Texas plans faster construction of sterile fly facility to combat cattle parasite

Texas officials said Friday they want to accelerate construction of a $750 million facility that will breed sterile New World screwworm flies to fight an infestation threatening the cattle industry. The facility, located outside Edinburg about 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, is the larger of two sites funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Officials said the plant will be the size of two big-box stores and is designed to produce up to 300 million flies per week.

Background on the infestation The U.S.

Department of Agriculture confirmed this week that larvae were found in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio. It is the first confirmed case in Texas since 1966. A second, smaller facility in southern Mexico is scheduled to begin production next month at a rate of 100 million flies per week.

Officials said both sites are required to eradicate the fly from the United States, Mexico and Central America.

Response and timeline State officials pledged to use their own funds if needed to keep construction operating around the clock. They said the current schedule would leave the state without enough sterile flies to prevent a second summer of infestation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already shortened planning timelines and hopes to open the Texas plant before its original November 2027 target. Officials are releasing about 8 million sterile flies per week in Texas while using traps and models to track the pest's spread.