USDA Opens 228 Jobs at Texas Facility to Fight Screwworm Threat

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hiring 228 workers for a new sterile fly production facility in Edinburg, Texas, as the federal government ramps up its fight against the New World Screwworm.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Nov. 11 that applications are opening through USAJobs.gov, with an in-person hiring event scheduled for McAllen from Nov. 17-19.

"Protecting U.S. livestock and wildlife from New World Screwworm is a national security priority, and this new facility will drastically boost the availability of sterile flies - our most successful offensive capability to drive these serious pests away from our border," said Rollins.

The facility, located at Moore Air Base, is a central part of USDA's strategy to prevent the invasive pest from spreading into the United States. It will use the sterile insect technique, which involves raising screwworm flies in a biosecure environment, sterilizing them through irradiation, and releasing them into targeted areas.

Because female screwworm flies mate only once, mating with sterile males prevents them from producing viable offspring. USDA says the sterile flies cannot produce larvae and pose no risk to people or animals.

Construction is expected to finish in April 2027. The facility is projected to begin producing 100 million sterile flies per week in 2027, eventually reaching approximately 300 million weekly at full capacity. USDA describes it as the first sterile fly production facility based in the United States.

The expansion will supplement existing production in Panama and Mexico. Panama currently produces approximately 100 million sterile flies per week, while Mexico's facility, which opened in June 2026, is expected to reach the same capacity once fully operational.

"This hiring event gives people who may never have considered working in government an opportunity to join a mission worthy of the challenging work," said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Dudley Hoskins.

New World Screwworm larvae infest the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, threatening livestock and wildlife. USDA says the pest does not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or other food sources and is not considered a food safety concern.