The second half of March usually signals the beginning of the frost season for grape growers.

This season is no exception, with growers around the Los Alamos Valley out in the early morning hours monitoring the temperature before turning on their sprinkler systems to protect the tender young buds that will produce fruit for the next vintage.

So, remember when you run into a grumpy vineyard manager this time of year, he or she has probably been out most of the night watching temperatures go up and down while taking a cat nap in the pickup.

The only time I can truly relax on a cold night is after we decide to turn on the water, the Ford 460 engines that power our booster pumps all start and the sprinklers are working in the fields.

I wrote in my last column that March transitions us from winter to spring. We can have daytime temperatures in the 70s and lows in the early morning hours down into the low 30s or colder.

March 20 was the first day of spring. It was also National Agriculture Day, when we honor agriculture for providing safe, abundant and affordable products, a strong economy, a source of renewable energy and a world of job opportunities.

Each year, the National Ag Day program gathers members of the industry in an effort to promote American agriculture. Focused on sharing how agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis, the National Ag Day program helps educate millions of consumers each year.

This year, to help celebrate National Ag Day locally, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County hosted its third annual Ag Appreciation Barbecue.

Kerry Main Aller, the Foodbank/s community relations manager, with support from our local Farm Bureau and its executive director, Teri Bontrager, the hard-working ladies from the local branch of California Women for Agriculture who set up and served a great lunch, and countless other volunteers made this year/s event possible.

We were honored to hear California Department of Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura talk about the need to provide healthy, nutritious food to our schools and everyone in California so we can provide the essential building blocks for a productive healthy life.

He spoke of how our California agricultural community produces an abundance of healthy food that can help feed the hungry.

Our challenge is to match that need with California-grown food. State Sen. Abel Maldonado was also on hand for the event, speaking on his roots in the local farming community.

It has been a record-breaking year for the Foodbank, having distributed more than 1,880,272 pounds of produce since July 2007.

The support of local farmers and others has allowed them to distribute more fresh fruits and vegetables, increase the variety of products and implement many new programs.

Through increased awareness of the link between the multifaceted food industry and people in need of food, the Foodbank forms partnerships at the national, regional and local levels with growers, producers and manufacturers of food.

Their goal is to connect people in need to a reliable, year-round supply of fruits and vegetables that would not be ordinarily available to local residents through any other channel.

The farmers and ranchers in Santa Barbara County are among the most generous donors of fresh fruits and vegetables in the country. That helps our local Foodbank face one of its most challenging times in recent memory.

The nation/s social safety net, of which the Foodbank is an integral part, is being strained by rising fuel and food costs, along with an uncertain economy.

The Santa Barbara County Foodbank needs our help now more than ever. Contributions of funds, food, time and advocacy are more important now than ever. Together we can work toward a hunger-free Santa Barbara County.

Go to the Foodbank on the Internet at www.foodbanksbc.org, or call the agency at 937-3422 and see what you can do to help.

Kevin Merrill is a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management in Santa Maria. He is president of the Central Coast Wine Growers/ Association Foundation and a board member for the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. He can be reached at kmerrill@mesavineyard.com.

March 30, 2008