Our Story
We are a small team whose family livelihoods have depended on farming and ranching in the Santa Ynez and Lompoc valleys for multiple generations. Agriculture is a true passion for us and our families.
Our Founders
Ben Merz
Ben Merz is the Director of Farming Operations and Business Development. For 60 years, Ben’s family has been breeding, raising and showing world-class Arabian horses. This introduced Ben to farming hay for the family herd at a young age, a passion which he has pursued ever since. Ben graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and is a respected Viticulturist within the Santa Barbara County wine industry.
Michael Miroballi
Michael Miroballi is the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of CH&A. Born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley, he went on to earn a Geology degree from Sacramento State University. For the past 12 years, he has dedicated himself to farming and winemaking in the complex soils of his hometown topography.
Meet the Team
Jeremey Signorelli
Born and raised in Lompoc, CA, Jeremey is a fourth-generation rancher from a longtime farming family in Lompoc. He dry farms 70 acres with his dad on his family's ranch in Jalama Canyon as well as a 60 head herd of Angus beef cattle. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his son, Joe, and daughter, Jule. Agriculture is in his blood making him the perfect person to manage our day-to-day farming operations.
Cynthia Signorelli
Cynthia is a lifelong native of Lompoc with a knack for customer service. As the wife of a rancher, she is well versed in agriculture and how important the quality of feed really is. Cynthia will work hard to find exactly what you need
Jose Barragan Jr.
Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Jose came to the USA in 1998 with his family and settled here on the Central Coast in Lompoc, CA. After graduating from Cabrillo High School, he attended college at Allan Hancock while working in Agriculture alongside his dad, Jose Sr. He plans to continue his education in agriculture and farming in his future. For fun Jose enjoys video game and spending quality time with his girlfriend and young child.
Jose Barragan Sr.
Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Jose came to the USA in 1998 where he settled here on the Central Coast in Lompoc, CA. He has worked locally in agriculture on various crops. His experience and expertise in irrigation brought him on board with Coastal Hay & Ag as our Farm Operations Supervisor. Jose is married to his wife Maria and they have 4 boys. They enjoy spending time barbequing as a family and are involved with their church, La Purisima, in Lompoc, CA.
(From Left to Right): Mario Alvarez, Jose Jr Barragan, Ty Bender, Jose Sr. Barragan, Stan Painter, Jeremey Signorelli, Parker Jones, Jimmy Gardner.
Our team has decades of agricultural experience between them with a background rooted in the Central Coast. Each member brings a unique set of skills including knowledge in irrigation, fertilizer application, and crop management.
Our crew works extremely hard every day to grow the best hay and to deliver the best service possible. Thank you!