Over the decades, from time to time, several of the Old Salt member ranches have sought counsel from a rancher based near Roundup. Some of you will already know who I'm talking about. I must have been 11 years old when Dad first pointed him out to me at a meeting I'd tagged along for. Bill must have been in his 50s then.
Now well into his 80s, he continues to show up for meetings ranging from cattle to water to wildlife, always encouraging the application of "steady pressure" to the complex things that matter most. Many people can't be bothered to give these things the time and suffering they deserve. Too often we grow impatient with inefficiency. Bill doesn't succumb to that.
He demonstrates how real strength is actually quite flexible. I can hear him saying:
Lean in, check your ego, listen more than you talk, don't force it, be patient and persistent, continue to show up.
If you read last month's piece about how love is inefficient, Bill may ring a bell! Still, when faced with the many urgent and important issues of our time, shortcuts remain tempting. There's so much to know and do, so little time! Small wonder we're so polarized.
Fact is, none of us knows all that much anyway, and the strength of an opinion is often inversely related to the knowledge informing it. Bill leads with wisdom and heart, gracefully blending a strong sense of urgency with patience. I'm reminded of something Dad used to say while teaching us kids how to work cows in the corral: "move quickly, but don't hurry."
Old Salt Gains Its First USDA Slaughter Facility
Old Salt recently accomplished something this past September that our original business plan projected to be complete back in 2023. Building a solid foundation takes time and requires persisting through a fair bit of uncertainty and frustration! In my piece next time, I'll go into detail about major man-made hurdles that Old Salt has overcome, from zoning, to Montana liquor law, to the limitations of the cooperative business structure.
For the moment, I'm delighted to share that after a number of false starts, in mid-September we purchased Ranchland Packing Co. in Butte, Montana from Justin and Ashley Fisher, who had owned and operated it for the past 12 years. I'm delighted to say that Justin, Ashley, along with their crew of 19 other full-time employees, stayed on to become part of the Old Salt team.
Not only does Ranchland have a robust and clean facility with a reputation for being a key training ground for new USDA meat inspectors, but just as importantly it has a skilled team dedicated to their craft. The acquisition of Ranchland now allows Old Salt to sell wholesale for the first time to restaurants and grocery stores anywhere in the US. Now is the time to ask your favorite establishments whether they carry Old Salt Co-op meats.
How This Changes Our Operations
Keep in mind, Old Salt has been processing meat since 2022. But Ranchland represents our first slaughter facility, and also our first USDA facility. Previously, Old Salt animals would be taken to a third party USDA plant to be harvested, then brought back to Helena for further processing under inspection by the Montana Department of Livestock and by Lewis and Clark County.
With Ranchland now providing primary processing in Butte, the Helena facility is being converted to serve secondary processing purposes, including some exciting new products we'll share more about as we get closer to launch.
Building a Better Food System for Meat
Coming on the end of our fifth year in business, Old Salt has begun no less than 5 complex enterprises integrated under one name toward the same purpose: to nourish people and to nourish the land.
We're serious about systemic food system change. But the task at hand is nothing less than to design and prove out a model for a new kind of food system. We didn't get here overnight and won't fix it overnight.
Our mission is to connect customers and producers in a virtuous economic cycle that actually nourishes people AND land. This new model needs to replace the vicious cycle of the current food system, which is designed to shunt most of the resources to the founders and shareholders of food companies at the far downstream end of the supply chain.
The Old Salt model is designed to provide nutrient-dense food by sending the majority of resources back upstream to be invested in the improvement of stewardship at the headwaters of the supply chain.
Ultimately, we don't see livestock agriculture as a panacea. We do see it as an elegant way to mimic the way native ungulates have evolved with grassland ecosystems for thousands of years. We do see it as a way to feed ourselves with a nourishing and fundamental food that has been with us from the beginning.
In Closing, In Gratitude
This Thanksgiving, I'm remembering people like Bill who show us what love looks like in action and am reminded of some lines from a Chris Smither song called What They Say:
Friends in need are the friends indeed
But the friends who think of what we need
They hardly talk at all, they just do it
Thank you for participating in this little food system worth its salt!
Cole Mannix, Founder
Old Salt Co-op
