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WACO — Brian Uptmore, a rancher and auctioneer based just outside of Waco, has had the same routine over the past several years. Every morning, he makes his rounds, feeds his cattle, checks them for respiratory issues and makes other basic health assessments.
Recently, however, he’s added a new step to his routine. These days, he’s paying closer attention to flies.
“It’s not like COVID where we can’t see it,” said Uptmore. “We can handle it. It will just require producers to check on their cattle more often than once every two months.”
Uptmore’s outlook on the parasitic New World screwworm is in stark contrast to most in the cattle industry. Since new cases of screwworm — once thought to be eradicated 60 years ago — have emerged, many national departments have mobilized to combat the pest, which could cause cataclysmic losses to Texas’ $15 billion cattle industry.
“This is going to lean up the industry, but it’s going to make better cattle managers,” said Uptmore, who is also an auctioneer for West Auction Inc., where 1,500 cattle pass through their doors a week. “This is part of the business. It’s survival of the fittest.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins stood alongside Texas officials at the Knipling Bushland U.S Livestock Insect Research Laboratory and declared “war on New World screwworm,” bringing all available resources into the fight against the parasitic insect.
“South Texas ranchers are the front line of this battle against screwworm,” Rollins said. “We know what the enemy looks like. We now understand what we have to do.”
But a little over 190 miles away, it was all quiet at the Uptmore ranch. The Waco-based rancher proceeded with his regimen of applying topical fly treatments to his cattle, using fly tags and more. To Uptmore, the parasitic larvae are a simple problem to solve for ranchers who are responsible enough to take it on.
Screwworm is a parasitic fly that targets the wounds of animals and lays its eggs in any openings, leaving the eggs to hatch into maggots and burrow into the animal to feed on living flesh. It is notorious for devastating the cattle and livestock industry, but the fear of this fly is mainly determined by where someone resides in the supply chain.
“To be honest, we personally don’t worry about it,” said Deborah Horner, a worker at West Auction. “Hopefully, it has gotten caught and treated before it reaches here.”
Local, state and federal officials are working to track screwworm cases and containment efforts, including the release of sterile flies to mate with screwworms so they lay unfertilized eggs. Experts, including Rollins, say the screwworm outbreak may continue for at least a few months.
Ranchers and producers are concerned that it’s too late to stop the spread of screwworm, and that inevitable quarantines and loss of cows will cripple the already weakened cattle industry. Despite the grim outlook, cattle sellers and buyers see some positives in the screwworm’s arrival, as improved precautionary measures can only benefit consumers.
“Things like this take out the unprepared and lower quality producers, but what is left is a better product in the end,” Uptmore said.
The responsible rancher
While checking a group of cows earlier this month, Robbie Graff, manager of Rock Creek Ranch near La Pryor, Texas, spotted something odd in the navel of his three-day-old calf.
Graff quickly identified that something wasn’t right and contacted state officials. His prompt reaction led to the first confirmed case of New World screwworm in the United States since its eradication more than 50 years ago.
Keeping a constant eye on livestock and acting fast is key to controlling screwworm, Graff. said.
“The calf is completely healed, so the process works if you get everything done quickly. Just be very vigilant, try to check your cattle every day, especially if you have baby calves,” Graff said in a video statement posted by the USDA.
Though screwworm was eradicated in the 1960s, the U.S. experienced a resurgence of the pest from 1972 to 1976. That outbreak infested tens of thousands of cattle across six states, cost tens of millions of dollars to contain and was only defeated after a massive national effort.
U.S. producers have not treated livestock for screwworm in more than 40 years, putting the industry’s future on shaky ground. A producer is a broad, industry term for anyone engaged in commercial agriculture production; this can include sheep, bison, cattle and more. A rancher is a type of producer who raises grazing livestock, such as cows.
“Texas livestock producers and all Texans must now be vigilant in their efforts to manage and combat the invasive pest,” Farm Bureau President Russell Boening said in a statement after the first screwworm case was confirmed in Texas.
It’s unclear how many screwworm cases could hit Texas. Nearly 28,000 cases have been detected in Mexico since November 2024, according to Mexican officials.
In response to the cases, USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission have ramped up surveillance of animals near confirmed detections by establishing zones around each infestation. Animals are not allowed to leave infested areas without being properly inspected.
The USDA also announced a potential partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to deploy AI-controlled drones, along with other potential strategies to squash screwworm.
The main issue producers face with screwworm, besides the potential loss of cattle, is restricted movement during a quarantine, which can lead to sales losses.
“We still have to make movement; we still have to make commerce; you have to make trade,” Uptmore said. “My concern is how this will affect movement and commerce.”
State and federal officials are encouraging producers to report anyway because any delay can lead to a costly spread of screwworm that affects not just one producer but the entire state.
“If you find a problem, please turn it in, because they are dropping sterile flies within two days of the report, and it has been very effective,” Graff said. “We haven’t had another case on this ranch since they started dropping flies.”
Responsible reporting and cattle management are how Texas producers can protect themselves from this parasitic fly, and those who don’t follow those measures won’t survive, Uptmore said.
“You’ve got to have thick skin to be in this business,” he said. “It’s like a UFC fight. If you aren’t prepared, you are going to lose. But the positives are that those who remain there will be better quality meat and producers with better practices and management.”
Checkpoints and precautions
While producers are in a state of unrest over the fate of their cattle, buyers aren’t particularly concerned, given the consistent reassurance from ranchers as well as state and federal officials that there is no risk to the food supply.
“The amount of precautionary measures and checkpoints in place ensures there is no risk. As long as we are providing good quality meat, then the industry will survive,” Uptmore said.
The same day Rollins was touring South Texas telling ranchers the federal government hadn’t forgotten them, a state cattle inspector sat in his seat at West Auction and quietly observed every cow that was presented before the auctioneer.
“We always have so many eyes on the cows here, it’s just nothing out of the ordinary,” said Heather Stuver, who works the front desk at the cattle auction and has family members who are ranchers. “There are a lot of checkpoints between us.”
In the cattle pens alone, there are over 15 staff members, along with a few dogs, watching every movement to ensure that the cows presented to buyers are safe for breeding or consumption.
Before the cows even reach the cattle pen, they undergo various inspections, including those by the USDA, state authorities and cattle sellers.
To most of the staff who work at the cattle auction, the screwworm is just another pesky fly to deal with in the usual way with sprays, misting, fans and other precautions.
“It’s annoying. Not scary,” said Horner, a staff member at West Auction. “The technology we have today is much better than what we had in the past. I am not as panicked as others.”
Cattle sellers and buyers say the fly damage will occur mainly on ranches where they aren’t doing consistent checks, and any failure there will be caught before it reaches them.
“This issue requires more effort and tracking for all parties, and in the end, we probably will have better cattle from it,” he said. “It’s a serious issue, but not a dealbreaker. They will bounce back.”
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