Arizona Department of Agriculture

06/12/2026

Our very own Dr. Wolker shared important information about New World screwworm with ABC15!

The State Veterinarian’s Office has been closely monitoring the situation since August 2025, and we are grateful for the work they continue to put in to help protect Arizona’s animals and agriculture.

Thank you, Dr. Wolker, for helping keep the public informed!

New World screwworm sounds terrifying – its larvae can actually eat living tissue in animals – but Arizona’s top veterinarian says pet owners should be alert, not alarmed.

06/11/2026

Happy National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month! 🥗🌵

Did you know Arizona agriculture makes a massive, 3.7-billion-pound impact on plates across the entire country? That translates to over 24.3 BILLION servings of fresh food nationwide every single year! 🍽️

Here's the incredible breakdown of what our hardworking Arizona producers are growing to feed the nation:

🥬Leafy greens are our giant, making up 67% of our total harvest! If you are eating a salad in the winter anywhere in the U.S., there is a high chance it came from Arizona. We provide over 21 billion servings of greens annually!

🥦 From broccoli and celery to cabbage and cauliflower, staple veggies make up 18% of our harvest (nearly 1.5 billion servings). Our producers are packing millions of cartons to keep your dinners colorful and nutritious.

🍈 Arizona is a national leader in melon production! Accounting for 13% of our fresh produce, cantaloupe is actually our state's no. 3 commodity overall.

🍊 Citrus is one of Arizona's original "5 C's," and that legacy is still going strong! We are one of only four states to commercially grow citrus, providing over 245 million servings of winter sunshine and Vitamin C.

In total, Arizona producers pack and ship over 95 MILLION cartons of fresh produce annually. 🚜☀️

06/11/2026

10 Years: Licensed, Inspected, and 100% Compliant! ✅

Happy 10th Anniversary to our Program Administrator! We ran a full audit on his decade of service and the results are officially in:
- Accuracy: 100% 🎯
- Integrity: Beyond Measure 💎
- V***r Recovery/Cleaner Burning Fuel: Highly efficient, zero emissions of doubt! ⛽💨

Thank you Mike Brooks, for 10 years of defending the measurement standards upon which Arizona commerce is built!

06/10/2026

🚨 LIVESTOCK & PET OWNERS: Prevention Tools Recs🚨
With New World Screwworm (NWS) active, staying proactive is key to protecting your animals. The USDA (APHIS) and FDA have released critical guidelines and tools to keep herds, flocks, and pets safe. Here is what you need to know! 👇

🌟 NEW TOOL: F10 Antiseptic Wound Spray
On March 10, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for F10 Antiseptic Wound Spray with Insecticide. This is a massive win for multi-species protection!
• Target Animals: Cattle, horses, sheep, goats, deer, raptors, wild birds, and pet birds.
• Convenience: Available Over-The-Counter (OTC) without a prescription.
⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING: This spray CANNOT be used on domestic dogs or cats.
🌾 Food Safety: Cattle, sheep, and goats must not be slaughtered within 30 days of treatment. Milk must be discarded for 10 days post-treatment.

🛡️ APHIS Checklist: Prevent Infestation
Screwworm flies lay eggs in open wounds, where larvae feed on living tissue. Stop them before they start with official APHIS protocols:
• 👀 Watch Closely: Monitor animals for irritated behavior, draining wounds, or an odor of decay.
• ✈️ Travel Smart: Ensure pets traveling internationally receive thorough screwworm inspections.
• 🛑 Fix the Pens: Handle stock carefully; check pens and equipment for sharp edges that cause cuts.
• 🍼 Protect Newborns: Treat navels/umbilical cords of newborns and all wounds immediately with an approved insecticide (like the F10 spray).
• 🪳 Stop Parasites: Protect stock from other wound-causing pests like ticks.
• 🚗 Check Vehicles: Inspect trucks and trailers for hitchhiking flies when leaving an NWS-infested zone.
• ⏳ Postpone Procedures: Delay operations that cause wounds (branding, dehorning, shearing, ear notching, tail docking, castration) if in an affected area.

📢 See something? Say something! If you spot maggots in a living wound, report it immediately to your vet, State animal health official, or local APHIS office. Quick action saves herds!

🔖 Save this post for later reference! ✈️ Share this with your community.

06/09/2026

Arizona doesn't wait for a crisis to react. We plan for it. 🛡️🌵

Following the USDA’s announcement of New World Screwworm in South Texas, we want Arizonans to rest assured: there are zero indications of this pest in Arizona, and there are absolutely NO food safety concerns.

Screwworms do not infest meat, and there is zero risk to the food you buy. Thanks to strict inspection regulations, our commercial food supply is heavily monitored. Any animal showing signs of infestation is immediately quarantined and restricted from entering the food supply. Your grocery store beef remains safe. 🥩

While the situation is occurring hundreds of miles away and is being tightly contained, our state teams have been working for over a year to build a proactive biological firewall.

👉 Swipe through to see the steps the Arizona Department of Agriculture and the Office of the State Veterinarian are taking to protect our state:

⚙️ Active Trapping: 7 USDA monitoring traps are active near Douglas and checked weekly for early detection.
📋 Border Controls: All out-of-state livestock entering Arizona must have a strict Certificate of Veterinary Inspection.
🏫 Real-World Drills: We’ve completed intensive response simulations, including an interstate tabletop defense exercise in Nogales.
🏛️ Federal Advocacy: We are advocating directly to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins for long-term federal assets, including a dedicated sterile fly facility in Douglas.

🤠 A Message to Our Producers:
Because this pest spreads through the movement of infected animals, local vigilance is our strongest shield. We are working with the UofA Cooperative Extension and ALIRT to get information and diagnostic kits straight to the industry.

💬 “The best thing you can put on your animal is your eyes.” – Arizona State Veterinarians

📥 See something suspicious?
Ranchers, animal owners, and veterinarians should report any suspicious larvae immediately to [email protected].

06/08/2026

Español ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Thank you toAZDA Environmental Services for translating!

🪰 New World Screwworm (NWS) Confirmed in New Mexico 🐄
[español ⤵️]

The USDA has confirmed a case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in eastern New Mexico. At this time, there are no confirmed cases in Arizona.

NWS is a serious pest that can affect livestock, wildlife, pets such as dogs and cats, and in rare cases, people. The larvae infest open wounds and can cause severe tissue damage if left untreated.

✅ Check your animals daily for wounds or unusual signs of irritation.
✅ Monitor pets, livestock, and other animals closely, especially if they have cuts, scratches, or surgical wounds.
✅ Seek veterinary care if you notice wounds that are not healing properly or contain larvae.
✅ Report suspected cases immediately.

Arizona remains free of NWS, and early detection is critical to keeping it that way.

📧 Report potential cases to: [email protected]

For the latest official updates and confirmed detections, follow USDA and Arizona Department of Agriculture announcements.



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🚨 Gusano Barrenador del Ganado (NWS) Confirmado en Nuevo México 🚨

El USDA ha confirmado un caso del Gusano Barrenador del Ganado (New World Screwworm - NWS) en el este de Nuevo México. Hasta el momento, no hay casos confirmados en Arizona.

El NWS es una plaga grave que puede afectar al ganado, la vida silvestre, las mascotas como perros y gatos, y en casos poco frecuentes, también a las personas. Las larvas infestan heridas abiertas y pueden causar daños severos en los tejidos si no se detectan y tratan a tiempo.

✅ Revise diariamente a sus animales para detectar heridas o signos inusuales de irritación.
✅ Vigile de cerca a sus mascotas, ganado y otros animales, especialmente si tienen cortaduras, raspones o heridas quirúrgicas.
✅ Busque atención veterinaria si observa heridas que no sanan adecuadamente o si encuentra larvas en ellas.
✅ Reporte inmediatamente cualquier caso sospechoso.

Arizona continúa libre del Gusano Barrenador del Ganado, y la detección temprana es fundamental para mantener nuestro estado protegido.

📧 Reporte posibles casos a: [email protected]

Para obtener las actualizaciones más recientes y conocer las detecciones confirmadas, siga los anuncios oficiales del USDA y del Departamento de Agricultura de Arizona.

06/08/2026

The USDA has officially confirmed the first U.S. case of New World Screwworm (NWS) outside of Texas. The parasite was detected in a companion dog residing in Lea County, New Mexico. Additionally, a new case was confirmed in a goat in Gillespie County, Texas.

What this means for Arizona: While this development brings the pest into our neighboring state, there are still ZERO indications of screwworm in Arizona, and our commercial food supply remains 100% safe. These cases are still over 400 miles from the Arizona border.

🥩However, because this latest case involves a pet dog, it is a critical reminder that NWS doesn't just affect cattle—it impacts livestock, pets, and wildlife alike. Local vigilance is now more important than ever.

🛡️ How to protect your animals: Because this pest spreads primarily through the movement of infected animals rather than the flight of the insect itself, checking your animals daily is our strongest defense. The USDA urges all animal owners to inspect livestock and pets.

Arizona ranchers, pet owners, and veterinarians should report any suspicious larvae or wounds immediately to our state team at [email protected]. You can track official national updates, press releases and read the full response playbooks at Screwworm.gov.

06/06/2026

Following the USDA's recent confirmation of a New World Screwworm detection in South Texas, monitoring efforts are heightened along the southern border—but effective management and prevention start right at home on the ranch.

Screwworm flies are uniquely drawn to open wounds, even something as small as a tick bite, where they lay eggs that feed on living tissue.

Here is how we manage and prevent infestations:
🔍 Daily Inspections: Check your livestock frequently, paying close attention to cuts, tick bites, newborn navels, and branding/tagging sites.
🩹 Rapid Wound Care: Treat all open wounds, scratches, and scabs immediately with veterinarian-approved wound dressings.
🧼 On-Farm Biosecurity: Regularly wash boots, vehicles, and trailers to prevent transferring any hitchhiking pests or pupae between pastures.

🚨 See Something? Report It! Early detection is everything. If you notice unusual fly activity or maggots inside a deep wound, isolate the animal and contact your vet immediately. Report suspected cases to [email protected].

Let's keep our herds safe!

06/05/2026

Talk about deep roots! 🥛🌵

Arizona's dairy history stretches all the way back to the territorial days of the late 1800s. Long before the luxury of modern refrigeration, the families who started those early farms helped build the foundation of our state's agricultural economy, working tirelessly to provide fresh milk to booming mining towns and growing desert communities.

Fast forward to today, and modern Arizona dairy farmers carry on that legacy of hard work, resilience, and high-quality milk. While the technology has certainly evolved—with climate-controlled barns and advanced water recycling—the core commitment remains exactly the same. In fact, many of these operations are still family-owned, passing down generations of homegrown expertise.

Next time you pour a cold glass of local milk, you're not just enjoying a nutritious drink—you're tasting a piece of Arizona history! 🐄🚜🌅

06/04/2026

Arizona Department of Agriculture