I always think of March as a transition month, as far weather goes.

March is usually windy and cold, with a few nice days thrown in to remind you that spring does begin on the 20th.

It is the month we see bud-break and begin frost protection in our vineyards.

Thanks to the precious rainfall we received earlier and the few warm days prior to spring, we begin to see wildflowers appear and dot the green hills with splashes of color.

We had one of those beautiful, warm, springlike days Feb. 28. It happened to coincide with the day we were going to host a barbecue lunch for our Cajun friends from Louisiana.

The Farm Bureau from Louisiana was sponsoring a tour of Santa Barbara County agriculture for their parish or county presidents and their wives as part of an incentive for reaching their membership quotas.

Working with Teri Bontrager, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, Nolan Babineaux, director of field services for the Louisiana State Farm Bureau made arrangements for 86 Cajun farmers and Farm Bureau staff to visit a select group of farms and ranches representing the agricultural bounty of Santa Barbara County.

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The two-day tour included stops at Teixeira Farms and Darin Gee's strawberry operations in Santa Maria, where they heard firsthand the challenges that the lack of immigration reform brings to all ag producers in California.

They learned about conflicting regulations from state and federal agencies concerning food safety. They saw, firsthand, rows of beautiful fresh strawberries and learned how labor-intensive it is to get the delectable red fruit to market.

They made their way down Highway 101, where they entered Premiere Coastal Vineyard and drove past row after row of dormant grapevines.

They made their way back to our shop, where we hosted a Santa Maria-style barbecue, prepared by Santa Maria native and longtime cattleman Ernie Righetti and his is crew - Johanna Bradley, Rene Reynoso, Pinky Signorelli and Larry Tanner.

Ernie's team pulled into the shop area around 7:45 a.m. with two flat-bed Dodge trucks, one towing the barbecue pit and the other their new covered trailer that serves as a mobile kitchen, complete with a refrigerated cold box.

Ernie insists on cooking the pinquito beans from scratch that day.

Soon, the tables were set up and the food preparation began. The beans are the first thing to start cooking.

Then the knives are sharpened and blocks of top sirloin are brought out, trimmed and placed on rods that will be placed over oak coals and cooked to perfection - a mobile version of the barbecue method used by early California rancheros, now known worldwide as Santa Maria-style barbecue.

The two buses of Cajuns

arrived at our shop around

11:30 a.m., and as they disembarked, they were immediately drawn to the barbecue pit, where lively conversations began with the cooking crew.

After visiting with the cooking crew, they made their way into the shop that was decorated with tables, complete with centerpieces made up of fresh vegetables and strawberries picked that morning from the fields of Santa Maria.

Of course, we had two bottles of Central Coast wine for each table, with etched wine glasses complete with the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau logo.

Soon, I had a line of thirsty Cajuns looking for a glass of cold Santa Barbara County chardonnay. These folks enjoyed their wine, and we were glad to have some of our best for them to sample and remember when they get back home.

After lunch, I had a chance to talk to the group and explain the challenges we face growing winegrapes and the cultural practices we use to produce award-winning wines.

Their time with us went by quickly, and soon they were back on the buses, headed for the Firestone Winery, where winemaker Kevin Willenborg gave them a firsthand look at how grapes are turned into wine.

After tasting and touring at the beautiful Firestone site, the group headed for Casmalia and dinner at the famous Hitching Post Restaurant.

Nolan Babineaux made sure that my wife, Karen, the kids and I were invited as their guests for dinner. We had a great time and made many new friends.

The next day, the group traveled south, stopping at two lemon and avocado operations, hosted by Ken Doty and Paul Van Leer. After learning about those operations, the group continued south to Carpinteria and a tour of Brand flowers.

It was a great tour, and many kudos are given to Teri Bontrager from our local Farm Bureau for her hard work putting it together.

Tours like these help foster a better understanding of the challenges faced by California farmers.

Thanks, Teri, and I look forward to having lunch with and educating the next group that wants to tour the agricultural wonderland of Santa Barbara County.

Kevin Merrill is a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management. He is a director for the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau and president of the Central Coast Wine Growers' Association Foundation. He can be reached at kmerrill@

mesavineyard.com.

March 16, 2008