New World Screwworm enters the U.S.

NWS infestations were discovered just days apart on calves that grazed
roughly 5.6 miles from each another. (Photo via Hoosier Ag News) 

Despite ongoing efforts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Mexican government and on-the-ground teams along the U.S.-Mexico border, last week the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed two cases of New World screwworm in Texas livestock, reports Jennifer Carrico of Progressive Farmer. In both cases, the flesh-eating blowfly larvae were discovered in young calves about 6 miles apart in Zavala County, Texas.

After the second case was confirmed, Texas Governor Greg Abbott "issued an updated statewide disaster declaration for the NWS infestation," Carrico writes. At a news conference, Abbott encouraged the use of "all state resources to combat the NWS." Additionally, the executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, Budd Dinges, reminded the public that NWS isn't a threat to consumer food safety but rather poses a threat to livestock production. 

In response to the infestations, APHIS has "deployed mobile response trailers, and sterile fly releases are underway with 2 million aerially and 4 million released on the ground per week," Farm Journal reports. "Movement control zones have been activated at a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius around each site."

Both NWS cases were found in Zavala, Texas, 
in red above. (Wikipedia map)

The discovery prompted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to place "temporary restrictions on livestock imports from Texas," reports C.J. Miller of Hoosier Ag Today. "Under the order, cattle, horses and other livestock that originated in Texas or were present in the state within 21 days before entering Canada will be denied entry."

Although the USDA intensified its battle to prevent the NWS from reentering the U.S. including banning Mexican livestock from entering the U.S. beginning in July 2025, some ranchers don't think the government's response was enough.

"On Friday, about 100 ranchers in mud-splattered boots and cowboy hats packed a small high school cafeteria for a Texas Animal Health Commission briefing on screwworm, peppering officials with questions and venting frustration over what they saw ​as a slow federal response,” reports Heather Schlitz of Reuters. 

Even as the USDA works to contain NWS infestations, they are likely to spread throughout the summer months, Miller reports. Prior to last week, the NWS hasn't been found in the U.S. for at least 60 years.

What's up with tomato prices? The U.S. has collected $4.6 million in tomato tariffs — a 'staggering' 27,879% increase

The price of tomatoes is up 40% over
last year. (Photo by E. Akyurt, Unsplash)

For many Americans, tomatoes are a grocery staple, so heading into a store only to see the price of red sauce or salsa skyrocket serves as a reminder that the country is facing ongoing affordability challenges.

"Prices for those red orbs have soared more than any other food product over the past year to cement a spot as one of the consumer headaches du jour," reports Matt Sedensky of The Associated Press.

In the case of tomatoes, their "prices are up about 40% over a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index," Sedensky explains. In comparison, coffee prices are up 18.5%, beef roasts are up 17.8%, and frozen fish and seafood are up 12%.

The war with Iran and tariffs are the two primary reasons tomatoes are pricier. "The war spiked gas prices and increased shipping costs," Sedensky explains. "Meantime, the U.S. withdrew from a deal allowing duty-free imports of tomatoes from Mexico, which grows most of America’s supply."

While American tomato farmers cheered to see their competition get slapped with a 17% tomato tariff,  Sedensky writes, soaring tomato prices have been another inflation shock for many U.S. consumers and restaurant operators.

Federal data says it best: "U.S. tariffs collected on tomatoes ballooned from just $16,424 in 2024 to nearly $4.6 million," AP reports. "A staggering 27,879% increase."

Some consumers have rushed to plant gardens, but for restaurants that collectively use thousands of tomatoes a day, the cost increase is hard to absorb.

Wayne Humphrey, chief operating officer of Snarf’s Sandwiches, where sliced tomatoes top most sandwiches, told AP, "That single ingredient now costs us more than $1.7 million in additional spend annually. The math is getting harder to ignore.”

New World Screwworm inches closer to the Texas border; flesh-eating larvae can be deadly to cattle

Brahman cows graze near Mercedes, Texas, about 11 miles 
from the Mexico border. (Photo by J. Carrico, Farm Journal)

After a few months of reduced sightings, the New World Screwworm is making news again. "Mexican authorities confirmed an NWS case in a seven-year-old bovine and a 6-day-old calf both on Jan. 5," reports Jennifer Carrico of Progressive Farmer. Both infected animals were less than 220 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Mexican authorities, NWS has inched closer to the Texas border. The parasite has spread north even as Mexico has strictly limited cattle movement across the country.

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller told Carrico, "The screwworm now may be moving closer on its own, with no apparent link to commercial animal movement. Texas producers must act now -- stay informed, stay vigilant, and prepare immediately. We cannot drop our guard for even a moment."

NWS flesh-eating larvae can be deadly to cattle and other warm-blooded animals, including sheep, horses and dogs. Female NWS deposit their eggs in an animal's open wound, and once the larvae hatch, they eat away at the host's flesh, which can cause infection and decay. "The larvae can kill an animal in just four to seven days if not quickly detected and treated," reports Stump Denton of Farm Journal.

