Several Gram-positive bacteria that have historically influenced production of several major crops, including Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens and three Clavibacter subspecies, C. michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis, C. michiganensis subsp. insidiosus, and C. michiganensis subsp. tessellarius, appear to have originated in Nebraska. Several unanswered questions about the origin, survival, and spread of these bacterial pathogens remain.