It is about 1,500 miles from the Imperial Valley of California to Zavala County, Texas, where the invasive pest was discovered recently. The announcement of the 3-week-old calf carrying the insect caused a ripple of alarm through the livestock industry nationwide.
There are a few things to note immediately. First, the beef supply is still entirely safe to consume. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization all agree that beef remains perfectly safe and nutritious to eat even with the presence of New World Screwworm (NWS). Consumers can learn more about NWS via this fact sheet.
For beef producers, the speedy availability of information about NWS, how the initial confirmed case is being handled, and what to expect next via the checkoff-funded beef commission can be reassuring. Resources for producers are readily available through several methods including a fact sheet, webinar, and other links.
Established as mandatory by a self-imposed vote in 1988, the beef checkoff assesses a fee of $1 per animal sold, states also have the option to collect additional fees per head for their commissions or councils. The funds collected by any checkoff assessment are earmarked for specific uses by law and include marketing, consumer outreach, public relations, education, industry research, producer communications, and new product development.
There are also legal limitations imposed on how checkoff dollars are spent. Checkoff funds cannot be used to lobby or to influence government policy.
The potential widespread arrival of NWS in the United States poses a significant challenge for our national cattle herd. The last time NWS was present in the U.S., livestock shipping was less fluid and dynamic than it is now, demand for beef was less, and our national herd was larger in both per head size and when compared to the number of consumers in the marketplace. Today, livestock raisers are faced with shipping that takes their cattle all over the country, and potentially the world, few numbers of cattle in total, and higher demand for beef.
The first warnings about NWS making its way north from South America began in 2023. Despite the name, the invasive pest is a fly that lays its eggs in living tissue, particularly open wounds or mucosal areas. When the larvae hatch, they feed on the tissue around them, severely injuring, and potentially killing, their animal host.
Having a single source for information that is readily accessible is crucial in times of animal disease outbreak. Some who oppose the beef checkoff say it violates individual liberties by being mandatory, but it was not a government-imposed fee but, rather, a fee imposed by a vote of producers. And, specifically in times of crisis, having a clearinghouse to provide resources for everything from pathways for treatment to contact phone numbers seems worth the investment.
At a conference in 2023, the general comment was not “if” NWS would arrive in the U.S. but “when.” Now that “when” has arrived, it is time for debates around policy and the checkoff to take a backburner to the more important topics of the day, namely, keeping our cattle herd safe and our beef supply available.
Pam Lewison is a fourth-generation farmer, Pacific Research Institute fellow, and ag research director for Washington Policy Center.
