US screwworm fly facility to open in spring 2027 Texas plant to produce 100M sterile flies weekly by end of 202711 August 2026 11 August 2026 1 minute read 1 minute read By: By: Global Ag Media North AmericaThe US Department of Agriculture said in a post on X on Monday that a Texas facility to breed sterile flies to combat screwworm will open ahead of schedule in spring 2027, reported Reuters. Previously, the agency said the plant would open at the end of next year. The main tool used to combat screwworm is the dispersal of sterile screwworm flies, which are mostly produced in Panama at a plant that churns out 100 million flies per week. The planned Texas plant would produce an additional 100 million sterile flies per week by the end of 2027, according to the post on X from the USDA's New World Screwworm Rapid Response account. Experts have said about 500 million sterile flies are needed to push screwworm southward to the Darien Gap, the stretch of rainforest between Panama and Colombia.