HERMOSILLO, Mexico — The United States’ recent suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico has come at a particularly dire time for ranchers like Martín Ibarra Vargas, who had been hopeful for a better year following two challenging years of severe drought.
Ibarra Vargas comes from a generational line of cattle ranchers in Sonora, a state in northwestern Mexico adjacent to Arizona. While his family has weathered droughts in the past, they now face new financial challenges posed by the invasion of the New World Screwworm, a dangerous flesh-eating parasite.
In July, U.S. agriculture officials implemented a halt on live cattle crossing into the U.S. — marking the third ban in just eight months. The decision arose from concerns about the screwworm, which has spread from southern Mexico and threatens livestock health in the region.
The screwworm is the larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly, notorious for invading the tissues of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Its presence poses serious risks to cattle herds as it can lead to severe lesions and even death if untreated. The U.S. Department of Agriculture categorizes the screwworm as a “devastating pest,” asserting it has the potential to harm the livestock industry, the economy, and the food supply chain across the U.S.
To combat this threat, U.S. officials are taking proactive measures, including a plan to breed and release billions of sterile flies throughout Mexico and southern Texas. The strategy aims to disrupt the reproductive cycle of the screwworm, as sterile males mate with females, thereby preventing offspring.
The implications of the U.S. import ban extend beyond just cattle to include horses and bison, severely affecting a Mexican ranching sector already weakened by drought. In 2022, cattle exports brought in $1.2 billion for Mexico, but in 2023, exports have plummeted, with fewer than 200,000 head of cattle shipped — less than half of the typical exports for this time of year.
For Ibarra Vargas, a rancher in the midst of this crisis, the inability to export his calves has forced him to reconsider his entire ranching operation. His family is now branching out into beekeeping, raising sheep, and selling cow’s milk — all of which yield much lower returns than cattle exports. Even with these new ventures, Ibarra Vargas finds it challenging to maintain his family’s livelihood during what he refers to as “Tiempos de vacas flacas” or
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