The last week of May usually signals the beginning of summer, as we celebrate Memorial Day. Grape growers up and down the Central Coast are still looking for the warmer temperatures we are accustomed to this time of year, and I’m sure they are on their way.

I recently had the opportunity to experience those warm temperatures that week. The folks from the Louisiana Farm Bureau invited Teri Bontrager, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, and me to judge their annual Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement competition.

The staff at the Louisiana Farm Bureau is like family to Teri, who worked for the Mississippi Start Farm Bureau for many years.

You may recall the Louisiana Cajuns came out for a tour of agriculture in Santa Barbara County last February. Bringing Teri and me there as their guests was one way they showed their appreciation for the hospitality they were shown here along the Central Coast during their trip.

Teri and I flew out of Santa Barbara at 6 a.m. Memorial Day, arriving in New Orleans around 2 p.m. After a short ride from the airport, I soon found myself walking in the French Quarter.

The temperature was in the low 90s, with high humidity. Thankfully, there was a slight breeze as we walked from shop to shop.

Later in the afternoon, we stopped in at Pat O’Brien’s for cool refreshment before dinner. I thought, “What better place to have my first mint julep,” as we sat outside in the courtyard.

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Then, it was on to the Acme Grill, where I enjoyed some great grilled oysters, along with a small cup of gumbo. After dinner, we were on the road to Baton Rouge, and the historic Hilton Hotel that was once home to the famous Southern politician Huey Long.

Tuesday morning found us in the state office of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. We were immediately welcomed by Nolan Babineaux, director of field services, and his assistant, Barbara Langley, who also coordinates the activities of the Young Farmers and Ranchers program.

We had some time before our interviews began with the Young Farmer Achievement candidates. Jim Monroe, assistant to the president and legislative affairs director, along with Barbara, gave us a tour of the Farm Bureau facility.

Soon, we found ourselves in a state-of-the-art broadcasting studio that is part of the Information and Public Relations Department, headed by Mike Danna.

We stood on the set where the statewide farm television program “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture” is produced.

The program works to bring farming to consumers through the experience of agriculture firsthand.

After our tour, we made our way to a conference room, where we interviewed seven outstanding young men and women who represent the next generation of farmers and ranchers in Louisiana.

They were vying to represent their state at the American Farm Bureau Federation competition held later this year. All the contestants were exceptional, and it was a pleasure to interview them.

The afternoon found us touring the farmland near Baton Rouge. We met Mike and Pam Melancon, who grow sugar cane.

Mike took us to the sugar mill, and we went inside a huge, covered storage facility that still contained sugar at one end, stacked more than 40 feet high.

A truck and trailer were loading sugar with a CAT loader as we drove into the covered bunker. We walked over to the pile and tasted a sample of the yet-unrefined brown sugar. Our hosts found a plastic bag, which they filled and gave to us for our trip home.

Then it was off to meet rice and crayfish grower Jeff Durand a little farther down the road. We saw firsthand the wire traps and small boat used to catch and gather the small freshwater crayfish resembling a small lobster. The crayfish are kind of a second crop with the rice grown in the area.

We had a great tour, and appreciated everyone taking time to show us around. After the tour, we were treated to a Cajun dinner, complete with a Cajun band providing music, while we dined on traditional Cajun food.

I was given a firsthand lesson on how to remove the shell and heads before eating the boiled crayfish.

The next day, we were asked by Ronnie Anderson, Farm Bureau president, to join him and his staff on a tour of the state penitentiary at Angola, historically one of America’s bloodiest prisons.

Today, it is an example of hope and transformation, thanks to its current warden, Burl Cain.

As we entered the gates into the prison, our tour guide welcomed us to Angola, “a gated community.” Rather than the typical, walled prison, Angola has six fenced housing areas. The remaining acreage is devoted to farming.

To keep the inmates constructively active, they work eight hours a day, five days per week, in the farming operation.

The primary crops grown for sale are cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat. They also produce many crops for inmate consumption, such as tomatoes, cabbage, okra, watermelon, beans and peppers.

More than a million pounds of vegetables are processed at the prison each year.

In addition, the prison maintains a beef herd of 1,500 cattle and a horse herd of 255, which are used daily on the farm. The prison is spread out over a total of 18,000 acres.

We were reminded that the prison is home to some of Louisiana’s worst criminals as we also toured the sobering new, state-of-the-art death-row facility, complete with the area used for lethal injections.

Warden Cain is proving that moral rehabilitation is possible, even for the most hardened criminals. The hallmark of Cain’s remarkable administration is his relentless efforts to help each inmate discover value and purpose in his life

It was a great trip, and the folks from the Louisiana Farm Bureau made me feel like family. I look forward to taking my wife, Karen, and the kids to visit soon. I want them to enjoy the same gracious Southern hospitality I was shown.

Kevin Merrill is a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard management in Santa Maria. He is a member of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau and president for the Central Coast Wine Growers’ Association foundation. He can be reached at kmerril@mesavineyard.com.

June 8, 2008