USDA Seeks 228 Workers for Texas Screwworm Facility

The USDA is hiring 228 workers for a sterile-fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, to strengthen efforts against the New World Screwworm, a parasite that threatens livestock and wildlife. Applicants can apply through USAJobs.gov, with an in-person hiring event scheduled for Nov. 17–19 in McAllen. The facility will raise and irradiate flies before releasing them; sterile males mate with females whose eggs then do not hatch, helping suppress the pest. It is expected to begin production in 2027, adding U.S. capacity to existing facilities in Panama and Mexico and potentially producing hundreds of millions of sterile flies each week at full capacity.