EPI work on this case to see if the dog we're thinking this this man from Mexico obviously and we're thinking he had the dog in Mexico with him at sometime in the recent future. I mean the recent past. So, >> yes.

[01:05:48]Jordan Elder, News4 San Antonio. USDA posted that two dispersal flights took off from Moore air base today. Is that going to be the standard going forward?

[01:05:57]And how close are those facilities to the end goal?

[01:06:01]>> Thank you for that question. On the first part, the science is and so we've been doing for the last year and a half, the more we determine how we lift and shift our things. And so we felt based on where the cases were, the best approach to hit this quickly was to have those flights lift off from more air base. Um when cases might be in other places, like say for example in Mexico, we might have our planes lift off from Mexico. So it really depends on the data. And so our commitment is wherever these cases are, we're going to do the best thing and the fastest thing that is out there. So, we started dropping sterile flies within a day from that case report. And so, that the question earlier on about whether or not people report cases, I I should have said to the answer to the earlier question, you want this to get over quicker, have people report, ask people to report, beg people to report. That's what we need. Okay? Okay. And so so again being able to to disperse those flies, you know, that the science is going to tell us where to go and it'll also determine how long we do it and uh and also whether we need to shift.

[01:07:09]Second part of your question, remind me, >> how close are those facilities in Edinburg to the end goal.

[01:07:15]>> Okay, that's what I thought you uh Yeah.

[01:07:16]And so so you're talking about a timeline for construction. And so as the secretary mentioned, um not close enough. Uh and so so right now the original plan is to be able to have phase one of more airbes to be finished in November of next year. That would bring us to about a 100 million sterile flies per week. Phase two about one year after would be an additional 200 million sterile flies. And so as a frame of reference right now we have 100 million sterile flies a week that we're bringing in from Panama. Our copg facility there, the Matapa production facility that the secretary mentioned in Mexico is about to turn on its lights and about to open its doors in a couple of weeks. Once that gets up to speed, Mexico tells us by the end of the year they will be at a full 100, but they're going to be developing flies along the way. And we're not going to wait, right? So you add the cope that we have 100 million of now per week. You have Matapa an additional eventual 100 million. We have more air base phase one 100 million.

[01:08:19]Phase two an additional 200 million for a total of 500 million. This is critical. When we looked at the 60s7s and 80s and how we were successful it was roughly about 500 million flies.

[01:08:31]There's a butt and I want to turn over to uh to under secretary Hutchkins.

[01:08:35]Would you mind sharing a little bit about that 500 number and how it actually relates to Novi?

[01:08:44]Absolutely. Well, uh it's pretty simple math. If you need 500 u if you have 500 flies today, that's 250 male flies, right? So, if we produce with a Novo fly 250 million flies, they're all in the fight. And if we produce at the same rate we would before, then we have 500 million. So, it's a force multiplier. I keep using Department of War uh analogies with the admiral, but it's a force multiplier and it will allow us to get uh control and management first and foremost uh when we have that kind of capacity.

[01:09:14]>> Thank you. We'll do two more questions right here.

[01:09:17]>> Yes, Madam Secretary. Bob Bishop from the Livestock Exporters Association. Um sometimes our trading partners don't always follow the science. Uh for instance, in HPAI, >> we got shut off in Turkey, shut off in Fortunately, open back up.

[01:09:34]>> That's right.

[01:09:35]>> What can we do as an industry to educate our trading partners and let them know that this is not an economic program problem that's going to affect them and we still should be open for moving cattle overseas?

[01:09:51]>> No, that's right. I I think that um an important point on that and and you're right. We've made incredible progress. I know we're here to talk about the screworm, but I could talk on and on about the president's trade agenda.

[01:10:01]Unless in just over a year, we have 19 new trade deals and new frameworks.

[01:10:06]We've cut an agricultural trade deficit by half based on what we inherited from Joe Biden, 50 billion down to about 25 billion in one year. The reason this is important is because all of those deals that have been negotiated include these sorts of details in them. And I talked to Jameson Greer, our lead trade rep in the cabinet yesterday about this and uh and Saturday and Friday. Uh he is very keyed in on this being a priority as he continues those conversations around the world alongside our Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and our commerce secretary Howard Lutton around the world in addition to chief Donald Trump whom I've also spoken with about this. So, um, this is a different moment in a different administration who is extremely aggressive in putting agriculture first, uh, not only in America and around the world. And, and so, we're going to keep a really close eye on that, but but I feel fairly confident that we'll be able to solve for that, um, as we move forward. So, thank you. Uh, one more here and then we'll do one right there.

