New screwworm menace halts cattle imports from Mexico, fueling beef provide worries

by Juan Vassallo, Examine Midwest, Examine Midwest
Might 21, 2025

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The variety of cattle on U.S. farms has shrunk to its smallest dimension in additional than 70 years. With a short lived halt on cattle imports from Mexico, the meat provide might tighten additional, and costs are anticipated to rise heading into the summer season grilling season.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins introduced a pause on all cattle imports from Mexico on Might 11, citing the detection of New World screwworm — a parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds, the place larvae feed on dwelling tissue and might kill livestock. (The Trump administration laid off a whole bunch of staff from the USDA company liable for holding such pests out of the U.S., however is now trying to rehire lots of them, calling their work “very important”.)

It is unclear how lengthy the import ban will final, however a longstanding ban may additional shrink the U.S. cattle provide chain.

“Relying on how lengthy the border is closed, tighter cattle provides may contribute to greater beef costs within the coming months,” stated Darrell Peel, a livestock advertising and marketing specialist and a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State College.

The variety of cattle within the U.S. has been declining for many years, this 12 months dropping to 86.7 million – the bottom stage since 1951. It marks the sixth consecutive 12 months of stock decline. Nonetheless, beef manufacturing hasn’t essentially adopted go well with, as enhancements in breeding and feeding have resulted in heavier animals that yield extra meat per head.

However with demand for beef remaining sturdy, shoppers are more likely to really feel the affect within the checkout line this summer season.

Beef costs have been climbing steadily for years. The common value for a pound of floor beef has elevated greater than 4% since January, and 53% since 2019, in line with knowledge from the Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis.

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