Wheat and barley are two commonly grown crops around the world that can cause a significant impact on the economy in the event of losses. Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as scabies, is a fungal disease of wheat and barley that causes yield loss and a drop in grain prices due to toxins released into the grain, not just in North America but throughout the world, triggering consequences for the economy (11,5,7,20). Plant pathologists in England first reported FHB in 1884 as a threat to wheat and barley ( 2 , 20 ). Recent outbreaks of the disease have occurred in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, making this disease a global concern. Global outbreaks have led the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT) to state that FHB plays an important role in limiting wheat production worldwide (2,7,9). Due to the impact of FHB on food production and the economy, many countries around the world have become interested in studying this disease. The United States began documenting Fusarium head epidemics as early as 1917, finding widespread reports of FHB across the country. Areas that typically reported FHB outbreaks usually occurred in small grain producing areas where May and June were cool and wet (9,20). The most recent outbreaks of FHB on wheat and barley in the United States occurred between 1991 and 1997, causing losses estimated at $1.3 billion (6,5,2,7,9). The heavy losses from FHB in the United States led to the creation of the United States Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI), a federally funded organization for FHB research whose goal is to “develop, as rapidly as possible , effective control measures that minimize the threat of Fusarium head blight (scab),...... middle of document......r Valley region consisting of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba (7,9,20). The Red River Valley region produces red spring wheat, durum wheat, and spring barley, all of which are susceptible to FHB, due to its typically cool and relatively dry climate. Spring seeds are still in the leaf development stage in June, which is traditionally the wettest month, helping to ward off FHB infection that occurs with high humidity and temperature in the plant's flowering stage. July is typically the warmest month in this region, and in 1993 the highest precipitation accumulation occurred in July, which coincides with the spring grain flowering phase (9, 3, 20). The epidemic continued in the Red River Valley region after 1993 due to accumulation of inoculum in the soil and above-average precipitation in June and July, contributing to the period of “wet cycles”.” (7,20).