Why cattlemen say Trump talk of Argentine beef imports isn’t any solution

Cattle ranchers in Texas and across the country are concerned that the screwworm, a parasitic fly that was once eradicated within the U.S., is threatening a comeback from the Mexican border and recent talk from President Donald Trump about importing beef from Argentina isn’t any long-term solution for a beef supply chain already under stress or consumers who’ve watched beef prices hit record levels.

The Latest World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs within the open wounds of warm-blooded animals. The larvae then hatches from the eggs and burrows into tissue of animals to feed on them. If caught early, the sick animal might be treated and survive. Human cases are rare but might be painful and require medical attention. In August, the the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an announcement that the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified a case of the flesh-eating parasite in an individual in Maryland who returned to the U.S. after traveling to El Salvador.

The Latest World screwworm was successfully eradicated from the US in 1966. However the Maryland case and other recent appearances in Mexico have cattle ranchers in Texas and across the country on edge. Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality confirmed on October 6 one other case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Nuevo Leon, a city that borders the U.S. It marked the country’s second confirmed case in roughly two weeks.

“Texas is a fabric contributor to the meat industry,” said Andrew Coppin, co-founder and CEO of ranch management company Ranchbot Monitoring Solutions. “You might have thousands and thousands of beef cattle along the southern border alone.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has closed the border to Mexico for imports of live cattle, bison, and horses on and off since 2024 as a consequence of the spread of the Latest World screwworm. The border is currently closed. Before the closure, Mexico was an exporter of calves to the U.S., with USDA data showing the U.S. imported over a million cattle annually, roughly 3.3% of the U.S. total calf crop.

Sixth-generation Texas rancher James Clement III told CNBC the important thing to eradicating the screwworm threat is years out. To combat the spread of the flies, the USDA disperses sterile flies into the realm to stop the mating, a scientific method referred to as sterile insect technique (SIT). It was the rationale for the successful eradication of the flies within the U.S. But Clement said the flies used previously were brought in from Panama and while the USDA has said it’s committed to developing a domestic sterile fly production facility, “that’s not less than two or three years away. By then it is going to be too little to late,” he said.

The USDA didn’t reply to a request for comment for this text. In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday morning, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, said, “I believe you may be hearing more about exactly what that appears like,” in response to a matter concerning the Argentine beef import idea.

Clement, whose family business has operated multiple ranches over the past 400 years, said American ranching has evolved and has develop into more efficient. While this is nice for production, in times of threats like biohazards reminiscent of screwworm, it’s a challenge.

“We require less labor now so it might be difficult and difficult to detect an infected cattle,” he said. “We do not have the people to envision every head of cattle every day. Most of this cattle are free range and the grass pastures are large.”

The USDA, alongside Mexico, has been monitoring nearly 8,000 traps across Texas, Arizona, and Latest Mexico since July. Greater than 13,000 screening samples have been submitted, with no NWS flies detected.

But Clement says, “that is spreading quickly. A 12 months ago, screwworm was already in southern Mexico, then it spread into central and northern Mexico. Now it is going on just south of our border. It is not a matter of if screwworm spreads to the U.S., it’s when.”

Clement said the situation is adding to the supply-demand imbalance within the cattle industry which has already increased as a consequence of drought. Beef prices have climbed to record highs after cattle ranchers slashed their herds as a consequence of dried-up lands used for grazing. Feed costs rose consequently.

In response to government data, as of July 2025, the U.S. cattle herd is roughly 94.2 million head, the bottom inventory since 1951.

Coppin tells CNBC the important thing component to increasing herd size is water.

“Typically, ranches have hundreds of acres and cattle,” Coppin said. “Less grasslands consequently of less water equals smaller herds.”

He estimated 30% of the U.S. continues to be in drought conditions.

“The query ranchers are asking themselves is, will I actually have enough feed to feed my herd?  That is why grasslands are necessary. Feed is an enormous input cost that eats into the margin of ranchers,” he said.

Coppin said while the importing of beef from Argentina may lower the associated fee of beef for consumers (futures had dropped sharply after Trump’s comments but have since trended up again), for ranchers facing drought and screwworm, the incentives to increasing herd size are dwindling.

“Ranchers don’t desire their product to be substituted,” Coppin said.

Recently, some U.S. ranchers have begun taking steps to start out rebuilding herds. Nevertheless, ranchers and beef supply chain experts like Coppin say it takes about two years before beef output rises since it takes time to boost full-grown cattle.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said in statement on Monday after President Trump floated his idea to import beef from Argentina over the weekend that it was urging Trump and Congress to permit the market to work slightly intervene and harm rural America.