Mosca-Hooper Conservation District's New Website Provides Farmers Secure Online Ordering for Soil Moisture Sensors

—Sensors help farmers comply with State-mandated water levels—

Mosca-Hooper Conservation District (MHCD) in Alamosa County, Colorado, is making it easier for water users in the San Luis Valley to comply with State-of-Colorado water levels. Through its new website, https://www.colorado.gov/mhcd, farmers can order and pay for soil moisture sensors online. MHCD's website features PayPort—the secure online payment processing system that allows governments to accept credit cards and eChecks.

"The most important part of the sensor's use in our area is water conservation," said District Manager, Kelley Baily. "Knowing when and how much to water crops is imperative to the State's mandate and a farmer's bottom line. Farmers pay for water, but don't get paid without a successful harvest." Soil moisture sensors provide readings on moisture, salinity and temperature. These readings eliminate the need to make educated guesses about when it's safe to put seed in the ground. Instead, farmers use their cell phones to get data anytime to make decisions.

MHCD is responsible for 317,000 acres of private land and 145,000 acres of public land. Therefore, another website goal parallels education and leadership in natural resource management. The new website educates constituents about the district's San Luis Valley Recharge Optimization Project. This project will provide data to assist producers in conserving and restoring groundwater resources, and it will help the community to become a national leader in water management response.

The website also demonstrates the district's leadership by promoting its participation in industry events and board recognition. In November, the MHCD will sponsor "Soil Health In The West". This event combines a workshop and field tour with experts in soil health principles unique to Colorado. In addition, some of MHCD board members (consisting of farmers, a soil scientist and medical doctor) have been named Soil Health Champions. Agronomist, Patrick O'Neill, and Producer, Cody Burns, were recognized by the National Association of Conservation Districts for their work to advance the adoption of soil health management practices.

"Mosca-Hooper Conservation District is utilizing technology to advance best practices in agriculture not only in our state, but also nationally," said Colorado Interactive's President and General Manager, Mike Ansley. "We are proud that our website platform is helping raise awareness about the critical role of innovative practices related to water health and soil management."

MHCD utilized Colorado Interactive (CI) and the Statewide Internet Portal Authority's (SIPA) proprietary platform to rapidly develop its new website. CI provides digital government services to state agencies, local governments and educational entities through a contract with SIPA — the official internet portal connecting the public with Colorado government. The partnership's mission allows government leaders to focus on delivering on-demand, digital government solutions without requests for proposals or the use of tax appropriations.

"Mosca-Hooper Conversation District is making the most of their new payment processor and Colorado.gov website so that their residents can make the most of their crop seasons. Our easy-to-use payment processor complements Mosca-Hooper's new website as both take advantage of SIPA/CI's security and compliance standards," says SIPA Executive Director Jack Arrowsmith. "By combining two of our no-cost services, the district is keeping residents informed and giving them the flexibility to conduct government services online and from anywhere the day takes them."

The SIPA/CI partnership has benefited more than 60 special districts and educational organizations in Colorado. Eligible government entities in need of free website development and hosting as well as payment processing through the Colorado.gov Web portal should contact SIPA.

About Colorado Interactive

Colorado Interactive (CI) is the team behind the official website of the state of Colorado (http://www.colorado.gov) and is overseen by the Statewide Internet Portal Authority. The portal operates through a public-private partnership between the state and CI to help Colorado government entities web-enable their services. CI builds, operates, maintains, and markets Colorado.gov and is part of the digital government firm, NIC EGOV.

About SIPA

Established in 2004 by the Colorado General Assembly, the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) is a self-funded government organization created to be Colorado's single most comprehensive delivery channel for electronic government (eGovernment) services. SIPA strives to accelerate the adoption of efficient and effective eGovernment services by placing more online to benefit Colorado residents. In addition to no-cost websites, payment processing and event registration setup, SIPA provides SaaS technology solutions, consulting and cyber security assessments. (www.colorado.gov/sipa)

About NIC

NIC Inc. EGOV is the nation's premier provider of innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which help make government interactions more accessible for everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies has developed a library of more than 13,000 digital government services for more than 6,000 federal, state, and local government agencies. Among these solutions is the ground-breaking personal assistant for government, Gov2Go, delivering citizens personalized reminders and a single platform for all government interactions. More information is available at www.egov.com.

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