Since female NWS mate only once in a lifetime and store their fertilized eggs, releasing millions of sterile male NWS has been the best way to eradicate harmful larvae production. Carrico explains, "The USDA eradicated NWS from the United States in 1966 using the sterile insect technique, and it was used successfully again in 2016 in the southern Florida Keys when found in deer."

A sterile fly distribution facility at Moore Airbase in Edinburg, Texas, is expected to be up and running early this year.

New World screwworm detected roughly 70 miles from the Texas border as USDA efforts intensify

New World screwworm was found roughly 70 
miles from Laredo, Texas. (USDA photo)

 

The New World screwworm and its flesh-eating larvae have made their way through Mexico to hover fewer than 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. "The case was reported near Sabinas Hidalgo in Nuevo Leon," reports Joshua Baethge of Farm Progress. "That city is close to a major highway connecting Monterrey, Mexico’s second-largest metro area, and Laredo, Texas."

Screwworm larvae were discovered in "an 8-month-old cow that was moved to the area from southern Mexico, which has active NWS cases," Baethge writes. Concerned lawmakers and livestock owners would like Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to persuade the Mexican government to restrict cattle movement to contain the pest.

While NWS larvae will eat the flesh of any warm-blooded animal, female screwworm flies most often lay their eggs in the open wounds or scratches of sheep or cattle. The larvae are considered a threat to U.S. livestock and rancher economies as well as the U.S. food supply.

Rollins said "protecting the U.S. from New World screwworm is a 'national security priority," Baethge reports. Rollins added that "U.S. farmers and ranchers should know that the U.S. 'will not rely on Mexico' to defend the cattle industry, the food industry or 'our way of life.'"

State of Nuevo León within Mexico
(Wikipedia map)

The USDA and Mexican authorities have been working together to push the NWS away from both countries' livestock herds through sterile fly releases, animal surveillance and fly trapping and testing work. 

Since July, the USDA and Mexico "have been monitoring almost 8,000 traps across Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico," reports Jennifer Carrico of Progressive Farmer. "Currently, all the 13,000-plus screening samples have detected no NWS flies."

While the latest detection in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, appears to be limited to one cow, the USDA is still investigating. "Rollins said the U.S will be 'taking no chances,'" Baethge reports.

Texas cattle owners remain on 'high alert' as a human infection of New World screwworm is confirmed

A sterile male screwworm fly is numbered to study fly dispersal.
(USDA photo via PBS)

Despite focused efforts to prevent the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite from entering the U.S., a human case of screwworm was confirmed on Sunday. The parasite was "detected in a person in Maryland who returned to the U.S. after traveling to El Salvador, according to the Department of Health and Human Services," reports Rebecca Falconer of Axios. 

While the HHS does not consider screwworms a significant threat to humans, American livestock farmers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are preparing for the parasite. Cassandra Garrison, Tom Polansek and Leah Douglas of Reuters report, "Industry cattle ranchers, beef producers and livestock traders [are] already on high alert for potential U.S. infestations as screwworm has moved northward from Central America and southern Mexico."

Since November, the USDA has worked with Mexico to contain the aggressive parasite from nearing the U.S.-Mexico border, including closing cattle trade ports and having massive sterile fly releases. Last week, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to build a sterile fly facility in Texas to combat screwworm infestations.

Most experts believe that Texas is the most likely place for screwworms to enter the country. Reuters reports, "The USDA has estimated a screwworm outbreak could cost the economy in Texas, the biggest U.S. cattle-producing state, about $1.8 billion in livestock deaths, labor costs and medication expenses."

For a more in-depth explanation of screwworms, click here.

An in-depth look at screwworms and the USDA response to keep the problem from spreading in the U.S.

An adult female screwworm fly can lay up to 300 eggs
at a time. (USDA photo via Offrange)

 

Hollywood horror flicks can't hold a candle to the gruesomely parasitic screwworm. The flesh-eating larvae were eradicated in the U.S. nearly 60 years ago, only to reappear in South America and then migrate back into Mexico, where the Department of Agriculture has played hardball at the border, trying to keep the insidious pest from re-entering the states.

Luckily for cattle and other mammals, the screwworm, which is a type of blowfly's larva, isn't even a particularly effective parasite because it inevitably kills its host.

Female Cochliomyia hominivorax fixate on the smell of blood from any wound as a place to "lay their eggs — up to 300 at a time. These hatch out spined maggots that anchor themselves into flesh, then proceed to eat their way through it, sometimes deep into muscle," reports Lela Nargi of Offrange. "If it’s deep enough, the host animal cannot survive."

The USDA continues to use a multi-pronged approach to control screwworms:

• In May, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins suspended the import of live cattle, horses, and bison through U.S. ports of entry along the Mexican border, aiming to curtail entry possibilities while providing time to prepare and counter any screwworm infestations. While Rollins announced a phased reopening of the southern ports this July, the plan comes with heightened and constant monitoring.
• The plan includes the incremental release of thousands of sterile male screwworm producers with heavy monitoring by U.S. and Mexican scientists. The mass numbers of sterile screwworm-producing blowflies work to create a buffer by out-competing the fertile male flies. Since a female screwworm blowfly can only mate once in a lifetime, when she mates with a sterile male blowfly it insures that her eggs will never hatch -- no matter how many eggs she lays.
• Experts can also trap and measure the ratio of sterile to fertile male screwworm producers in different areas. Sterile releases aim to overwhelm the wild population, which scientists can also measure through traps.
• The USDA also employs teams affectionately known as "tick cowboys" who patrol borders on horseback, looking for any signs of illness in herds. By scouting for any cattle that appear distressed, the USDA can quickly detect, contain, and report any screwworm (or other) infestation.