[01:11:07]>> Rob right here in the Hill Country. You have an infected goat eight miles away from here in Gillespie County. How did that become a >> one-off?

[01:11:19]Uh, Admiral or Dr. Dingis, I know we're still gathering data. That just happened today.

[01:11:25]>> Thank you for the question, sir. So, so as you mentioned, that is today's data.

[01:11:29]And so, so we are still in the process of gathering additional epidemiological information. We're working to understand what is the what is the potential cause of that infestation, especially so when it's in a a different spot than any other cases that we've seen. Uh it could be a variety of different reasons for why it is in that particular location.

[01:11:49]It's going to take the day to be able to get additional information. As time continues to move on, we'll get more.

[01:11:55]Sir, >> you bet. We've got a um foreign animal disease diagnostician headed to that premises and I'm going to interview to get some more epi information from that producer. Um but that was a sample that was hand carried.

[01:12:12]>> You bet. No, we're we're looking into it. There's some stuff that just doesn't add up just yet. So, we're we're looking into that that case there. So, certainly appreciate that.

[01:12:22]>> And one move I want to note and it's a huge shout out to the the team here on the ground in Kurville. uh and also to our great team in Iowa. The normal testing for those of you that follow this closely is out of our national vet lab in Iowa. It's been that way for decades. And uh when we first got word of this last Wednesday, as a lot of you were tracking, we chartered a plane. We flew it up to Iowa and the team I' probably driven by me more than anyone said, "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Why are we chartering planes to fly worms to Iowa?" I mean, we need to get a confirmation obviously, but this is just silly. So, within about 24 hours, that team from Iowa relocated here to Kurville, Texas. I expect some additional long-term Texas residents out of this, Governor, once they learn how great it is here. Not that we don't love Iowa, uh, but we now have the testing fully here in Kurville, Texas. So, we know, that's right, right here. So, we no longer have to go to Iowa for that testing. So, that's a huge, huge addition. One more.

[01:13:22]Austin.

[01:13:25]Um, so the USDA has seen a large number of production in force over the past calendar year or so, including a few hundred in Texas APA office. Have you seen that impact the work you're doing at the agency at all? And if so, how?

[01:13:38]>> Uh, I think you're talking about the reduction in force from the beginning of the Trump administration. There has been zero impact to this mission area, specifically to the screworm based on that reduction in force. In fact, I asked uh our incredible Dr. Kim uh the head of the uh the facility here if she specifically had seen any change and she said absolutely not. everyone uh continued through and and are so proud of this work here and and I think maybe I'll finish with this for the men and women um that are I just we just met in the labs who have been with the USDA or as part of the research facilities in the land grants for decades as they have given their life to this work their life's work is solving for these major national security issues and that's what this is to protect our food supply and our our cattle ranchers the the the importance of this moment in time and meeting this moment can't be can't be overstated. But as I met with your researchers as we walked through over the last hour and as I've done over the last year and a half in visiting these different research facilities, Dr. Hutchkins and all the time I've spent at Texas A&M with their researchers, um these are real heroes in the American system today and for what they do every day. you know, looking through um at how many millions of flies at this point, uh looking through microscopes day after day, year after year, but to prepare for this moment is just so encouraging and awe inspiring. So, uh no, there is no compromise to the work. Uh in fact, I think the work accelerated significantly uh beginning last spring, last January when we came on board to prepare for this time. Um I'll leave it to the governor to close us out if that's okay, sir. And again, just so grateful to be here. We'll be back here on Thursday and hopefully we'll get to see some of you then. Thank you all so much.

[01:15:34]>> Thank you, Secretary, for being here.

[01:15:35]Thank everybody who is behind me. Uh thank you to all the ranchers across the entire state. Uh listen, uh we got Texas spirit on this. All hands on deck. We can address this just like we have in the past. We're going to get it done.

[01:15:50]Thank y'all. God bless you all and God bless the great state of Texas, United States of America.