U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollin provided an update on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ongoing partnership with Mexico to combat the New World Screwworm (NWS). Yesterday, Secretary Rollins held a call with her counterpart in Mexico, Secretary Berdegue, to discuss the ongoing threat of NWS and actions being taken by both countries to contain the threat south of the U.S. border.

USDA is working daily with Mexico to make sure the resources, tactics, and tools are in place to effectively eradicate NWS. Additionally, Secretary Rollins announced tthis week the USDA is investing $21 million to renovate an existing fruit fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico to further the long-term goal of eradicating this insect. When operational, this facility will produce 60-100 million additional sterile NWS flies weekly to push the population further south in Mexico. Given the geographic spread of NWS, this additional production capacity will be critical to our response.

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According to Feedlot Magazine- "Mid morning on May 27, markets reacted to a report from a radio station website that the New World Screwworm was detected in Missouri. The news was included in brokerage market reports and spread like wildfire. However approximately 30 minutes later, the article was pulled from the website and only an AI reference to the report remained. By the end of the day, state government officials said the rumor was unfounded."

We reached out to Mike Deering, Executive Vice President of the Missouri Cattlemen who told us "Talked to the radio station and the manager who posted the story. It was not AI generated. It came as an email. He said it was an extremely professional looking press release with official header and everything. He said it came from Livestock Coalition Incorporated (fictitious). He said shortly after publishing is when a virus warning kicked off and their IT team had to step in as their entire network was compromised. He said he should have questioned it and called the Missouri Dept of Ag but thought it looked very professional."

Mike Adds "I am working with the Department of Ag, our Attorney General and the Missouri Highway Patrol to see if we can get to the bottom of this."



As for the Missouri Department of Ag- they offered a statement as well- ""Unfounded rumors are circulating regarding New World Screwworm in Missouri. To date, the Missouri Department of Agriculture and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has received no notification of New World Screwworm detection in Missouri. Missouri Department of Agriculture works closely with USDA on animal health issues.

Editor's Note- Bottom line- there are a lot of evil characters out there who want to fool us all and harm our industry- We are reminded here at the Oklahoma Farm Report that we need to check and doublecheck everything before it goes out on our website, our radio reports and this email so you won't have to second guess us- Our pledge to you- make sure it's right!

Exploring Virtual Fencing: A New Approach to Grazing Management

Dr. Ryan Reuter, OSU Professor of Animal and Food Sciences, focused on beef cattle nutrition and range management, provides us with a rundown of virtual fencing to control cattle movements. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays is featuring comments from his conversation with our own Stevie White at the recent Beef Cattle Summit in Ada, Oklahoma.

Dr. Reuter explained that Virtual fencing works similarly to how invisible dog fences work, only the cattle systems are all based on GPS. The system can be used on cattle, sheep, or goats, and the animal is fitted with a GPS collar. Using software, a producer can draw the desired perimeter on a map.

Farm Director KC Sheperd visited the United Soybean Board (USB), where she connected with Patrick Giberson, the USB Director, to explore exciting developments and future prospects within the soybean industry.

USB is always innovating, and Gilberson shared some intriguing innovations and explained the board’s commitment to farmers. The conversation then shifted to insecticide strategies and EPA regulations. Sheperd asked about Giberson’s immediate concerns as a grower, and emphasized that it is time to get the planting done.

The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Grassroots Rural & Ag Business Accelerators program was recently recognized by the Oklahoma Venture Forum with the forum’s 2025 Economic Impact Award.

The award, sponsored by the Chickasaw Nation, recognized OKFB for “significant contributions to the state’s economy,” and was presented Thursday, May 15, during the OVF Awards Luncheon in Oklahoma City.

365 agricultural and related groups have sent a letter calling on Congress to enact the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act, a bipartisan bill the groups say is needed to protect access for farmers and the public to safe, well-regulated pesticides. The groups—which represent millions of pesticide users from farmers to scientists, and mosquito control to public land managers—say the legislation would reaffirm and clarify long-standing provisions in federal pesticide law regarding labeling requirements.

Since the 1970s, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act has contained provisions that prevent states from imposing labeling requirements in addition to or different from federal requirements. Yet, the groups warned in the letter that recent state labeling requirements, “directly and unjustifiably contradict EPA’s scientific findings on pesticide safety. These actions risk creating an unworkable, inconsistent patchwork of state pesticide labels that can quickly disrupt commerce and access to these much-needed tools.” The groups are concerned that if contradictory labels are required on the same package, it could lead to products being pulled from the market.

Make Agriculture Great Again Trade Win: Secretary Rollins Secures Greater Market Access with Costa Rica for U.S. Dairy Industry

Under U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins’ leadership, American dairy producers will have greater market access as Costa Rica has approved the first U.S. dairy facility to be registered under their new streamlined approval process. The Trump Administration continues to break down non-tariff barriers, and this latest action is the first of many wins ahead for American dairy producers.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is putting Farmers First. Securing greater market access for American dairy farmers is a much-needed win for the U.S. dairy industry and will give our producers better increased access to a $130 million market in Costa Rica. I look forward to continuing to Make Agriculture Great Again by breaking down trade barriers and opening new markets for our farmers and ranchers around the globe,” said Secretary Rollins.