Fusarium Head Blight Devastates Northern Plains Malting Barley

Beginning in 1993, a severe Fusarium head blight epidemic struck wheat and barley in the Red River Valley and northern Great Plains. Infected barley suffered yield and quality losses and could contain deoxynivalenol, or vomitoxin, making much of the crop unacceptable to maltsters and brewers. From 1993 through 1997, North Dakota barley producers alone lost an estimated $200 million in revenue. The crisis shifted brewery and malt-house purchasing toward other regions and intensified research into disease resistance, crop management, and reliable toxin testing.