A case found on a 9 month old bovine near Guerra in Jim Hogg county. I was planning on hauling a bull to the Guerra holding pens for Three Rivers auction on Sunday for sale Monday. Now all bets off. I'm communicating with everybody I can think of to haul him but will be traveling thru surveillance zones and affected areas any direction out of Zapata. This is some wild stuff.

Where are you seeing this? I don't doubt you, I just don't see it posted on USDA's or TAHC's website. Could be a lag in reporting though.

Once reported by producer, vet, etc., USDA has been very fast at updating info.

Expect to see it by this afternoon. I got it first from NRCS guy that's running some cattle close to the site. I later confirmed it with USDA tick inspectors, and later confirmed through the TAHC hotline, and I think she's region IV TAHC head I guess it's called, a vet in Encinal named Sandy Leyendecker. I feel like I've thoroughly vetted the chisme to a confirmed case.

But who knows.

Anybody in the area that wants some phone numbers, I've collected several today.

Sandy knows her stuff!

USDA usually updates their dashboard daily at 5 p.m. central.

SanAntoneAg said:

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Sandy knows her stuff!

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Yea I'm a few years older but grew up neighbors near Encinal. She's been my vet of record for some time, so really handy when I need definitive answers.

I had plans of hauling a bull to auction this weekend. I was hoping to beat the quarantine that I think is inevitable in the near future. There's many unanswered questions regarding livestock movement right now that I think will iron itself out in time.
Today I had resigned myself to give up on the shipping . Guerra in Jim Hogg County is within the hot zone now, and that is extended to east or south side of 16 in Zapata county. My bull was on opposite side of 16.
Ran into two TAHC inspectors in Zapata today on their way from Laredo to the Guerra holding pens, where I haul to for Three Rivers auction. Although USDA tick guys thought that dipping was the answer, the inspectors said I don't need to do anything, so I grabbed the trailer, loaded the bull and dropped off.
The procedure going forward will be to call TAHC to schedule an inspector to come to your facility within 3-5 days There they will inspect livestock, witness you inject Dectomax that you provide, they will ear tag and issue a permit that is valid for a few days to a week, I forget. At that point you can move the animals. You must stop at all checkpoints and provide the movement permit.
The interesting thing to me is that under USDA tick program protocol, the animal must be vaccinated at USDA expense every 21-28 days and must not be sold before a 35 day withdrawal period.
By contrast, under TAHC guidelines the animal must be vaccinated every 21 days with Dectomax and must be shipped within the withdrawal time period.
Ivermectin doesn't enter conversation regarding movement under TAHC guidelines.
Take this as you will, just trying to maybe prevent an unnecessary headache. A friend tried to ship to Pearsall out of LaSalle county last week and was turned around at TAHC checkpoint.

HumbleAg04 said:

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Got called by TPWD today. Quarantine zone in Medina Co and Surveillance where I am in Bandera. State lining up landowners willing to host traps, sterile larvae boxes, and allowing access for surveillance.

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unless your thumbs down wasn't what you wanted to use, just say you don't give a **** about this issue.

I was in a blind yesterday that is within a couple of miles of the first reported case. I had a blow fly in the blind that I could almost feel the radiation coming off of. It wouldn't give me quite a good enough look to really identify it, but that's what I'm going with. Lots of proactive work is happening.

you can take training to be an inspector

https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2026/06/13/gov-abbott-launches-free-new-world-screwworm-inspector-training/

I'll be on that as soon as I get home from ranch.
My next question is this. I've got some heifers weaning now away from River pasture and tick quarantine zone. They are in fly surveillance zone. If that pasture becomes quarantined, how to proceed? TAHC says they must witness Dectomax vaccine to move. Does that include if you moving within quarantine area?
USDA also requires before moving cattle into Tick quarantine area, that they must inject with Dectomax and dip.
I probably shouldn't double inject but to follow both that's exactly what I'd need bto do.
What a dilemma.

As I read it currently, you can move within the infected zone. That could change at any moment, though. When in doubt (and there is plenty of that) give them a call.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/nws-national-cob-movement-requirements.pdf"

5. Animal movement requirements when origin and destination locations are both located within an NWS Infested Zone
During an NWS Type 1 outbreak that is focal or localized (e.g., initial establishment of an NWS Infested Zone; see NWS Response
Playbook), the interstate and intrastate animal movement requirements above may be required when both the origin and
destination premises are located within an NWS Infested Zone to try to limit the expansion of the Infested Zone, such as due to
animal movements to locations near the border of the zone. The SAHO and APHIS VS will provide updated animal movement
guidance if this requirement is implemented."

Not sure if this is relevant or helpful. We sell ours in Hondo.

*****Sale Update Jun 29th*****

We will have a sale 6/29

Livestock from ANYWHERE are welcome and will be received

Livestock INSIDE the quarantined zone will be accepted and sold WITHOUT ranch inspection. An inspection is NOT required.

