Lean hog futures slip as screwworm news emerges - CME
Cattle futures rally on first US screwworm detection
5 June 2026
1 minute read
By: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) feeder cattle futures rallied on Thursday after the first confirmed US case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite was identified in South Texas, reported Reuters.
Most-active August feeder cattle rose 10.750 cents, to finish at 353.375 cents per pound, after hitting multi-month lows earlier in the session.
August live cattle futures rose 3.675 cents to 241.525 cents per pound.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Thursday no other infestations of cattle or other animals have been detected around the confirmed case.
The case in La Pryor, Texas, is a blow to US cattle ranchers who have been bracing for a domestic outbreak of New World screwworm as the fly advanced north through Mexico over the past year.
Reuters reported that samples from two calves on a cattle ranch in La Pryor, Texas, were taken on Tuesday and sent for testing, according to Texas Representative Don McLaughlin, who said he had seen photos and videos of the animals.
Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds of any warm-blooded animal. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. An outbreak of screwworm in the US could cause $1.8 billion in damage to Texas' economy alone.
Cattle futures fell on Wednesday as market players worried screwworm infestation in the US could reduce demand for beef from consumers nervous about the flesh-eating pest.
But on Thursday they rallied on longer-term concerns about reduction of cattle supplies.
"The concern is obviously we're going to see some losses in cattle numbers and we're already extremely tight on our inventory," said Karl Setzer, co-founder of Consus Ag Consulting.
But he cautioned, demand destruction as a result of high beef prices was already beginning as the screwworm announcement appeared.
Meanwhile in hogs, most-active July lean hog futures lost 0.70 cent to 95.3 cents per pound.
