MANY MINDEDUSDA to Reopen Border Ports for Mexican Cattle After Screwworm Ban
The USDA announced it will lift a ban on cattle imports from Mexico that had lasted more than a year. The restriction dated to November 2024, when the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating livestock parasite, was detected. Beginning August 24, the agency will reopen three border ports in phases, starting with Douglas, Arizona, followed by Santa Teresa and Columbus in New Mexico.
The ports were chosen for their proximity to Sonora and Chihuahua, which the USDA considers Mexico's lowest-risk states for the parasite. As of July 22, 2026, the nearest active case to the Douglas port was about 325 miles away. Mexican cattle made up roughly 3.7% of the US calf crop in 2023, so the corridor matters more for supply chains than raw volume suggests.
The timing tracks price pressure: average retail beef reached a record $9.64 in April. Reopening the trade route restores a feeder-cattle stream that helps stock US operations, one lever among several to ease supply and slow price growth on a staple protein. Markets read it as material, with JBS shares rising 10% after the news.
The risk is not gone. Mexico's agriculture tracker reported nearly 1,700 active cases, many clustered near the Texas border, with at least two confirmed in Texas as of the prior month. This is a development story; whether the phased reopening holds depends on how those case counts move. Since May, the administration has also asked grocers to cut costs and opened an antitrust probe into top beef producers.
Source: Food Dive