An active screwworm infestation can be treated and cured, but like the worms themselves, it's "disgusting," Nargi writes. "The maggots have to be removed before the wound is cleaned and sutured." 

Screwworms do have a natural enemy -- fire ants. Nargi writes, "Unsurprisingly, no one is talking about dispersing more fire ants to eat the screwworms."

Experts are already hard at work helping livestock owners get prepared. Philip Kaufman, an entomologist at Texas A&M, "helped compile a new screwworm fact sheet that’s being distributed to ranchers," Nargi reports. "He isn’t prone to screwworm pessimism." He told her, "We are concerned, but we are not in a crisis. People are getting trained up and we’re gonna tackle this and solve it again."

Sharing any suspicious findings is key. Kaufman told Nargi, "Reporting is the number one thing people can do. If you ignore this, that fly population is just going to get bigger and bigger and cause more of a problem for everybody else. This is a community issue.”

Farm updates: Eradicating screwworms; air detecting for bird flu; John Deere suit continues; Farm Dog of the Year!

Tusk-like mandibles can rasp the flesh of living warm-
blooded animals. (USDA photo via Successful Farming)

Despite its eradication from the U.S. in 1966, the New World Screwworm has returned to Mexico, which means the aggressive, flesh-eating flies could re-enter the U.S. 

While the NWS could prey on any warm-blooded animal, its return would be devastating for the U.S. cattle industry. Angie Stump Denton reports for Farm Journal, "The larvae can kill an animal in just four to seven days if not quickly detected and treated."

Experts believe Texas would be the most likely place for NWS to enter the U.S. from Mexico. In late April, after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins threatened to suspend cattle imports from Mexico to the U.S. as she did in November 2024, the two countries were able to agree on a strategy to control the NWS. Listen to more details on the NWS and USDA approaches for "complete eradication" here.

New bird flu detection sensors are fast. By testing air from exhaust vents, the systems monitor for
 bird flu 24/7. (ASC Publications graphic)

Bird flu remains a significant concern for egg and poultry industries as well as backyard and small chicken or turkey farms. The virus presents numerous difficulties, one of which is a lack of "any 'early warning' system," reports Alfred Poor for Offrange. "Testing requires a lab and can take days to deliver results. … A new detection technology can produce results in minutes and is designed to be installed on-site, right in the flock housing buildings, to provide continuous monitoring. … The system samples air from the exhaust vents from the animals’ housing. The researchers have described their results in a paper in ACS Sensors."

The new detection technology doesn't require any technical training to run and it's accurate. Poor adds, "According to the team’s own published results, the system’s results showed a 90% correlation with the standard PCR lab results."

Even though U.S. farmers can now legally repair their tractors, a lawsuit addressing John Deere's past repair policies and tactics with farmers will still make its way through the court system. "The Agriculture equipment giant must face a lawsuit by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accusing the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs," reports Mike Scarcella of Reuters. "U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston in the federal court in Rockford, Illinois, ruled for now to reject Deere’s effort to end the lawsuit."

Deere countered the suit saying that "it does not compete in the market for repair services," Scarella reports. "The company also challenged the lawfulness of the structure of the FTC. … Deere alleged that restrictions against removing FTC commissioners illegally bar the president from exercising lawful oversight."

We don't know how we missed it, but it's our pleasure to introduce "Sirius," the amazing and lovable 2025 Farm Bureau Dog of the Year. "Livestock guardian dog Sirius is a 'hero behind the heroes' – a herd of miniature therapy horses that bring comfort to those who have experienced traumatic events," the American Farm Bureau Federation reports. 

The mini-horses that Sirius and his fellow Maremma sheep dogs help protect from behind the scenes have given people joy during some of their worst experiences. They visited families after the Sandy Hook school shooting and comforted victim families and first responders after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. They make people smile and laugh in children and veteran hospitals wherever they go. 

While Sirius and his fellow canine guardians stay home at the farm, they help owners Jorge and Debbie Garcia-Bengochea know the horses are safe. Jorge told FB, "The Maremma breed is intended to bond with the herd. When these dogs are on alert and watching the herd, I feel like it's a  24/7 security system."

Farmers are encouraged to enter their tremendous farm dog here for the 2026 award.

Fund used to buffer U.S. farmers from tariff wars is dwindling; rural America could face an 'immense fallout'

Rural America could bear the brunt of possible trade wars
with China, Mexico and Canada. (Adobe Stock photo)

As U.S. farmers prepare for spring planting season, federal tariffs and trade wars are among their top income worries. Their concerns are shared by lawmakers who "fear they’ll have to enact billions of dollars in new aid to rescue farmers harmed by President Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars with China, Canada, and Mexico, reports Meredith Lee Hill of Politico. "The fund Trump tapped to send farmers $28 billion in 2018 is now dwindling."

