U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins on Wednesday morning launched an $8.5 million sterile New World screwworm (NWS) fly dispersal facility in South Texas and announced a sweeping five-pronged plan (PDF, 380 KB) to enhance USDA’s already robust ability to detect, control, and eliminate this pest. These urgent actions are necessary to finish the fight against NWS and protect the United States.

Key Facets of USDA’s Five-Pronged Plan (PDF, 380 KB) to Address New World Screwworm

1. Stop the Pest from Spreading in Mexico and Ensure We Are Full Partners in Eradication
2. Protect the U.S. Border at All Costs
3. Maximize Our Readiness
4. Take the Fight to the Screwworm
5. Innovate Our Way to Eradication

Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April.

The Tulsa Farm Show is Oklahoma’s premier agricultural and ranching event- and returns to the SageNet Center (Expo Square) December 11,12 & 13, 2025. 



Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2025 Tulsa Farm Show.  To learn more about the Tulsa Farm Show, click here. 

At the Beef Improvement Federation Meeting, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, spoke with the president and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Ben Weinheimer, to get a detailed update on the war against New World Screwworm (NWS). 

One glimmer of hope is that the NWS population seems to have stalled its northward progress for the past five or six weeks. However, encouraging the recent stall in the flies’ northward movement is, Weinheimer continues to support efforts to increase sterile fly production capacity with additional facilities. Repurposing a fruit fly production plant in Chiapas, Mexico, is one area of interest; another is establishing an entirely new sterile fly production plant in Mission, Texas, which USDA announced plans for just after this article was posted.

Simmental Leaders Tackle Beef’s Big Paradox: Balancing Producer Efficiency with Packer Demand

The American Simmental Organization is making waves in the beef industry, with recent accolades and upcoming events set to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing cattle producers today. Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Luke Bowman, Director of Sim Genetic Development for the American Simmental Organization, to talk about their upcoming events.

The American Simmental Organization is gearing up for its annual Fall Focus event, scheduled for August 22nd through 26th in Columbia, Missouri. Co-sponsored by the Simmental Association of Missouri, this year’s event promises to be highly impactful, diving deep into the complex relationship between economics and genetics in the beef cycle.

“The only way to protect the American cattle herd from the devastating threat of New World screwworm is by having a sufficient supply of sterile flies to push this pest away from our border,” said NCBA President Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman. “To accomplish that, we need a sterile fly production facility of our own in the United States. Moore Air Base was previously part of our nation’s screwworm eradication effort in the 1960s and now this base will be the cornerstone of our renewed fight against this parasite. NCBA, and state affiliate partners including the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Texas Cattle Feeders Association have been pushing for a facility like this since the start of the year. We appreciate Secretary Rollins’ continued work to protect American agriculture from the New World screwworm. It’s an honor to join her in Texas for this important event.”

Stephen Diebel, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association first vice president, attended the announcement to show the association’s support and emphasize the importance of protecting the U.S. beef herd. “Today’s announcement is pivotal in protecting the U.S. cattle industry,” said Diebel. “Sterile flies are the only known way to stop the reproduction and continued expansion of NWS, and it’s assuring to see Secretary Rollins follow through her early commitments to increasing production of sterile flies domestically.”

Oklahoma small business owners can learn how to prepare applications for state and federal funding opportunities with the third session of Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s In the Weeds masterclass series offered through the organization’s Oklahoma Grassroots Rural and Ag Business Accelerators program.

The session will prepare small business owners of all types to craft compelling applications and gather the necessary supporting documents to apply for a wide array of government-funded business loan programs, including U.S. Small Business Association loans, State Small Business Credit Initiative venture capital, SSBCI lending and other Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology funding programs.

While food insecurity affects 47 million people in America, it has a disproportionate impact in rural areas of the country. To bring attention to this crisis and with a goal of providing one million meals for people facing hunger, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) is introducing the NAFB Hunger campaign.

NAFB Hunger is designed to help provide food and resources for people facing hunger, including those living in rural communities, by directing donors to the Feeding America® network of partner food banks. NAFB station and network broadcast members are reaching rural audiences through public service announcements (PSAs) and other communications to drive donors to a dedicated website: nafbhunger.com.

Safeguarding Children in Agriculture: An Updated National Action Plan

To ensure the next generation of farmers, farm workers and all those whose careers and lives are affiliated with agriculture, the National Children’s Center has updated the National Action Plan for Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention. The National Children’s Center worked with external advisors and many others to enhance the framework for protecting the safety, health, and well-being of children who live on, work on, or visit our nation’s nearly 2 million farms and ranches. The original plan was published in 1996, with updates in 2001 and 2012.



“This update reflects decades of progress while addressing new and emerging issues,” said Andrea Swenson, Ph.D., director of the National Children’s Center.