Livestock from OUTSIDE the quarantined zone will be accepted and a ranch inspection is NOT required.

Cattle from OTHER quarantined zones will be received and sold with a permit/inspection (prior to arrival). Please call us if you need assistance securing a permit.

All livestock will be sold through the ring. Following the sale, TX Animal Health Commission will be onsite to inspect and permit all livestock to the buyers after the sale.

Our first priority is to protect the sellers & buyers every step of the way There is a lot of misinformation circulating. Please call our office if you have any questions.

I called the TPWD hotline that I was given by one of the state inspectors and volunteered to allow sterile fly releases on my place in Medina County. The guy I spoke to took my information and said they would call me back but that they are already releasing sterile flies all over the area. I haven't heard back.

Look at country's post it shows map. They don't have unlimited supply of flies that why they are target hot spots

Check the fly zone flight map at the bottom of page 10 on this thread.

This article says that 500 million sterile flies per week are needed per week to actually roll back the infestation/invasion. Right now they are at 100 million per week. It will be it sounds like a matter of years before they have 500 million.

Why aren't they releasing sterile flies "everywhere"? Because they don't have enough.

When will they have enough? Probably years from now.

I suppose one can expect that all of south Texas will eventually fall into quarantine.

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/24/new-world-screwworm-texas-sterile-flies-usda-trump-brooke-rollins/

I'd be willing to bet that the entire state and more becomes infested before it's over with, not a lot different than last time, except that we have the tools this time. Maybe not enough but we have them.

Mexican press announced a case in Nuevo Laredo yesterday. Not far from you, sadly enough.

There are 3 planes in this shot. All the same type and all from Dynamic Aviation.

I suspect they are your fly droppers. Took this screen shot at 0910 6/30.

https://www.dynamicaviation.com/

RGV AG said:

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Mexican press announced a case in Nuevo Laredo yesterday. Not far from you, sadly enough.

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I have some heifers weaning right now in the surveillance zone. I'll be taking them back to the rest of herd in the Tick Quarantine zone along the river where I'm in the Dectomax injection program.
Like the old times, I guess. Drive around and spot fly boxes here and there on the ground. I'm pretty sure that, like Lone Star Beer, they had targets on the side or bottom of boxes for reuse. Trying to make light or make the best of a really bad situation.

shiftyandquick said:

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This article says that 500 million sterile flies per week are needed per week to actually roll back the infestation/invasion. Right now they are at 100 million per week. It will be it sounds like a matter of years before they have 500 million.

Why aren't they releasing sterile flies "everywhere"? Because they don't have enough.

When will they have enough? Probably years from now.

I suppose one can expect that all of south Texas will eventually fall into quarantine.

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/24/new-world-screwworm-texas-sterile-flies-usda-trump-brooke-rollins/

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And the problem worsens as more cases are discovered. Flies have to be directed to the new areas which just dilutes the other areas.

Did they provide the flies? What part of the county are you in?

The facility in Mexico is coming online. There was a ribbon cutting on Saturday. I'm hearing an additional 40 million flies by August and 100 million by late fall.

The first phase of the U.S. facility in Edinburg is schedule to be completed fall 2027. That adds another 100 million, getting us to 300 million. I know they are working to expedite this project and deliver it sooner but haven't heard anything new recently.

USDA developed and is field testing what they call the Novo fly. This technology creates sterile males only. This has the potential to become a game changer because you double the amount of sterile males being released. You go from 50 million sterile males (50% of 100 million currently being dropped) to 100 million sterile males. The 500 million flies everyone keeps referencing is accurate, but that is a 50/50 split of female and male flies. Getting to 200-300 million sterile males is key.

https://www.feedlotmagazine.com/news/novofly-to-the-rescue/article_fb402c9f-4a34-4543-a047-82f32b90f6ac.html

RGV AG said:

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Mexican press announced a case in Nuevo Laredo yesterday. Not far from you, sadly enough.

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I understand we can Hebbronville to the list of lucky just cities as of yesterday. (Per informational mtg Raymo last night)

As said above - we are just marking our map like a bingo card that will eventually be blotted out with cases.

fullback44 said:

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Deerdude said:

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I guess I'll always wonder how much of funding to Darian Gap and Metalpa in Mexico facilities went to the project and how much was diverted to The Big Man or others, instead of funding the project?

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Just think about this- if they even would have used just 2 % of all the fraud money in Minnesota and California - the screw worm would have probably been killed 1000 times all the way down to Brazil - maybe even pushed it into the Atlantic ocean

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coulda woulda shoulda.

The Texas cattle industry will be devastated. And everyone knew it was coming and they didn't act.

This is what government failure looks like. This is what the tragedy of the commons looks like.