During Trump's first-term tariff duel with China, his administration used the Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation to send relief checks to farmers; however, the CCC's available funds are low. Hill writes, "After upcoming payments are made, there will only be an estimated $4 billion left for the Trump administration to spend on any fallout from his newest trade battle."

The newest round of tariffs include a 10% tariff on Chinese imports imposed this week, which will ultimately make purchasing farm equipment more expensive. Canada and Mexico garnered a pause on a 25% import tariff Trump threatened, but that levy is still possible. Hill explains, "Farmers are warning that their products will be harder to sell if the three countries retaliate with their own tariffs."

When the CCC was flush with funding, giving farmer bailout checks was a simpler process. This year is different. "Replenishing [the CCC] could become another sticking point in the bipartisan spending talks happening ahead of a potential mid-March government shutdown," Hill explains. "With farm-state Republicans expecting federal help from the fund to offset any trade-war impacts on their constituents, Democrats could make their own steep demands in exchange."

With the Trump administration targeting the country's three largest agricultural trading partners, farmers could face the harshest consequences. "Among those raising alarms is the American Farm Bureau Federation, which this weekend detailed the immense fallout for rural America should the trade wars proceed," Hill reports. "New levies 'may inadvertently create financial hardships for U.S. farmers and ranchers who are already operating on very thin or negative margins,' the group’s president and long-time Trump ally Zippy Duvall wrote to the president."

Leaders and economists worry over what Trump's planned tariffs might do to business profits and consumer wallets

Businesses and U.S. economists are worried about how tariffs
could impact profits and American budgets. (Adobe Stock photo)

World leaders and CEOs are working to convince President-elect Donald Trump to reconsider his hard-line plans for tariffs against the country's biggest trade partners, which could "disrupt global trade and pummel profits," report Andrew Ross Sorkin, Ravi Mattu, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch and Tariq Panja of The New York Times. They "feel they’re making little headway in warning him of the consequences." Meanwhile, if Trump makes good on his threatened levies, U.S. consumers will likely pay higher prices.

Trump's first tariff announcements targeted Canada, Mexico and China. He said "he would impose 25% levies on Canada and Mexico, if they didn’t tighten their borders and stem the flow of illegal migration to the U.S.," The Times reports. "In subsequent social media posts, he went after BRICS countries," which include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and other emerging markets.

Even though many Americans list high inflation, particularly on groceries and household staples, as a primary concern, "Trump conceded that he 'can’t guarantee tariffs won’t hit consumers hard," the Times reports. "That’s a concern among economists and big companies such as Walmart and Costco, who fear that levies could lead to price rises."

An estimate from The Budget Lab at Yale "found that the cost to consumers from Trump’s proposed tariffs could reach as much as $1,200 in lost purchasing power on average based on 2023 incomes, assuming retaliatory duties on U.S. exports are put into place," reports Rob Wile of NBC News. "While Trump has insisted other countries end up paying the cost of tariffs, most economists agree those costs wind up getting passed on to shoppers."

The National Retail Federation warned about "the impact of tariffs to everyday households," Wile writes. "Some Trump allies suggested the president-elect doesn’t actually plan to follow through with the proposed tariffs. . . . Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, conceded, 'Tariffs will hurt the American consumer, that’s true. But they also make for good negotiation tools.'"

Eagle Pass, Texas, continues to face an ongoing immigration feud between state and federal leaders

A family talks with the National Guard in Eagle Pass.
(Photo by Go Nakamura, Reuters via WP)

In Eagle Pass, Texas, the immigration battle between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the federal government has ratcheted up area tensions as both sides seek to control the border.

In a move "invoking the state's right to defend itself against what he sees as an invasion," Abbot ordered the Texas National Guard to continue building a 2.5-mile blockage along the Rio Grande to prevent immigrants from "invading," reports Arelis R. Hernández of The Washington Post. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has "ordered Abbott to allow Border Patrol agents to remove or cut wire to reach the river and aid migrants in distress. . . . Abbott's troops are installing even more wire. Twenty-five Republican governors recently signed a letter expressing their support for Abbott's rebellion."

The power struggle between Abbott and the Biden administration leaves Eagle Pass residents in the cross-hairs of a situation where compromise looks unlikely. The region's economic dependence on border crossing means many townspeople have their daily lives and incomes disrupted by the tensions. "Eagle Pass is the largest city in Maverick County, with nearly 30,000 residents, but it is isolated from most other U.S. border cities," Hernández writes. "Mexicans who cross legally make up nearly half of Eagle Pass's workforce; many U.S. residents also cross the river to work. . . ."

Eagle Pass high school track students can't use Shelby Park for practice because Abbott seized the park in January and the town's hotels remained packed with out-of-towners. Eagle Pass residents are shocked at the attention. Mike Garcia, a retired insurance salesman and active Chamber of Commerce member, told Hernández, "People now know where Eagle Pass is, but are we famous or infamous?"

