USDA Secretary Not Ready to Open US Border to Mexican Cattle

Mexico and the US haven't yet agreed to resume Mexican beef cattle exports into the US amid an outbreak of the New World Screw worm in Mexico, Julio Berdegue spoke with USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, in a video and said they have made advances. The top two Agriculture officials agreed to test modular, mobile plants in Mexico that could increase sterile fly production by up to 20 million additional flies each week. If they are successful, the US border has been closed to Mexican cattle imports since May. USA Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, speaking at the recent National FFA Convention on this topic.

“We will continue the conversations. We are not there yet. Obviously, Mexico, there's about 250,000 head of cattle waiting to move over. But I am not convinced yet that we have this under control. And as tough as it is and as it's putting a lot of our cattlemen, understandably, they have been very supportive of me on this, though, but putting a lot of them in a tough spot, our number one biggest priority is to protect the herd that we have in America, which is already at a 75 year low. So we're getting closer we I've been encouraged by an unprecedented partnership with Secretary Julio Berdegue, the Mexico Secretary of Ag.”

Adding that it's very important to her to make sure that US cattlemen are protected.