Agave Heritage Festival: Field Notes – Resilient Desert and Food Systems + Plant Sale

Field Notes: Regeneration in Bloom brings together a mix of 2026 panel proposals and festival-curated adaptations, all centered on agave as a practical tool for regenerative agriculture in arid and semi-arid landscapes. Across the session, we look at how agave can support soil restoration, water-smart farming, and long-term resilience, grounded in ecological knowledge and place-based agricultural practice. Join us for a chiltepín plant scale hosted by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and a heritage foods food truck invite for lunch! 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM | Resilient Desert Food Systems Moderated by Dr. Jonathan Mabry (Tucson City of Gastronomy) Cesar Lopez (Santa Cruz Farm) Dr. Laurel Bellante (University of Arizona) What does a desert food system look like when it is built for heat, drought, and the long run? This conversation looks at agave through a food systems lens, connecting its deep roots in desert food traditions with emerging approaches to climate-adapted agriculture and the role agave can play in shaping resilient food economies across the Sonoran Desert. 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM | Agave for Regenerative Soil Health and Working Lands Community-led session Moderated by Dr. César Iván Ojeda Linares (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) Dr. Yessica Viridiana Fernandez Galicia (University of California, Davis) Dr. Samuel Sandoval Solis (University of California, Davis) Randy Young (La Tierra del Jaguar) Join us for a conversation on how agave can help restore degraded lands in dry regions, from improving soil health to supporting resilient working landscapes. A video by Dr. Ana G. Valenzuela Zapata opens the discussion as we connect community knowledge and field practice with new ideas for using agave beyond spirits, including fiber, forage, and other plant-based products.     Part of the Agave Heritage Festival To celebrate and sustain the cultural, ecological, and economic significance of agave through binational collaboration, storytelling, and community-rooted experiences. We bring together voices from the Sonoran Desert and beyond to honor agave’s legacy and ignite collective action for a more resilient future.