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Border to Open for Cattle
Friday, July 24, 2026 10:53PM CDT
Border to Open for Cattle 07/24 22:52
USDA Sets Aug. 24 Date to Resume Mexico Cattle Imports if Plan Followed
USDA on Friday announced that the Douglas, Arizona, port will reopen Aug. 24
to Mexican cattle imports if Mexico follows its Joint Action Plan. Ports have
been closed since May 2025 due to New World screwworm.
Jennifer Carrico
DTN Senior Livestock Editor
REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- USDA announced on Friday that the southern cattle
ports from Mexico to the U.S. will open beginning Aug. 24, 2026, if Mexico
adheres to the Joint Action Plan.
The opening will start at the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry, followed by
steps to open ports of entry at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and Columbus, New
Mexico. These ports have been closed since May 2025 due to New World screwworm
(NWS) within 370 miles of the border. All animals entering the U.S. through
these ports will undergo a full USDA inspection to ensure they are free of any
signs of NWS, according to a USDA news release.
The first case of NWS was detected in the U.S. on June 3, 2026, and
according to the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service dashboard, since
June 3, they have confirmed 41 cases of NWS in Texas and one in New Mexico.
"Protecting the United States from NWS and pushing this pest out of Mexico
and back to the Darien Gap is a top priority at USDA and has the full attention
of the Trump administration," said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke
Rollins. "The closure of the Southern ports of entry for the last year has been
a tough but necessary action to control the spread of NWS in Mexico and protect
the American livestock industry. Thanks to the work across the federal
government as well as state, local and industry partners, it is now safe to
reopen the Douglas, Arizona, port in 30 days to resume the hundreds-year-old
movement of cattle."
INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT DECISION
National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said Rollins and the
USDA team have been fighting the spread of NWS through the five-point plan and
comprehensive response playbook.
"Their work -- along with the diligence of cattle producers in border states
-- bought the United States valuable time to improve our domestic readiness.
The whole-of-government response has put us in a strong position to begin
safely and gradually reopening our southern border to cattle shipments,"
Woodall said in a statement. "This decision will help normalize business for
cattle operations throughout the border states and Southern Plains. We
appreciate the continued work of USDA to support American producers and the
U.S. cattle industry."
Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts said in a statement that
her group is in support of a careful, phased reopening of the border that
reflects both vigilance and confidence in response plans.
"Importing cattle from Mexico allows beef packers to better meet consumer
demand given the tight supply of U.S. cattle. We will continue to support
efforts to retain heifers and expand the herd as the best way to address the
high price of beef for consumers," Potts said.
MEXICO MUST FOLLOW THE PLAN
Rollins said she is confident in the animal health infrastructure in Sonora
and Chihuahua, Mexico, which border southwest Texas, as well as New Mexico's
and Arizona's southern borders.
The phased reopening is contingent upon satisfactory progress on priority
Action Plan milestones, according to USDA.
Sonora and Chihuahua are considered the lowest-risk Mexican states for NWS
due to robust inspection programs and their distance from the heavily affected
southern regions, which prompted USDA to reopen the Douglas, Arizona, port to
livestock trade on Aug. 24, 2026, as the nearest active case is approximately
325 miles away. Following an evaluation of the Douglas reopening, APHIS will
assess whether to reopen the ports in Santa Teresa and Columbus, New Mexico, to
live cattle, bison and horses. The overall reopening timeline will remain
flexible and may be paused or adjusted based on Mexico's progress on its Action
Plan milestones or if post-opening audits reveal increased risk in Sonora or
Chihuahua.
MARKETS CAN'T RESPOND UNTIL MONDAY
The Friday evening announcement came at a time when no reflection on the
cattle markets could happen until Monday.
DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart said: "Friday's announcement of the
U.S. border reopening to Mexican cattle imports will come as mixed news to the
industry. If you're a cattle feeder in the Southern part of the U.S., this news
will likely come as a breath of fresh air, as it could allow for the cheaper
acquisition of placements. But if you're a cattle producer in the Midwest or
Northern Plains, this news could be burdensome if it pushes the futures market
lower, and if it has a negative effect on feeder cattle prices."
Stewart expects a larger dynamic to be seen over time.
"The U.S. is soberly aware of the fact that Mexico has taken steps to
process cattle on their side of the border to hopefully avoid the disruption of
trade like what we saw over the last year. But it's yet to be seen how
effective those plans will be, and obviously what long-term effect they'll have
on the U.S. cattle and beef markets."
The feeder and fed cattle markets continue to show some interesting changes,
which may or may not be affected by this news, Stewart said.
"While this may seem like the grand finale to the NWS story, the book is far
from its ending chapter, as the cattle and beef markets have changed
dramatically in the last two years -- with the reduction of domestic shackle
space, the pressure seen in the feeding sector and, obviously, a U.S beef cow
herd that remains at a record low," she concluded.
The USDA website with all information about NWS is
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animals/animal-health/livestock-and-poultry-disease/s
top-screwworm.
**
Editor's Note: For more DTN coverage of the New World screwworm threat and
the response by the government and livestock industry, visit our Spotlight on
New World Screwworm page at
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/livestock/article/2026/06/08/dtn-covera
ge-new-world-screwworm-us.
Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com
Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal
(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.
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