US Farm Agency Prepares to Reopen New Mexico Port to Livestock Trade Next Week

By Leah Douglas

Reuters

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins ​said on Wednesday that the Department of ‌Agriculture is preparing to reopen a New Mexico port to livestock trade next week after it ​was closed because of New World ​screwworm.

Rollins said during remarks at the National ⁠Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference ​in Portland, Maine, that she plans to ​travel to New Mexico on Wednesday night.

"We're getting ready to reopen that New Mexico port next week," Rollins ​said.

The USDA in late August resumed cross-border livestock ​trade with Mexico under a phased port reopening that ‌began ⁠in Douglas, Arizona, after months of closures due to concerns about the spread of the screwworm parasite.

According to the agency, there are ​currently two ​active screwworm ⁠infestations, both in Texas, one in a horse and one in ​a dog.

"What you all have proven ​for ⁠the last 20 plus days in Douglas is that this is manageable and doable, and ⁠the ​minute we believe there's another ​threat, we shut it down again," Rollins said.