America quietly lost its title as the world's top wheat exporter in 2017, and it's been downhill since. Per-capita flour consumption is at its lowest in three decades, diets are shifting away from grains, and farmers are abandoning the crop because the economics simply don't work. Now researchers are racing to change that by making wheat hardier, more profitable, and worth growing again.

Researchers from Skoltech, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, the Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops in Italy, and other international organizations have developed new durum wheat lines capable of surviving freezing temperatures while maintaining the grain quality required for premium pasta production. The study presents a new breeding framework that could help make durum wheat production more resilient to climate variability.

A surge in oil prices is poised to hit farmers where it hurts most — their bottom line — and with new estimates suggesting a $90-per-barrel market, this could significantly raise production costs across the board. According to Kansas State University economist Gregg Ibendahl, higher oil prices are already creating a ripple effect through key farm inputs, particularly diesel fuel and fertilizer.

In 2022, Ethiopia faced an unprecedented crisis in its wheat production due to a devastating outbreak of Fusarium head blight (FHB), a disease notorious for inflicting severe damage on cereal crops globally. This fungal affliction not only decimates grain yields but also poses significant health risks by contaminating wheat with mycotoxins detrimental to both humans and livestock. The scope and severity of this outbreak in Ethiopia—historically spared from major FHB incidents—have raised alarms among plant pathologists and agricultural scientists worldwide, urging urgent investigation into the origins, drivers, and consequences of the epidemic.