The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) is bolstering its research capabilities to defend against invasive pests – like the New World screwworm – that could harm the U.S. cattle industry with a new facility located in Kerrville, Texas, that has a history of research into screwworms
The Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory is a 52,000-square-foot lab that features cattle facilities and genomic research capabilities. The facility will do on-site research into improving the surveillance and trapping of pests, pesticide delivery methods, insect genomics to detect pest vulnerabilities, the development of novel acaricides and insecticides, and other projects.
Additionally, the Knipling-Bushland lab will house to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) units – the Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit and the Veterinary Pest Genetics Research Unit.
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) named the facility after two USDA researchers: Edward Knipling and Raymond Bushland, who both researched pest mitigation efforts for screwworms. Knipling’s research led to his theory that sterile male techniques could control screwworm populations, while Bushland – who did research at the Kerrville site – proved that theory.
“The brand new Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory will allow us to research and find new active measures to keep current and future threats away from our borders. We have taken extraordinary actions to keep New World Screwworm out of the United States and this lab will help us accelerate our offensive efforts to drive this pest further away from our borders,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, in a press release.
ARS Administrator Joon Park added, “This new laboratory will equip our researchers with advanced tools to combat the most destructive invasive insects already impacting the United States, as well as those posing future threats at our borders. The important ARS research conducted here in Kerrville will continue to play a vital role in protecting and strengthening the future of the U.S. cattle industry.”
The research lab opening follows a slew of announcements related to the U.S. and Mexico’s response to NWS, including the USDA’s multi-prong plan to address the pest.
While NWS has not been spotted in the U.S., the pest has been spotted within a 100 mile from the U.S. border in the Mexican state of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, with 15 and 96 active cases, respectively, as of May 26 USDA data.
