2Blades Welcomes Senator Klobuchar; Celebrates Increased Funding
St. Paul, MN (August 8, 2025) - 2Blades welcomed U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar to its lab at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus during her recent visit to emphasize the importance of sustained federal investment in agricultural research.
Senator Klobuchar delivers remarks after touring 2Blades’ lab in St. Paul, MN
The visit follows the recent passage of the FY26 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which includes $1,000,000 in new funding for the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory. Of this amount, $500,000 will support the Lab’s ongoing partnership with 2Blades to develop novel resistance against toxigenic fungi, a serious threat to crop yields and food safety. As ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senator Klobuchar has been a leading voice for American agriculture.
The additional funding to 2Blades comes at a pivotal moment for U.S. agriculture. Crop diseases and pests continue to threaten harvests, endanger farmers’ livelihoods, and impact the broader U.S. economy. “We are grateful to Senator Klobuchar for recognizing the vital role agricultural R&D funding plays in supporting American farmers, especially those in Minnesota who have faced rising incidences of crop diseases due to increasingly variable summer weather,” said Diana Horvath, 2Blades President and Co-Founder.
2Blades is dedicated to advancing plant science innovations that help farmers protect their harvest against the most devastating and intractable diseases and pests. Its research lab at the University of Minnesota- St. Paul focuses on developing corn plants that are more resilient against fungi, particularly Fusarium and Aspergillus species, that produce harmful chemicals such as vomitoxins and aflatoxins. These fungal pathogens cause yield and quality losses, costing U.S. farmers over $3 Billion each year and posing significant health risks for humans and animals.
In recent years, U.S. farmers have faced a surge in vomitoxin contamination as plants endure more frequent environmental stressors:
2023 drought conditions across the Midwest led to widespread contamination in corn, leading to high grain elevator rejection rates in Minnesota.
2024 excessive rainfall triggered severe Fusarium head blight infections in wheat, degrading grain quality, elevating vomitoxin levels, and causing substantial income losses for growers.
Senator Klobuchar and 2Blades scientist Mengying Yang observing our progress in the lab
This allocation complements prior funding for 2Blades’ work, including $1 million from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) in 2024, as well as additional support from industry leaders Bayer and Mars, Inc. USDA-ARS has provided ongoing funding for the project since 2023.
Present during Senator Klobuchar’s visit were Josiah Mutuku (2Blades Group Leader), Wilson Paine (2Blades Director of External Affairs), Shahryar Kianian (Cereal Disease Laboratory Research Leader), and Shannon Schlecht (Executive Director, Agricultural Utilization Research Institute), and Brian Buhr (Dean, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota).