Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins visited South Texas to address agricultural concerns and support local farmers and ranchers. The visit included a roundtable discussion in Mission with Texas agriculture producers about the impacts of recent negotiations on the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty, particularly for the Texas citrus industry.
“Thank you to President Trump for stepping up and doing more than any other President has ever done to enforce this treaty,” said Governor Abbott. “The urgency of it was heard at this roundtable today. We have an obligation to ensure more water goes to the men and women who grow crops in our state.”
“Uncertainty over water deliveries from Mexico negatively impact South Texas especially,” said Secretary Rollins. “The State Department, USDA, and IBWC engaged our Mexican government counterparts to negotiate. Recent treaty negotiations have resulted in significant increases in deliveries and improvements in the reliability of the water cover. It’s time to make a change, and that’s what we’re working to do.”
Governor Abbott and Secretary Rollins also discussed Proposition 4 during the meeting, highlighting its significance as a major investment in Texas’ water infrastructure.
Participants at the roundtable included Lone Star Citrus Growers President Jud Flowers, Vice President TJ Flowers, Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening, among other local producers.
Following this discussion, Governor Abbott and Secretary Rollins attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Domestic New World Screwworm (NWS) Sterile Fly Dispersal Facility in Edinburg. This facility aims to combat the spread of NWS, which threatens American livestock.
“America is going to take care of ourselves, including dealing with the approach of screwworm as it gets closer to our border,” said Governor Abbott. “We put together the resources necessary for Texas to provide a Texas-size response to this. We thank Secretary Rollins and President Trump for stepping forward to provide the stop gap effort essential to protecting our ranchers and our wildlife.”
“The Trump Administration continues to bring the full force of the federal government to fight New World Screwworm,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “This sterile fly dispersal facility was a high priority project, and our team delivered it in record time. This new facility is a monumental achievement for our domestic preparedness efforts, but we are also diligently working to stop the spread of screwworm in Mexico, conduct extensive trapping and surveillance along the border, increase U.S. response capacity, and encourage innovative solutions. We will never stop fighting to protect American agriculture. USDA, through a whole-of-government approach, will continue to hold Mexico accountable to mitigating the spread of this dangerous pest.”
Others present at Edinburg included U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary of Marketing & Regulatory Programs Dudley Hoskins; Congressman Tony Gonzales; Senator Adam Hinojosa; Representatives Ryan Guillen, Stan Kitzman, Janie Lopez; Representative Don McLaughlin; and Nate’s Honey Founder Nate Sheets.
Governor Abbott has taken several measures against NWS threats: issuing a statewide disaster declaration empowering response teams; announcing $750 million USDA investment into sterile screwworm production facilities; directing state agencies such as TPWD and TAHC toward joint action on containment efforts.
According to information from the official website, Governor Abbott’s administration has prioritized economic opportunities—including job growth—while delivering services across Texas since his election in 2014 (https://gov.texas.gov/). The governor’s office operates from Austin’s State Insurance Building (https://gov.texas.gov/) and has focused on areas such as education enhancement, parental empowerment in schools, protection of individual liberties, job creation initiatives statewide (https://gov.texas.gov/), as well as southern border security policies (https://gov.texas.gov/). In addition, TIME recognized Greg Abbott among its 100 Most Influential People list for 2024 (https://gov.texas.gov/).