For the foreseeable future, the feud will continue and locals will struggle to have their voices heard. Hernández explains, "The state's border with Mexico is an international boundary under the jurisdiction of federal authorities, but Abbott and his allies contend they have the right to intervene because the Biden administration hasn't done enough to stanch the record number of migrants trying to enter Texas illegally in recent months. . . . Locals here hold views on immigration that are as complicated as the stories of how their families became fronterizos, or borderlanders. . . . Residents said federal and state elected leaders routinely leave them out of the conversation."

Linda Ronstadt can't sing now, but she has a cookbook that she calls 'a song' and tells the story of the Sonoran Desert

In the desert, Ronstadt is most at home in places like the tiny town of Canelo, Ariz. (Photo by Cassidy Arazia for NYT)

Linda Ronstadt can sing no more, due to Parkinson’s disease, but she can write, and may have completed her oeuvre with a different sort of composition. Her new cookbook, Feels Like Home: A Song of the Sonoran Borderlands, has only 20 recipes, but “is a way to explain why the arid land that starts in Arizona and stretches into Mexico’s west coast is her foothold in the world,” writes Kim Severson of the New York Times after spending two days with her in the Sonoran Desert. "It’s a story she has told through music, and now wants to tell — as much as she can — through food."

The book, co-written with former Timesman Lawrence Downes, is "a braid of stories about her family and the history, politics and music of the bicultural borderland that she loves," and recipes "like caldo de queso, with its clear broth and glistening cubes of cheese, and Sonoran enchiladas built from thick, fried corn tortillas," Seversn reports. "The book has recipes for ancient desert food, like long-simmered tepary beans, and some only-in-Tucson dishes, like cheese crisp. . . . albóndigas, the spiced meatballs poached in water, and a quirky, modern concoction called tunapeños — essentially jalapeño peppers halved and stuffed with tuna salad. The book devotes four pages to tortillas de agua: a Sonoran staple made with wheat flour, water, salt and a touch of lard or shortening spun into a flaky, nearly translucent tortilla larger than a steering wheel."

Severson's visit began with a dinner Ronstadt buddy Katya Peterson assembled with "food harvested at Mission Garden, a plot of land whose crops represent more than 4,000 years of continuous cultivation in the Tucson Basin," she reports. "A fig tree stewarded by the Ronstadt family grows there, as well as cactus samples collected from the land where Ms. Ronstadt’s grandfather was born." But for her, "Dinner parties are not easy," Severson writes, quoting her: “I’m finding it harder and harder as I get older and deafer to hold conversations.”

But Ronstadt, 76, had an interview with Jeffrey Brown of PBS NewsHour, who made it the focus of a story about her very varied singing career (she won a Grammy for Canciones de mi Padre, "Songs of My Father") and the book today. "Linda Ronstadt is a portrait of courage," host Judy Woodruff said.

Meth from Mexican drug cartels is on the rise in Appalachia, fueled partly by officials' efforts to cut off opioid access

Central Appalachia has been long known as a hotbed of opioid addiction, but, aided by Mexican drug cartels, methamphetamine abuse has been surging in the area for the past few years, presaging a nationwide increase in abuse of a more powerful form of the drug.

"The region where Kentucky meets Ohio and West Virginia has served as a harbinger of national drug trends," Timothy Williams reports for The New York Times. Pain pills like OxyContin, stimulants known as bath salts, prescription anti-anxiety medications like Xanax and, more recently, heroin and fentanyl were all adopted by drug users here before gaining wider use nationally."

Efforts to end opioid abuse, along with increasing awareness of the dangers of adulterated opioids, have led to the resurgence of crystal meth. "Doctors and hospitals have unwittingly accelerated the switch to methamphetamine by significantly reducing their patients’ access to pain medication; opioid users, increasingly fearful about overdosing on heroin and fentanyl, have been desperate for a substitute," Williams reports. Mexican drug cartels such as Sinaloa or the Jalisco Nueva Generación have "sought to fill the vacuum by targeting Appalachia, federal drug officials say. The traffickers follow the same business model that allowed them to inundate the nation with heroin: make meth potent and sell it cheap to ensure a steady customer base, and ultimately, mass addiction."

Until recently, meth was mostly a locally made product that varied widely in strength, but the newer Mexican version is often mixed with cocaine and/or fentanyl. Because fentanyl is cheap and a little goes a long way, it and cocaine enhance the user's high and hasten addiction, Williams reports. But it also makes overdoses more likely.

Signs of more drought ahead for Colorado River basin

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map of drought conditions

Runoff levels in the Colorado River from melting snowpack peaked early last week, the earliest peak in the past 50 years. It's also the fourth lowest volume of peak runoff recorded in 85 years. Peak runoff's early appearance and modest height predict a drought that experts say will be more common, Allen Best reports for Route Fifty.

Several parts of the U.S. already face drought conditions, mainly the Southwest. That will likely hurt the nearly 40 million people and 5 million acres of farmland that depend on the Colorado and its tributaries.

"If you ask why there is so little runoff in the Colorado and other rivers this year and why it has come so early, the No. 1 reason is we didn’t get much snowfall. That explains the bulk of this anomaly,"  Jeff Lukas, a research integration specialist with the University of Colorado’s Western Water Assessment, told Best. "But the temperature, much warmer than normal, especially from November to January, is a part of the story."

