Press Release For Immediate Release July 15, 2016
For more information, please contact Kelley Baily: 719.992.3661 • moscahoopercd1@gmail.com
Alamosa, CO — Last month, the Mosca-Hooper Conservation District and partner San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition were awarded a $40K grant from the SLV Conservation and Connection Initiative to use over the following year. The purpose of the SLV Soil Health Regeneration Project is to bolster conservation and restoration efforts in the San Luis Valley through local land-owner soil-health education, technical assistance, and soil lab analysis. The Project represents a new partnership of the Mosca-Hooper Conservation District (MHCD) and the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition (LFC). The partners are educating both producers and consumers about the importance of soil health and are marketing the sustainable soil-health food production methods all the way through to the end consumer. MHCD identifies farmers within the conservation district who are actively practicing soil health principles and interested in utilizing soil health branding in their marketing efforts. Farmers have the lab costs for soil health testing covered (up to $150 per field), and MHCD staff does the analysis of test results and works with soil health specialists to propose mitigating activities to improve soil health. The various data is made available to the farmer, the Valley Roots Food Hub, and the end consumer of the food produced with these practices using a branding system. The LFC identifies farmers who use or would like to use soil health methods and refers them to the MHCD. They also market the farmers’ sustainably-produced foods as a superior product and an opportunity for consumers to vote for the environment with their food dollars. Other outreach methods are also employed by MHCD and LFC to promote these products. During the grant cycle, MHCD performed a total of 49 soil samples and garnered interest from many different stakeholder groups throughout the district. The Valley Roots Food Hub was able to brand 14 vendors in its system as participating in soil health practices, three of which participated in the soil testing with MHCD. The soil test cost-share through Mosca-Hooper Conservation District has provided valuable soil information for 12 producers covering 10,491 acres. They can use this information to make plans to effectively manage the health of their soils for improved conservation efforts, crop quality, and bottom lines. MHCD’s primary objective of cost-sharing soil samples is complete. The objective of educating producers about the importance of soil health and how it affects their bottom lines, conservation efforts, and crop quality are on-going. MHCD is following up with participants to see what actions the tests motivated them to take. Once per year over three years after that, we will follow up to discover and document the impacts of those actions. Due to the popularity and success of this program, Mosca-Hooper Conservation District and the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition have reapplied for these same grant funds for the May 2016-May 2018 grant cycle. If you would like more information about this project or MHCD, please contact Patrick O’Neill, MHCD President, at 719-588-0836. Mosca-Hooper Conservation District (MHCD) is a county-wide district in Alamosa County established on June 7, 1943. Total acreage within the district is 462,000 acres and does not include the municipalities of Alamosa or Mosca. The mission of MHCD is to provide leadership in natural resource management for the betterment of all present and future residents of the district through education and example. ###