Stories - AZPM

Making beer in Southern Arizona

This week, The Buzz focuses on the area's beer business, its growth and how it has felt the pinch of supply chain problems.

Commercial trucks travel through the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

$3.4B in produce came in through Nogales in 2021

After being slightly edged out by Hidalgo, Texas, for tomato imports in 2017, Nogales has maintained the top spot since then.

Arizona Spotlight for January 27th, 2022

With less water on the surface, how long can Arizona rely on what's underground? And, the Pima County Public Library's "Welcome to America Team" is helping Afghan immigrants to find their new home.

Adia Barnes on Teamwork and Motherhood.

Also on Arizona Spotlight:Can new technology save water on farms? Plus Chris Dashiell remembers Peter Bogdanovich, and a short story read by author Michelle Ross.

Precision-cut rows of broccoli grow on a laser-leveled field in Yuma, Arizona. Technological developments in agriculture are helping the industry use water more efficiently, but research shows that some methods are not helping save water on a basin-wide scale.

As the Colorado River shrinks, can new technology save water on farms? The answer is complicated

Agriculture uses about 80% of the water in the Colorado River basin.

Jazz guitarist, composer & educator Dave Stryker.

The Dave Stryker Quartet kicks off the 2022 Tucson Jazz Festival.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: The Cocopah Indian Tribe work to restore the Colorado River Delta; How Maryanne Chisholm's artistic vision guided her through difficult times; and the Sonoran Plein Air Painters share "A Brush with the Desert".

Researcher: More could be done to protect farmworkers from COVID-19

For the study, more than 30 farm workers in Sonora and Baja California were interviewed from mid- to late-2020.

A sprawling swath of the West is in drought, with more than 20 years of dryness in the Colorado River basin. Researchers say nearly every indicator of drought is heading in the wrong direction.

Drought monitors paint a bleak picture for the Colorado River

Four metrics are used to track drought, and they paint a bleak picture

Farmers Investment Co. president Dick Walden walks through his company's pecan farm.

Company to close pecan harvesting plant in southern Arizona

Farmers Investment Co. said processing pecans at the Sahuarita plant wasn't sustainable due to tariffs, low-cost competition from Mexican processors and financial impacts of COVID-19.

Will Thelander, of Tempe Farming Company, grows crops such as cotton and alfalfa but is also experimenting with guayule, a desert native plant that is being studied for the natural rubber it produces.

Arizona farmers prepare for water cuts

A third-generation farmer fears for the long-term sustainability of farming in Arizona.

Border patrol searches through tomatoes at port of entry.

Mexican tomato importers worry rule interpretation could raise prices

"This might add up to 20% to 25% of the Nogales shipping cost of tomatoes," industry group says

From the "Good Food Finder" webpage: "Good food is all about taste and freshness.
But choosing local means more than delicious and more nutritious food! Local food builds vibrant communities, supports farmers and food entrepreneurs, protects the environment, and fosters a robust local economy."

"Good Food Finder" wants to build roots between growers and consumers.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Visit a place in the desert with more than a century of aviation history; current Tucson Museum of Art exhibition "4 x 4" celebrates Willie J. Bonner; more entries by 5th graders from The NPR Student Podcast Challenge.