On the Farm: Vanpool program helpful to all

The warm summertime weather I was looking for in my last column arrived last week. Just what our vines need to play catch-up after a cooler-than-normal spring.

I was up around 5:15 in the morning to make coffee. After I got it started, I looked out at the faint glow of morning to see the light haze of fog hovering over the vines.

I looked down the canyon toward Highway 101, and there was our usual summertime fog bank lurking in the lower reaches of the hills and valleys north of Los Alamos.

In another 45 minutes, the canyon and vines in front of our home were completely engulfed in fog. By 7:30, it was all gone, and if you did not know any better, you would swear the fog was never there.

It is a tricky time for the folks who drive to work on the vineyard from Santa Maria. They never know what the road conditions will be, and I am always glad to see they all made it to work safe and sound.

There is a new program just getting off the ground to help the folks who drive out to our fields and farms to work every day in North County.

Patterned after a highly successful program in Kings County, home to some of the largest farms in the state, an ag vanpool pilot program has been started here in northern Santa Barbara County.

To launch the vanpool, $100,000 from the county's Transportation Development Act funds, $50,000 from the city of Santa Maria and an additional grant from Caltrans will help fund the new program this season.

The farmworkers, who many times cannot afford a reliable car for transportation to and from work, pay a fare based on distance traveled daily to participate in the program. Drivers for the vanpool program are from the local ag workforce.

The driver must have a license and a clean driving record, pass a physical examination and go through a driver-training school to learn how to operate the vans safely.

In Kings County, 90 drivers have received training and gas cards monitored by the county, along with positive feedback from the farmworkers utilizing the vanpool program.

During pruning, some of the folks who work for Mesa Vineyard Management took advantage of the program, and I remember seeing one of the vans parked alongside the vines as I passed by to check on the progress of the crews.

I remember Teri Bontrager, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, and I met with Jim Talbott, executive director for SMOOTH Inc., and the ag vanpool program manager, Rosemary Luque, at their office in Santa Maria.

Jim and Rosemary outlined the program for us and asked if we could help get the word out to farmers about this new pilot program they were about to launch.

Both Teri and I felt there were far more positives to the program than negatives, and we invited Jim and Rosemary to make a presentation to the Farm Bureau board.

After hearing the proposal, the board unanimously voted to support the program.

Other groups supporting this program include the California Highway Patrol, Santa Maria Police Department and the California Employment Development Department.

So far, there have been 17 interested drivers, 11 having been approved for vanpool operation, with an additional five drivers still in process.

The vans average eight passengers per van per day, traveling over 27 miles per day. With gas prices rising daily, I expect more folks will take advantage of this program.

Those of us who rely on crews that work in fields of broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, winegrapes or the plethora of other crops grown here in North County need to let their crews know about this new service.

Usually, like the folks who work for us, the passengers work on the same crews at the same location day after day.

I think the ag vanpool program is a good thing for everyone in the county. The pros outweigh the cons - less cars on our rural roads, making them safer for everyone.

I hope we take advantage of it, like our counterparts in Kings County and other parts of the state.

I read that San Luis Obispo County is looking into the same program as well.

I hope you were able to enjoy the warm weather we had last week.

If you have a chance, check out your local grocery stores and farmers markets; it is the time to buy the beautiful fresh peaches, nectarines, apricots and other fruits being harvested in our own San Joaquin Valley.

Remember: Be Californian. Buy California grown.

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