- USDA opened the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas.
- The 52,000-square-foot facility will focus on livestock pests including ticks, biting flies, and New World screwworm.
- Research will include surveillance tools, insecticides, acaricides, genomics, and strategies to address pesticide resistance.
- The laboratory houses USDA’s Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit and Veterinary Pest Genetics Research Unit.
- The facility is named after USDA researchers Edward F. Knipling and Raymond C. Bushland, pioneers of the Sterile Insect Technique.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has opened a new livestock insect research facility in Kerrville, Texas, designed to strengthen efforts to prevent and control pests that impact cattle health and productivity.
The Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory will support research focused on ticks, biting flies, New World screwworm, and other arthropod pests that affect livestock and the U.S. food supply.
Focus on Emerging and Existing Pest Threats
The 52,000-square-foot facility includes advanced laboratory space, cattle research facilities, and genomics capabilities intended to support the development of new pest management tools and technologies.
According to USDA, research conducted at the facility will focus on improved surveillance and trapping methods, novel insecticides and acaricides, strategies to combat pesticide resistance, enhanced treatment delivery systems, and genomics research aimed at identifying vulnerabilities in pest species.
The laboratory will also support ongoing efforts to prevent the re-establishment of New World screwworm in the United States.
Supporting Livestock Health
The facility houses two ARS research groups: the Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit and the Veterinary Pest Genetics Research Unit.
USDA officials said the research conducted at the laboratory will help protect livestock health, improve production sustainability, and support the cattle industry’s ability to respond to current and emerging pest threats.
Honoring Pioneers in Pest Control
The laboratory is named after USDA researchers Dr. Edward F. Knipling and Dr. Raymond C. Bushland, whose work led to the development of the Sterile Insect Technique, a biological control method that played a central role in eliminating New World screwworm from the United States.
The technique continues to be used in Mexico and Central America as part of ongoing efforts to prevent the pest’s return to the U.S.
Information sourced from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
