Cole Mannix, cofounder of Old Salt Co-op, says the long-term survival of ranchers depends on rewriting the rules of the existing food system. The co-op unites five ranchers who are all committed to sustainable land management.

Montana

Ranchers in western Montana, including the Mannix family, are adapting to challenges from industrial agriculture and extreme weather by shifting away from traditional food supply chains. Instead of sending all their cattle to large meat packers, they now process a portion locally and sell directly to consumers through the Old Salt Co-op, which partners with other ranches committed to sustainable land management.

This approach emphasizes regenerative ranching, which involves rotating livestock and allowing land to rest, improving soil health and resilience. Supporters believe this model offers both environmental and economic benefits, potentially serving as a blueprint for the future of food security and sustainable agriculture.

Montana ranchers challenge status quo in bid to survive

Tonight's Eye on America takes us to the rolling hills and fertile valleys of western Montana. Cattle ranchers have been working the land there for nearly 170 years and they well know the risks and costs of allowing cattle to over graze their pastures. Joleen Kent paid a visit to one of the region's oldest ranches, one deeply ingrained in conservation. This is all Mannix Ranch. That's right. In Montana's Blackfoot Valley, Cole Mannix and his family are raising 1,200 head of cattle on 50,000 acres. The Mannix family has been working this land for 143 years but big food, big agriculture and extreme weather are threatening the next generation. Almost everything about our food system is terminal. Are we already at that moment where the land is at risk of not allowing us to produce food? Yeah, I think that moment is in sight. Need to scramble right to figure out what this morning's plans are. Mannix and his family say long-term survival means challenging the existing food system. We're gonna build a little model that makes the old one obsolete. Then that model can be replicated across the country. So rather than shipping all of its cattle to large industrial meat packers, Mannix Ranch is processing a third of its livestock locally and selling directly to consumers. Who's the new fellow who's working Expo? To deliver beef to your table, Mannix co-founded Old Salt Co-op, partnering with five ranches committed to sustainable land management. They sell their beef collectively at their local restaurants, butcher shop and online. Old Salt Co-op is a bright spot that does justice to land and to all of the employees along the supply chain and to our investors and to our customers. Food prices are going up. Can you protect the land and also provide meat that is affordable? Yes, you can. We need to get back to where we raise our food locally, package it in our communities to be eaten by our neighbors. That's called food security. Walter Schweitzer, president of the Montana Farmers Union, likes what he sees. Do you believe that what is being built here is the model for the future? I think so. It's where we should have been. These are grasses that are native to the landscape. The co-op ranchers say regenerative ranching and working with soil rather than against it is vital. Regenerative ranching is the use of livestock to impact an ecosystem of plants and then to let it rest. Mannix says resting parcels of land for up to two years keeps the soil fertile and resilient, especially in the face of extreme weather. One of our old salt member ranches in the driest years of its ranches history have been able to double the grass production. That is a tremendous ecological win. Two rare revise one with the mushroom. We have to do this. It's an existential necessity and it's a legacy we want to leave our kids with the future of feeding the nation could ride on it for eye on America. I'm Jolene Kent in Helmville, Montana.

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