Texas ag chief and USDA clash over screwworm response as outbreak looms

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins publicly clashes with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller over the federal response to the New World Screwworm outbreak in Texas, with Rollins calling Miller’s criticisms unserious and Miller accusing USDA of slow action and urging immediate deployment of the Screwworm Adult Suppression System. The feud highlights tensions between federal and state leaders as the parasite threatens cattle herds and beef prices, while the USDA presses ahead with its screwworm playbook—sterile flies, quarantine zones, increased surveillance—and ramps up production to contain the outbreak, amid calls for stronger federal intervention.