USDA opens advanced livestock insect research lab to strengthen cattle pest control efforts

USA – The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has opened the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory, a new research facility designed to help the U.S. cattle industry combat invasive flies, ticks and other livestock pests that threaten animal health and productivity.

Located in Kerrville, Texas, the 52,000-square-foot laboratory will focus on developing advanced technologies and control strategies for arthropod pests affecting cattle production, including the New World Screwworm.

“The Trump Administration has been committed to eradicating pests that could harm our American livestock since the President was sworn in.

“The brand new Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory will allow us to research and find new active measures to keep current and future threats away from our borders,” said Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

The facility includes advanced laboratory spaces, cattle research facilities and a genomics core that will support research into insect genetics, surveillance systems, trapping technologies, pesticide resistance and sustainable pest control solutions.

“For the last 250 years, our nation has relied on research leading to science-based innovation as a means to overcome some of America’s greatest agricultural challenges, including the exclusion of New World Screwworm from the United States with novel Sterile Insect Techniques,” said Scott Hutchins.

Facility to support screwworm, tick and fly control research

The laboratory houses two ARS units: the Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit and the Veterinary Pest Genetics Research Unit. 

Researchers will work on improved insecticides and acaricides, enhanced pesticide delivery systems for cattle and wildlife, and new approaches to managing invasive pests and pesticide resistance.

ARS Administrator Joon Park said the facility will strengthen the agency’s ability to address both current and emerging livestock pest threats.

“This new laboratory will equip our researchers with advanced tools to combat the most destructive invasive insects already impacting the United States, as well as those posing future threats at our borders,” he said.

The laboratory also represents a continuation of nearly 80 years of livestock insect research carried out in the Kerrville area. 

Previous ARS research contributed to the eradication of the New World Screwworm from the United States in the 1970s by developing the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT).

The facility is named after pioneering USDA scientists Edward F. Knipling and Raymond C. Bushland, who helped develop and prove the effectiveness of SIT in controlling screwworm populations.

Today, the technique continues to be used in Mexico and Central America to prevent the pest from re-establishing itself in the United States.

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