Artwork for podcast Arizona Agriculture Connection with Maricopa County Farm Bureau
Joanna Allhands on Journalism, Water, and Agriculture
Episode 79 • 29th July 2026 • Arizona Agriculture Connection with Maricopa County Farm Bureau • Maricopa County Farm Bureau
00:00:00 00:41:48

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The episode features Joanna Allhands, a former Arizona Republic opinion writer and new Arizona Farm Bureau team member, discussing her journalism path from Indiana to Arizona via the Pulliam Fellowship and a 21-year career at the Republic. She describes the difficulty of leaving a “calling job,” the rapid shift in news consumption toward fractured, social-media-driven echo chambers after 2016, and concerns about people logging off news entirely.

Joanna and Nicole explore how agriculture can break out of insular storytelling by seeking shared values, engaging across differences, and uniting on priorities. Allhands explains her accidental entry into Arizona water reporting during the 2017 drought contingency plan disputes, why water policy is nuanced and essential to living in Arizona, how to communicate complex water issues clearly, and why demonization and court fights threaten Colorado River solutions. They also discuss rising water rates, misconceptions about waste, and how non-producers can contribute to agriculture through storytelling and emerging tech-driven careers.

Learn more and see about upcoming events at https://www.maricopacountyfb.org/

00:23 Joanna Journalism Origins

01:40 Finding Arizona Republic

03:45 Leaving After 21 Years

05:54 News Goes Digital

08:09 Social Media Fallout

11:26 Ag Story Beyond Echoes

14:47 Accidental Water Beat

18:58 Making Water Understandable

19:53 Explain Water Simply

20:58 Beyond Water Blame

22:40 Compromise Or Court

24:00 Why Water Costs Rise

25:44 Arizona Vs Midwest

28:27 Water And Living Costs

29:23 From Water To Ag

30:43 Regulations And Ranching

33:42 Telling Farmers Stories

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trailer Welcome to the Arizona Agriculture Connection with Maricopa County Farm Bureau!
00:03:12