Agriculture

Governor Abbott has declared a state of emergency over the New World Screwworm and its potential impact on the U.S. livestock industry, as state experts are calling on all Texans to help monitor for the flies. Meanwhile, West Texas ranchers are not panicking, taking the news as another part of an already difficult job.

The Texas Hill Country is famous for its peaches. But the region's trees have been consistently stressed by a lack of chill hours during the winter, leading to small crops in the summer.

The head of the oldest and largest cattle association in Texas said there is "no need to panic" over a screwworm outbreak in the state. Texas Public Radio's Brian Kirkpatrick reports on screwworm response. With summer here and more people spending time outside, Lubbock Public Health is warning residents about the West Nile virus. Our new student reporter Gabrielle De La Cruz has more on symptoms and prevention. Residents are encouraged to report mosquito breeding areas through Lubbock Vector Control.

A Texas court has given Texas Tech University quarterback Brendan Sorsby temporary permission to play in the 2026 football season. Sorsby will be allowed to practice with the team, but the judge ruled he will not play the first two games of Tech’s season. This injunction does not settle Sorsby’s lawsuit against the NCAA. Federal and state officials are taking an active and response to New World Screwworm detections now confirmed across South and West Texas.

The latest cases involve a calf in La Salle County, about 90 miles south of San Antonio and roughly 50 miles from the Mexican border, and a dog in Andrews County in West Texas near the New Mexico border, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For the first time in about 45 years, state officials are raising the cost farmers pay cotton gins to process their cotton. In the past decade, drought has hit Oklahoma's cotton industry hard.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders softball team fell to the University of Texas last night in the Women’s College World Series, ending another historic run as the national runner-up. The parasite New World screwworm was confirmed in a South Texas calf. The Texas Newsroom's Lucio Vasquez reports officials are expanding efforts using sterile screwworm flies to stop the parasite from reproducing. The City of Lubbock will be celebrating World Environment Day with a free community event today at Hodges Community Center from 4 to 8 p.m.

The detection marks the first U.S. case of New World screwworm since the parasite was eradicated in the 1960s.

On Monday, state Rep. Don McLaughlin said the parasitic fly that threatens the state’s cattle industry was 1 mile away. U.S. officials said that was not yet true.

The "farmer-led movement" aims to shape the agricultural landscape by strengthening soils and building community.