A New Mexico dog confirmed with a case of New World screwworm last week is no longer believed to have traveled to Mexico, New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte says.
“Through our investigation … and several interviews with the owners of the animal, we’ve determined and we’re pretty confident that that dog never traveled,” Witte told Agri-Pulse Wednesday.
Witte said when a local veterinarian first reported the case, they accidentally forgot to put “New” in front of “Mexico” on the paperwork, so the case initially ended up being reported from Mexico. However, he said New Mexico officials have visited with the dogs’ owners and neighbors and that “everybody has assured us that in the most recent past, they have not traveled to Mexico with the dog.”
He said the vet who reported the case “had actually seen that dog on a regular basis.” He also said that the case was reported in a residential area.
“It’s confounding to us how it happened, but at the moment, it’s so far the only case” in New Mexico, Witte said. “That’s also confounding — there’s been other animals in the area with scratches and whatnot. None of them have had screwworm, none of them had any issues."
Take note: Witte said an infested zone has been set up around the area and there have since been no other detections in the state. He also said USDA has deployed two drops of over a million sterile flies to the area.
Welch: Farm bill must address farmers' shrinking margins
As Senate Agriculture Committee leaders prepare to release farm bill text, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch says lawmakers need to focus on the growing economic reality that farmers are spending more to produce crops than they're earning.
“Immediately we've got to provide some relief to farmers who've lost their markets, who've been really hammered as a result of the tariffs, the higher cost of fertilizer,” Welch told Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. “We've got to start looking at the reality that this is not a sustainable situation.”
The Vermont Democrat also criticized provisions enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that shifted some SNAP costs to states, arguing lawmakers should focus on reducing fraud without creating barriers for eligible families seeking food assistance. Maintaining the cost shift, he said, could jeopardize the traditional farm bill coalition between agriculture interests and nutrition advocates into the future.
ASTA praises passage of EU’s gene editing regulation
Supporters and opponents of genetic engineering offered differing reactions to the European Parliament’s approval of a regulation allowing streamlined approval of gene-edited seeds Wednesday.
The American Seed Trade Association in a news release called the approval of the New Genomic Techniques regulation “a positive step towards enabling innovation in support of global food security.” The group said the regulation creates “a more predictable global environment for the breeders and seed companies that work across borders to bring these products to market.”
The investment firm Oppenheimer, in a midday report, highlighted products that Corteva has ready to go. The company “has been testing a complete gene-editing package for the past 5-6 years and has a pipeline of multiple gene and concepts ready to go when the new NGTs rules are officially implemented.” That process is expected to take 12-24 months.
The European organics group IFOAM, however, said “the alleged benefits of NGTs are based on pure speculation, and we urge policy-makers to pay more attention to who controls the technologies they choose to deregulate, and to the impact of technologies like NGTs on European food sovereignty.”
Read more in our story here.
Boote shares impact of tariffs in Newsmakers interview
Mary Boote, founder and CEO of the Global Farmer Network, said American tariffs are affecting farmers around the globe, from Canada to the Philippines. The organization represents farmers in 72 countries in six continents worldwide.
She recounted April 2, 2025 – the day President Donald Trump announced many of his tariffs – as a day when many farmers in the network were conversing. “‘What are you doing in America? How's this? You're crazy,’” were some of the questions. “But the realities of what they mean, and how people are choosing to adapt or making decisions to adapt to the realities of today, and more importantly, the uncertainties of today has been very interesting,” she said.
Boote shared that a Canadian potato farmer lost $3 million in a single day from the tariffs when potatoes intended for McDonald’s instead had to be used for animal feed.
GOP Rep. Collins to face Democrat Ossoff in tense Georgia Senate race
In a win for MAGA, Trump-backed Rep. Mike Collins is the Republican choice to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s Senate race this November.
Collins on Tuesday won the GOP primary less than 48 hours after Trump endorsed the one-term congressman and trucking industry entrepreneur.
Collins faces a tough race against Ossoff, a member of the Senate Appropriations’ Agriculture Subcommittee who is seeking a second term.
“He will have to prove he can run a disciplined campaign and be a better fundraiser against the well-financed Ossoff,” says the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which rates the race “Lean Democrat.”
Ossoff is also under pressure. He’s the only Democratic incumbent running for re-election in a state Trump won in 2024.
Senate outlook: The path to Senate control has improved for Democrats, though Republicans are still favored to keep their majority, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Democrats must win all four “Toss-Up” races – Ohio, Alaska, Maine and Michigan – to win back the chamber. Republicans need just one to keep a nominal 50-50 majority because they have a Republican U.S. vice president as tiebreaker, the election forecaster says.
Final Word
“The ‘Big Four’ meatpackers have come to dominate 85% of the U.S. beef processing market, and serious questions have been raised about whether these meatpackers have exploited American consumers, ranchers, and cattlemen. We have answered President Trump’s call and, as Acting Attorney General [Todd] Blanche confirmed last month, the investigation is well under way.” – Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Sarrine in an address at the R-CALF USA 2026 Annual National Convention. She also said because of the DOJ’s recent settlement with Agri Stats, “we expect chicken prices in this country to go down.”
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