Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins visited South Texas to address issues affecting farmers and ranchers in the region. The visit included a roundtable discussion in Mission, Texas, where they met with local agriculture producers to discuss the recent negotiations over the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty and its impact on 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, which aims to invest in Texas’ water infrastructure.
Participants at the Mission event included Lone Star Citrus Growers President Jud Flowers, Vice President of Operations TJ Flowers, Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening, as well as other local agricultural producers.
Afterward, Abbott and Rollins attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Domestic New World Screwworm (NWS) Sterile Fly Dispersal Facility in Edinburg. The facility is intended to help stop the northward spread of NWS and protect livestock across America.
“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.”
The event in Edinburg included participation from Dudley Hoskins from USDA Marketing & Regulatory Programs; Congressman Tony Gonzales; Senator Adam Hinojosa; Representatives Ryan Guillen, Stan Kitzman, Janie Lopez, Don McLaughlin; as well as Nate Sheets from Nate’s Honey.
To address NWS threats further, Governor Abbott has issued a statewide disaster declaration for better preparedness by response teams; announced that USDA will invest $750 million into a new sterile screwworm production facility; and directed both Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) toward forming a joint NWS Response Team.
The Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been involved with job creation initiatives and economic opportunities across sectors like agriculture while also focusing on southern border security according to information available on its official website. Since his election in 2014 (source), Governor Abbott’s administration has worked statewide (source) with primary offices based in Austin (source). The office earned recognition when Greg Abbott was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024 (source).
