USDA to open third cattle inspection site

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects to open a temporary cattle inspection facility in Eagle Pass at the end of the month, the agency announced last week. It will be the third temporary inspection site the USDA has opened on the U.S. border since suspending cattle station operations in Mexico earlier this year. The two other sites inside the U.S. opened in May in South Texas at Pharr-Hidalgo and Laredo. “The cattle trade provides an important source of revenue for American producers and buyers and we are committed to maintaining the important trade relationship between the U.S. and Mexico,” Agriculture Undersecretary Edward Avalos said in a statement. The USDA is charged with ensuring that imported animals are properly inspected to safeguard U.S. agriculture. The new inspection location is part the USDA’s effort to “aggressively pursue opportunities to keep trade lines open despite the recent security challenges,” Avalos said. In March, drug cartel violence prompted the USDA to suspend examining of U.S.-bound cattle at three inspection stations in northern Mexico...more