Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 131: Swormlure-5 and Sterile Flies in the Fight Against Screwworm

Transcript

131: Swormlure-5 and Sterile Flies in the Fight Against Screwworm · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
• 0:10
  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode, back to the Cattle USA Daily podcast.
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  Today we are talking about New World screwworm and Texas is
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  bringing back a pest control tool from the 1970s to take on a
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  very real threat to our southern border that is NWS or New World
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  Screwworm. It is called Swarm Lure 5.
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  Say Swarm lure five times fast or 10 times fast.
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  I'm probably going to get tongue tied a million times in this
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  episode trying to say it right, but Swarm LER 5 is a synthetic
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  bait that mimics the scent of an open wound, pulling in screwworm
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  and blow flies and taking them out before they can spread.
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  The Texas Department of Agriculture says that pairing
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  this with the sterile fly program could be the key to
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  stopping screwworm before it turns into a nationwide problem.
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  Today I'm going to walk you guys through what what the news is
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  all about, how it works and why the state thinks that it's going
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  to be betting on this now. But first, before we dive into
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  the episode, make sure that you guys like subscribe, rate
• 1:27
  review, do all of the things. We really appreciate it here at
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  the team. A lot of us to continue bringing
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  you guys these episodes every single day and continue to grow
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  with you. So you could take 5 seconds to
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  go do all of those things. We would appreciate it greatly
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  here at the team. So let's dive in.
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  New World screwworm. This is a parasitic fly.
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  If you aren't familiar with the specifics of what NWS does, it
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  lays eggs and open wounds. The larvae feed on live flesh
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  and if you don't catch it early it is usually fatal.
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  US wiped it out in the 60s, saw one small outbreak in the 70s
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  and since then nothing until now.
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  Recent detections near our border with Mexico and have the
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  USDA and the Department of the Texas Department of Agriculture
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  on high alert. We're talking billions in
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  potential losses. And not just cattle here.
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  This is everything from deer, goats, sheep, pets, everything
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  in between. So here's the real question.
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  Are we ready to fight a parasite most producers have never had to
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  face in their careers? Texas AG Commissioner Sid Miller
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  says that the answer starts with bringing back something called
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  swarm LER. Back in the 70s, swarm LER was a
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  synthetic bait. It lured screwworm and blowflies
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  straight to their death. Now we've got Swarm LER 5.
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  Same idea, stronger science. It mimics the smell of an open
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  wound. Flies cannot resist it, and once
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  they're at the bait, they're done for.
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  This isn't replacing the sterile fly program.
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  I really want to emphasize that it is reinforcing it, and
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  history tells us that the combo works.
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  Back then, bait plus sterile flies wiped out 90% of the flies
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  within two to four weeks, with the last 10% gone soon after.
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  So do we trust the playbook that worked 50 years ago, just with a
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  little bit of a modern twist? Miller's calling this a
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  nationwide crisis. His logic?
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  You don't want to wait for a parasite like this to spread
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  before you act. And remember, the thing about
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  this is it doesn't just target livestock.
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  Deer, goats, wildlife, they're all at risk.
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  The good news is that Swarm LER 5 is highly targeted.
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  It is not going to go after honey bees, monarchs or other
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  pollinators, which is a big win for both agriculture and
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  conservation. But here is something worth
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  thinking about in a time when pest control methods can be
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  commercial. How do you roll something out
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  like this fast? Get by and from the public and
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  keep public trust on your side. This isn't Texas going solo.
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  The Texas Department of Agriculture working with USDA
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  Secretary Brooke Rawlins and the Mexican government and many
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  other states, they're putting Swarm LER 5 traps exactly where
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  they're needed most. The idea here is to catch it
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  early, keep it small, and eradicate it fast.
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  And honestly, if this works here, it could be a blueprint
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  for stopping other invasive pests in the future.
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  So here's where we're at. A parasite we thought we'd be in
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  is back at our store doorstep, unfortunately.
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  And Texas is reviving A proven eradication tool, upgrading it,
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  and pairing it with a program that has worked before.
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  The science says it's effective. The history says it's effective.
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  But success this time, that's going to come down to speed,
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  coordination, and whether or not everyone involved pulls the same
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  direction. So if you were in charge of
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  protecting your herd, would you double down on an old method
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  with a modern twist or push for something entirely new?
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  That is a decision worth watching, and it might just
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  decide how this story ends. For all of us within
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  agriculture, this is something to definitely keep an eye on as
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  it continues to develop and change.
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  Screwworm swarm, loo swarm. See, I told I I knew I wasn't
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  going to get to the episode without saying it right.
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  Screwworm and swarm LER are something that have been on our
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  topics, on our minds for a while now.
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  We've we've all heard it. We've heard that it's coming and
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  we know that the sterilefly programs are coming, but are
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  they going to come fast enough? This is a tool that is hopefully
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  going to help us have the time that we need to get those
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  Sterilefly programs and Texas up and running and do everything
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  that we need them to. So definitely keep informed,
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  keep your eyes out on everything that is happening.
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  And if you guys enjoyed today's story, this is something that I
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  found in our daily newsletter that we send out here at Cattle
• 5:46
  USA called The Drive. And this is a newsletter that
• 5:50
  has everything in it that you need as a cattle producer, from
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  market updates to weather to news to market news to
• 5:58
  everything else in between. So make sure you head down to
• 6:01
  the show notes down below and check out that newsletter link
• 6:03
  where you can go and you can sign up for that newsletter in
• 6:07
  literally just a few seconds. It doesn't take much time at
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  all. So you can get that newsletter
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  hitting your inbox every single morning and be informed, be
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  prepared and be a better producer at the end of the day.
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  So thank you guys for listening to another episode.
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  I hope you have a great Monday. We will see you all tomorrow on
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  another episode. Have a good one y'all.