Modern Farm Girls Podcast

If you ever get the chance, go to the Old Salt Festival in Montana. It’s a celebration of people coming together to support land stewardship in Montana. This year I was fortunate to be one of the speakers along with others in the regenerative space, plus regional authors, poets, and musicians.  Now that I’ve returned and things have settled a bit, I have Cole Mannix, president and founder of Old Salt Co-op, on the show to talk about his experience with ranching and growing his business. Cole grew up in a ranching family but spent a brief time in Boston pursuing a master's in theology before returning to his ranching roots in Montana. When he returned, he started working for a startup beef cooperative and then became the Associate Director at Western Landowners Alliance. Ultimately, in 2020 he left to begin forming Old Salt Co-op. Cole’s vision for Old Salt is to be “more than a meat company.” It is a regional meat economy with vertically integrated enterprises. The goal is not to produce meat for a national m