USDA AGRICULTURE & LIVESTOCK SITE REOPENS AFTER BORDER SECURITY CLOSURE
Written by admin, May 12, 2010, 0 Comments
Important USDA Site Reopens After Six Week Closure
Washington, DC – Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture has reopened an Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) center that serves Pharr, Texas, after operations ceased over a period of six weeks due to border security concerns. Similar security issues have also affected additional southern border USDA locations.
“This is good news for local trade,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Resuming these operations is vitally important to our Texas ranchers, farmers and cattlemen. For the past six weeks, I’ve been working with the USDA to ensure they understand how we rely on these services and I want to thank them for their diligent work in resuming this operation.”
APHIS locations in Mexico facilitate safe international trade between the United States and Mexico. Before livestock can be transferred from Mexico farms and ranches, to those in the United States, they must be inspected by APHIS personnel to be deemed safe and free from disease.
Over the past six weeks, several APHIS locations across the Rio Grande in Mexico were closed due to security concerns, including the one in Reynosa, Mexico which serves the border entry point for Pharr, Texas. The APHIS Reynosa/Pharr location closed on March 29, 2010.
Starting Wednesday, the USDA reported that APHIS resumed the Reynosa/Pharr operations at a new location, known as the San Juan Plantation located in Hidalgo County. The USDA reports that they are open and ready to receive cattle for inspection.
As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Congressman Cuellar has worked with the USDA, including USDA Under Secretary Ed Avalos, and local stakeholders since the APHIS closure. Another site located in Nuevo Laredo, as an entry point to Laredo, Texas, remains closed until further notice.
“This is a positive step forward, but there is work to be done in neighboring Nuevo Laredo,” said Congressman Cuellar. “The safety of our USDA employees is our chief concern and we will continue to resolve these closures as we move forward together.”
