The United States will reopen its first southern livestock port to Mexican cattle on August 24, ending a border closure that has been in place for about a year. The reopening in Douglas, Arizona comes while the New World screwworm remains confirmed in animals in Texas and New Mexico, and it is the clearest sign yet that federal officials believe the parasite's northward push has been slowed rather than stopped.
The decision is a judgment call with a supply chain attached. Mexican feeder cattle are a key input to American beef production, and closed ports have squeezed supply amid high retail beef prices. Reopening one crossing does not fix that, but it is the first movement in more than a year.
