World wheat production is highly vulnerable to climate-change fueled disease, insects, and plant stress. A new study led by University of Minnesota’s GEMS Informatics Center estimated annual losses from the top 5 wheat diseases of $4.2B to $10.8B every year. The higher figure translates to 8.5% shortfall in global production. Climate changes are further amplifying these production threats which can lead to global food insecurity. In contrast, public investments in ‘pest and disease’ wheat research have stayed flat at approximately $185M for several decades. The GEMS team estimates that additional funding of $350M to $974M would provide a 10% per year return on investments. They suggest an increase in public R&D funding of 2- to 5- fold is warranted to combat threats from evolving pests.