Lukas noted that runoffs have been unusually low for the past 16 years and that droughts are now more common than they were in the past, which he said "may speak to the contribution of human-caused warming."

Increased temperature is the main cause of the drought, with precipitation a secondary contributor, according to a 2017 paper by Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. "Temperatures in the region have increased, and as they do, the warming atmosphere needs more moisture.," Best reports. "Overpeck and his co-researcher, Brad Udall of Colorado State University, concluded that the moisture is being induced into the atmosphere through increased evaporation and transpiration." 

"This turns out to be the very biggest consequence of the temperature-induced drought in the Colorado River Basin,” Overpeck said. "Wildfire is going crazy in the Southwest, and it’s for the same reason."

Most counties dependent on exports are small, so they could be hurt most by changes to NAFTA

Changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement could have an outsized impact on many places in rural America. "Although counties containing big cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Houston generate the highest dollar volumes of exports, the most export-dependent places tend to be relatively small, often rural or suburban counties whose economies are based on a single industry – or sometimes even a single company or plant," Drew DeSilver reports for the Pew Research Center. "In fact, of the 154 counties or county equivalents where exports accounted for more than a quarter of GDP last year, only 11 had populations above 100,000 and half had fewer than 25,000 residents, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data compiled by the Brookings Institution for its 'Export Monitor 2017' report." Many of the high-export counties manufacture automobiles or auto parts.

Pew Research map; click on it to enlarge it.

Three U.S. counties rely on exports for more than 50 percent of the local gross domestic product. Leading the pack is Hancock County, Ky., a county of 8,810 residents which brings in 55.3 percent of its GDP from manufacturing aluminum and other nonferrous metal products.

In the counties with the greatest growth in exports, "booming U.S. oil and gas production and higher precious-metals prices have turbocharged export growth in many resource-rich counties. In 17 of the 30 counties with the highest annualized real export growth rates between 2003 and 2016, the economic sector that contributed the most to that growth was mining, oil and gas extraction," DeSilver reports.

Canada and Mexico are the two biggest destinations for U.S. exports, so a change in the U.S.'s trade relationships with those countries could hurt rural America. The NAFTA renegotiation talks are ongoing, but have been granted an extension after negotiators have had a hard time meeting stringent American demands.

US and Mexico expand Colorado River Compact

The Colorado River is in the midst of a historic drought.
(Smithsonian photo by Peter McBride)

After months of negotiations, U.S. water district officials said that "the United States and Mexico have agreed to renew and expand a far-reaching conservation agreement that governs how they manage the overused Colorado River, which supplies water to millions of people and to farms in both nations," Dan Elliott reports for the Associated Press. The deal, which was signed yesterday, is known as Minute 323, an amendment to the 1944 Mexican Water Treaty. It will be in effect for nine years.

The U.S. and Mexico first created the Colorado River Compact in 1922; the two nations agreed to work together on river management since the Colorado and its tributaries run through seven U.S. states before passing briefly through Mexico and emptying into the Gulf of California. Because of heavy use, the river usually dries up before it reaches the ocean.

The average annual flow of the river is about 20 billion cubic meters of water; Mexico is promised 1.9 billion cubic meters of that under the agreement. Also, the U.S. must invest $31.5 million in conservation improvements to Mexico's water infrastructure to reduce water loss to leaks and other problems. Mexico, in turn, must develop specific plans for reducing water consumption if the river runs too low to supply everyone's needs. Major consumers of the Colorado's waters would have to agree on their own shortage plan before Mexico produces one. And the deal will extend a previous agreement that both countries will cut back on water use if the river runs low.

Figuring out what to do in case of water shortage was paramount in the agreement. "The Colorado River is in the midst of a prolonged regional drought, and some climate scientists have said global warming is already reducing the amount of water it carries. A study published in February by researchers from the University of Arizona and Colorado State University said climate change could cut the river’s flow by one-third by the end of the century." Elliott reports.

NAFTA renegotiations begin; farmers hold breath

Officials from the U.S., Mexico and Canada began renegotiations Aug. 16 on the North America Free Trade Agreement, a 1994 treaty that "eliminated tariffs on most goods traded among the three countries and imposed other rules in areas like intellectual property and labor standards," Danielle Kurtzleben reports for NPR.

The U.S.-Canada negotiations don't seem too contentious thus far. "Canadian companies essentially want more access to American government and construction contracts," Andrew Soergel reports for U.S. News and World Report, though they are seeking several provisions on issues that may be unpopular with the Trump administration, such as gender rights and labor and environmental standards. But the atmosphere surrounding the U.S.-Mexico negotiations has been heating up for months. Those negotiations could have a major impact on the U.S. economy, as well as the state economies of the four states that share a border with Mexico, Christopher Wilson reports for Forbes. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California sell 55 percent of all U.S. exports to Mexico. "They facilitate an even greater portion, providing warehousing, transportation and other services for most of the 80 percent of all U.S.-Mexico trade that crosses the land border. If NAFTA were to fall apart, it would be a disaster for the thousands of companies and more than a million jobs along the border that depend on cross-border trade and tourism," reports Wilson.

