BARLEY CROP CONVERSION

Winner of 2020 FOLIO award for Best Single Article in Class

Photos by: Andrew Kornylak

This Spring 2020 magazine article was a challenge to tackle a wonky topic in an approachable way: converting water-thirsty crops in Arizona to ones that used less during critical times for water levels in the Verde River. As we learned more about the story, we realized that the backbone of it was that we had a great colleague in TNC Arizona who built relationships with local residents. This allowed for local farmers to switch a portion of their crops to barley, which was then purchased by a local malt house, which in turn was sold to local brewers who used this product to create beer. What on its face felt like a purely scientific story was actually a story about community who worked together to find the best way to conserve their precious water supply without sacrificing income. Andrew Kornylak once lived in Arizona and understood this issue deeply. His creativity and versatility allowed him to show science, agriculture, and the beer culture in a seamless way.