Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1527954
76 | SIGNATURE MONTANA Just outside of Helmville, tucked away in the beautiful Blackfoot Valley, lies the Mannix Family Ranch. As live Americana music fills the air, the rows of cars, tents, and camping trailers leading up to the gate clearly indicate that this is no regular day at the ranch. e 2nd annual Old Salt Festival is in full swing, celebrating food, music, and ideas centered around land stewardship in Montana. ose ideas are the backbone of the Old Salt Co-op, a rapidly expanding enterprise focused on delivering high-quality beef, lamb, and pork through sustainable agriculture that directly connects local producers with end-users. Cole Mannix founded Old Salt with a vision to create a meat company dedicated to exclusively sourcing and processing Montana livestock locally. His aim was to develop markets independent of the traditional commodity system, fostering a more sustainable and community- focused approach to meat production. "My family had a lile operation called Mannix Beef in Helmville," Mannix shares. e company operated for around 20 years, experiencing steady growth until it encountered a boleneck in processing—the act of butchering whole animal carcasses into various cuts. ey faced a pivotal decision at this critical juncture: either greatly expand or scale back the operation. "To grow it significantly was just too heavy of a li to do ourselves. e capital that it takes, the talent that it takes. I don't work the ranch, I live in town, Mannix explains. "My brothers and cousins and sister and aunts and uncles all run the ranch. So, I kind of came to them with this idea of what if we link arms with some other producers that care deeply about ecological stewardship, a food system that is resilient, about health, and build a brand." Mannix presented the concept to the Hibbard Family at Sieben Livestock Company near Cascade, the J Bar L Ranches near Melville, Old Salt Festival Celebrates Land Stewardship, Community, and Culinary Excellence in Montana LAND TEXT BY COLTER PEDERSEN PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED IS KIN A combination of folk, string bands, and indie rock music filled the festival stage for three days.