The current administration has a markedly skeptical view of NAFTA. President Trump criticized it in his campaign, calling it the "worst deal ever made in the history of the world." And U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is representing the U.S. during the NAFTA negotiations, says he shares Trump's views on NAFTA and promises big changes in the trade deal to "to support higher-paying jobs in the United States and to grow the U.S. economy," Kurtzleben reports. He said the trade deal had "fundamentally failed many, many Americans and needs major improvement," but acknowledged that it had benefitted farmers and ranchers who were able to sell their goods in Canada and Mexico, Kurtzleben reports.

U.S. corn farmers have especially benefited from NAFTA, since they were able to flood the Mexican markets with cheap, U.S. government-subsidized corn, Kirk Semple reports for The New York Times. Though corn is a small fraction of the overall $525 billion in trade between the two countries, it's of huge importance to Midwestern farmers, and Mexico has used it as a symbol of Mexico's dependence on the U.S. In response to Trump's initial threats to overhaul NAFTA completely, Mexico began exploring buying their corn elsewhere and increasing domestic production. Corn farmers, who live in areas that voted heavily for Trump, were shaken by the prospect of losing Mexico as a foreign market. Philip Gordon, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat on his Saline, Mich., farm, told Semple, "If we lose Mexico as a customer, it will be absolutely devastating to the ag economy."

The Department of Agriculture says that "Mexico is not only the leading destination of American corn, but it also imports more dairy products, poultry and wheat from the United States than any other nation, and is one of the top importers of American pork, soybeans and beef," Semple reports. Supply chains for automobiles and other industries criss-cross the U.S.-Mexico border as well; some cars cross the border several times in the course of being manufactured, and eliminating the tariffs in such complicated situations has been a boon to automotive manufacturers.

Bills, lawsuit address alleged abuse of guest visa farm workers

As demand soars for foreign farm workers, legislators and President Trump's administration are taking a hard look at revamping and expanding the H2A guest worker visa program while cutting down on the number of permanent resident visas. Critics say farmers have abused guest workers by not paying them enough and providing inadequate living and working conditions.

A slew of bills are addressing the issue. Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Agriculture Committee member Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) "last month said it was 'well past the time to replace the outdated and onerous H2A program' and activists said they expect him to introduce a bill aimed at the program later this year," Alejandro Lazo reports for The Wall Street Journal. Another bill would create a pilot program to put each state in charge of its own guest worker program, possibly eliminating federal oversight. Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) proposed a bill that favors farmers' interests by limiting the ability of legal aid attorneys to represent guest farm workers. "That bill would also move administration of the program to the Agriculture Department, change the methodology for how wage rates are calculated and eliminate the obligation to provide housing as long as a state’s governor certified that farmworker housing was available," Lazo reports.

The Labor Department is trying a different tack. This year they filed a federal lawsuit—the first of its kind—against G Farms, an operation just outside Phoenix that relies on legal migrant workers. The workers contacted the Mexican Consulate about their working conditions, and the Consulate contacted the Labor Department. Some guest workers at the farm told Lazos that they had no complaints about the farm. The Labor Department alleged in the suit that the farm's owner, Santiago Gonzalez, "underpaid some of its 69 workers by not offering a set, hourly wage and housed them in an 'encampment' consisting of yellow school buses and semitrailers that 'violated numerous safety, sanitation and fire code regulations,'" Lazos reports. In a first, the department won a preliminary injunction against a farm using guest farm workers. The judge ordered Santiago to stop housing his workers in the encampment and made him house them in apartments or a motel for the rest of the season.

This school bus was used as a kitchen for guest farm workers at G Farms.
(Photo by U.S. Department of Labor)

Jason Resnick, the vice president and general council for the Western Growers Association, said the lawsuit is proof that the Labor Department is on top of their game, and serves as proof that abuse is not rampant. The Western Growers Association represents the interests of farmers in Arizona, California and Colorado. But Bruce Goldstein, president of Farmworker Justice, says many migrant workers live in crowded group shelters, trailers, and sometimes even their cars.

Whatever new laws are passed to improve pay or living conditions, farmers will have little choice but to comply if they want workers. Because of the Trump administration's crack-down on illegal immigration, there are far fewer workers around to harvest crops and they can be more choosy about where to work. That affects even farmers who only hire legal guest workers. Michael King, the attorney representing G Farms, says it's worth it to defend the suit because "without the H2A visa workers it is very, very hard to harvest onions and watermelons in Arizona."

New U.S.-Mexico water-sharing agreement for Colorado River emphasizes preservation

Lake Mead's water level is at a historic low. (Desert Sun photo by Jay Calderon)

"Mexican and American officials are finalizing a water-sharing deal for the Colorado River, and a newly released summary of the accord’s key points shows negotiators have agreed on a cooperative approach geared toward boosting reservoir levels and trying to stave off a severe shortage," Ian James reports for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif.

The river is shrinking because of overuse and a 17-year drought, and scientists predict that climate change will cause the river's flow to go down 35 percent or more in this century. Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir, is only 38 percent full. All of this threatens the nearly 40 million people and 5 million acres of farmland in the Southwest that depend on the Colorado and its tributaries.

