A bumper sticker spotted in Montana reads, "No barley, no beer." It's a reminder that Montana’s barley farmers are struggling. Barley is an unforgiving crop that needs a precise recipe of water and sunshine to thrive — too much of either will cause it to wither and die. And amid a changing climate and unpredictable seasons, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Food and climate reporter Ari LeVaux joins Here & Now‘s Robin Young to talk about his recent article on the issue, reported in collaboration with The Weather Channel and the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

On environmental conditions possibly leading to barley no longer growing well in Montana

"Barley is already a climate refugee of sorts, in that it became so hot and humid in the Midwest that it didn’t produce as well. Meanwhile, corn and soy began producing better and better. So the corn and the heat and the humidity drove barley west. It stayed in the Dakotas for a while, and then the Dakotas also got too hot and humid. So barley kept migrating west until it hit the Rockies, and now there is no more west to go. For a while, anyway."

Read the full article about how climate change is affecting barley in Montana at Harvest Public Media.