Screwworms are screwing up beef imports from Mexico, and it will likely impact feeder cattle prices.
After the discovery of a screwworm in Mexico on Friday, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it would pause animal imports from Mexico.
Soundbite: “Even if the border opens soon the measures will be costly and it will impact cattle operations in the U.S. and Mexico for some time to come.” — Daniel Manzanares, director of the Santa Teresa International Export/Import Livestock Crossing in New Mexico
While only 5% of the U.S. feeder cattle supply comes from Mexico, Santa Teresa pens are already empty. On a typical day, they’d be filled with thousands of Mexican cattle before heading north.
Fun fact: Almost 500K feeder steers and heifers cross the border through Santa Teresa annually, making it the largest livestock entry point in the U.S.
Worming their way in: The New World screwworm, a flesh-eating fly larva that attacks live tissue in cattle, hadn’t been seen in Mexico in 30 years. Earlier in November, Mexican officials detected a screwworm in a cow at Mexico’s border with Guatemala. The animal did not originate in Mexico.
No “fly” zone: APHIS doubled down on its efforts to control screwworms in 2006 and worked with Panama on a barrier zone. Central American countries have struggled with screwworms for a while, and the zone helped—until recently. Detections in Panama went from 25 cases per year to more than 6,500 cases in 2023.
APHIS spends $110M to keep screwworms out of North America.
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Congress to EPA: What’s Your BEEF with Meat Packers?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering new regulations that take aim at meat and poultry processors.
And some members of Congress have a BEEF with the EPA’s proposals.
The proposed rules: In late January, the EPA released the details of its proposed “Clean Water Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products Point source category.”
Huh?
Basically, the EPA formally published its proposals to combat wastewater contaminants that come from slaughterhouses.
Okay… that makes more sense.
At the heart of the rules proposal is a concern from environmental groups about nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants that originate from slaughterhouses. In some cases, the wastewater goes directly into waterways. In other cases, the water goes to municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
But not everyone is on board with the EPA’s suggestions…
Congress responds: Last week, two U.S. representatives—Eric Burlison (MO) and Ron Estes (KS)—pushed back against the EPA and introduced the “Banning EPA’s Encroachment of Facilities (BEEF) Act.” If passed and signed by President Biden, the law would prohibit the EPA from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing the rule.
According to the lawmakers, the proposed rules place undue burden on small processors—costs that can be absorbed by larger companies.
Soundbite: “The… proposed regulation isn’t just an attack on family-run small businesses, it’s an attack on rural communities,” said Burlison. “These meat and poultry processors are the lifeblood of our communities. The BEEF Act… lets these hardworking Americans do what they do best, produce safe, affordable food for our families.”
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