The current five-year agreement expires Dec. 31; the new one, titled Minute No. 323 to the 1944 Mexican Water Treaty, builds on that and would remain in effect through 2026. It is expected to be signed this fall. Though relations between Mexico and the U.S. have been tense at times during President Trump's administration, negotiations on the river agreement within the International Boundary and Water Commission have gone smoothly. Talks began on the new agreement during President Barack Obama's administration and were mostly finished a year ago. The commission includes members of both the Mexican and American governments, and representatives of affected U.S. states have also participated in the talks.

Central Basin Municipal Water District map

"The agreement itself has not yet been publicly released. The summary provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was presented Wednesday at a board meeting of the Imperial Irrigation District, which holds the biggest single entitlement to water from the river," James reports. The accord lays out a plan for Mexico and the U.S. to cooperate to reduce water use, secure water for environmental purposes, restore and monitor habitats along the Colorado River, and reduce the risk of Lake Mead hitting a critically low level. A too-low Lake Mead would affect not only water supply but hydroelectric power generation from Hoover Dam. The agreement also calls for the U.S. and Mexico to establish several joint working groups to focus on specific issues such as river salinity.

Imperial Irrigation board members said in a memo that several agreements must be made between states, water agencies and the Department of the Interior in order for the U.S. to implement the commitments it would be agreeing to in the deal. "Those agreements include a U.S.-funded program to invest $31.5 million in water conservation projects in Mexico, including infrastructure upgrades such as concrete lining for leaky canals and other improvements to reduce water losses from distribution systems," James reports.

Farm lobbies seek protection in NAFTA talks, and get help from Trump's agriculture secretary

USDA graphic

Lawmakers and commodity groups have asked the Trump administration "to do no harm to current areas and industries where trade and the economic impacts are positive" when it begins renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, Chris Clayton reports for DTN The Progressive Farmer. "In mid-July, the White House will release that summary of specifics for a new NAFTA. It is possible negotiations between the three countries could start as early as Aug. 16."

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who last month was able to talk President Trump into renegotiating NAFTA rather than withdrawing from it, is a big supporter of trade. He went against Trump's anti-trade sentiments last week by publishing "Trade: An Economic Engine for Agriculture and Rural America."

Jason Hafemeister, acting deputy undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services, posted on USDA's website: "When American farmers are financially healthy, they not only support themselves and their families, but also their employees, local equipment dealers, farm service suppliers and the rural communities where they live and do business. In 2015, U.S. farms produced more than $425 billion in gross output and purchased more than $225 billion in inputs. That has a big impact on rural America and also the national economy. In 2015, 21 million full- and part-time jobs, or 11 percent of total U.S. employment, were related to the agricultural and food sectors."

Roger Johnson, president of National Farmers Union, said renegotiating NAFTA is an opportunity "to reset that agenda by instituting a new, fair trade framework that works for family farmers, ranchers, and rural residents," Clayton writes. He said the agency urges the Trump administration to renegotiate NAFTA "in a fashion that does not upset the positive trade relations the U.S. agriculture community relies upon."

The National Milk Producers Federation, the Dairy Export Council (headed by former Secretary Tom Vilsack) and Dairy Foods Association "stressed the importance of renegotiating NAFTA to deal with problems the industry is facing with slowing exports to Canada because of a change in Canadian milk-pricing policies," Clayton writes. "The groups noted U.S. dairy products can face 200 percent to 300 percent tariffs and policies that distort dairy."

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the group will "remain committed to the goal of a positive, market-expanding and modernized NAFTA," Clayton writes. Others, such as the National Pork Producers Council, U.S. Wheat Associates, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, U.S. Grains Council, and USA Rice have all expressed the importance of protecting trade agreements.

Horses allow Border Patrol agents to cover areas vehicles are unable to traverse

Horse border patrols in La Grulla, Texas
 (New York Times photo by Todd Heisler)

Along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas, where the terrain consists of "shallow riverbanks and craggy trails that are impassable for vehicles," the Border Patrol has been using former wild horses to patrol the border, Ron Nixon reports for The New York Times.

The Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector Horse Unit, formed in 2011, has about 40 horses "obtained from a wild mustang program run by the federal Bureau of Land Management," Nixon writes. "The agency catches horses and turns them over for basic training to inmates at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Kansas."

Inmates at Hutchinson have been training horses since 2001, says the Kansas Department of Corrections. The facility has the ability to house up to 499 horses. "Through a cooperative agreement with the BLM, a dozen minimum-custody inmates care and train the wild horses with the goal of making them suitable for adoption. The program also provides inmate work opportunities that help inmates reintegrate back into the community." Each May, the prison holds a horse auction, with sales going to continue the program’s funding. Horses not adopted are transferred to long-term holding locations.

Nixon notes, "Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. has spent over $100 billion on various border-security technology, including ground sensors, video cameras, walls, layers of fencing and infrared cameras. But in the thicket along the river where smugglers can easily hide, the horse patrol unit plays an essential role in efforts to detect illegal activity." The number of illegal immigrants caught in South Texas has dropped in the past few months from 600 per day to 100, largely because of aggressive enforcement under President Trump and improving conditions in countries people are fleeing.