The US Plans to Build a $750 Million Dollar Fly Factory in Texas to Stop a Flesh-Eating Cattle Parasite

CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO – MAY 13: A view of the empty livestock areas at US-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez as The United States has closed its border to live cattle imports from Mexico due to the detection of screwworms, a parasitic threat to livestock in Mexico, on May 13, 2025. The move has led to the emptying of a corral in Ciudad Juarez, a key export point for live cattle shipments to the US. The closure, announced on Tuesday, May 13, is aimed at preventing the spread of the parasite into American herds. (Photo by Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The U.S. plans to build a $750 million factory in southern Texas to breed billions of sterile flies to ramp up its efforts to keep flesh-eating maggots now in Mexico from damaging the American cattle industry. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Friday that the U.S. hopes to be producing and releasing sterile male New World screwworm flies into the wild within a year from the new factory. It would be built outside Edinburg, Texas, about 20 miles from the border. American officials worry that if the fly reaches Texas, its flesh-eating maggots could cause huge economic losses and cause already record retail beef prices to rise even more.