Official statement from the USDAUSDA Confirms Presence of New World Screwworm in the United StatesAnimal Health Officials Working Quickly to Protect U.S. Livestock and Wildlife WASHINGTON, DC- JUNE 03, 2026 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the detection of a New World screwworm (NWS) in a bovine in Zavala County, Texas. NWS is a serious pest that affects livestock, pets, wildlife, and less commonly, people and birds. NWS larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of living animals, causing serious damage to livestock and economic losses. The affected animal is a 3-week-old calf and larvae were identified in its umbilical area. To date, there have been no further detections. “All models showed New World Screwworm entering the country in 2025; however, thanks to the hard work across the entire Trump administration and our industry, state, and local partners, we were able to buy time for this moment. Protecting our livestock industry is a national security issue of the utmost importance, and USDA is wasting no time in taking action,” said Dudley Hoskins, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. “USDA invested heavily in the tools needed to eliminate NWS ever since cases started increasing in Central America and Mexico. The United States has defeated this pest before, and we will do it again.” USDA and Texas officials are taking immediate action to contain and eradicate NWS from the United States, following the strategies and actions outlined in the NWS Response Playbook. This includes:
Additionally, USDA’s National Veterinary Stockpile stands ready to assist, and will provide resources including treatments, equipment, and logistics support the response as needed. USDA will continue to work with state departments of agriculture, animal health officials, industry, and producers to mitigate economic impacts of restrictions as much as possible, including negotiating with our trading partners to regionalize any trade restrictions on live animals, limiting them to defined geographic areas. NWS maggots can infest livestock and other warm-blooded animals, including in rare cases people. They most often enter an animal through an open wound and feed on the animal’s living flesh. USDA urges residents in the area to check their pets and livestock for signs of NWS. Look for draining or enlarging wounds and signs of discomfort. Also look for screwworm larvae (maggots) and eggs in or around body openings, such as the nose, ears, and genitalia or the navel of newborn animals. If you suspect your animal is infected with screwworm, contact your state animal health official or USDA area veterinarian in charge immediately. While not common in people, if you notice a suspicious lesion on your body or suspect you may have contracted screwworm, seek immediate medical attention. The U.S. food supply is safe. Screwworms do not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or other food sources. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe and properly labeled. Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), FSIS inspection personnel must inspect all eligible animal species unless they are exempt or covered by a state inspection program. Any evidence of screwworm infestation in an animal would be identified during these inspections, and any contaminated product from an affected animal would not be allowed to enter the food supply. For more than a year, USDA has led a unified response to NWS. As the lead coordinating agency, USDA has deployed advanced surveillance systems and supported robust cross-border response efforts in Mexico and Central America to combat the pest and push NWS away from the United States. These efforts have bought time for USDA to increase domestic preparedness efforts. Learn more about New World screwworm at Screwworm.gov. Quick Take Official news of screwworm officially in the United States crossed the wire last night, but reports had been circulating all morning. Not to mention that in the previous day there was a report of it being 25 miles away, which let's be honest, that was as good as here. There will likely be some turbulence in today's trade with the headline, but we'd make the case the market has been preparing for this for the last month. We are one month removed from the contract high while cash prices continued to firm. Long liquidation, particularly in Feeders make this a less scary headline than it would have been a month ago, when Funds were basically record long and we were at record high prices. There's some concern that if the fly is here, why is the border closed, so don't rule out that being opened back up at some point. Looking past the near-term turbulence, it's easy to see that this doesn't help build the herd back. |
Quick Take Official news of screwworm officially in the United States crossed the wire last night, but reports had been circulating all morning. Not to mention that in the previous day there was a report of it being 25 miles away, which let's be honest, that was as good as here. There will likely be some turbulence in today's trade with the headline, but we'd make the case the market has been preparing for this for the last month. We are one month removed from the contract high while cash prices continued to firm. Long liquidation, particularly in Feeders make this a less scary headline than it would have been a month ago, when Funds were basically record long and we were at record high prices. There's some concern that if the fly is here, why is the border closed, so don't rule out that being opened back up at some point. Looking past the near-term turbulence, it's easy to see that this doesn't help build the herd back. Live Cattle (August) August live cattle futures saw another whoosh lower on the open, but like the prior day's trade, the market rallied back to unchanged midday. Some weakness crept back in by the afternoon, but prices remain elevated above the 100-day moving average at the close.
Feeder Cattle (August)August feeder cattle futures closed below the 200-day moving average for the first time in the contract's lifetime. The next line in the sand comes in near 336.55, which were the lows from about 3-months ago. Below that and there's air on the chart. Friday's Commitment of Traders report showed Funds trimming their net long position down to about 11k contracts. Safe to say that might be closer to 5k right now. So again, as mentioned in our quick take, it's good that the risk of long liquidation has been diminished from what it was not too long ago. Funds don't go net short super often, but there was a stretch in 2022 where they were net short about 10k contracts. Extrapolating that out, if Funds were to do that again, we'd estimate that would be potentially another $40 lower, or at least in that ballpark. Whether or not that plays out, TBD, but that's something to keep in the back of your mind, regardless if you're bullish or bearish.
Lean Hogs (July)July lean hogs were the lone bright spot in the livestock markets yesterday, testing the 20-day moving average nearly to a T, which comes in at 102.23 this morning. Yesterday's high was 102.27, right near the upper end of our pivot pocket, 101.82-102.37. Above this pivot pocket and we could see more relief come into prices. Today's trade could be crucial in setting the tone for either continued relief or another failure and new lows for the move.
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