December 19, 2024
Written by Scot Chisholm
We’re incredibly excited to welcome Cole Mannix to the Save Farmland Board of Directors!
Cole is part of an extended family that has ranched together in Montana’s Blackfoot valley since 1882. Cole began working for a startup beef cooperative in 2012. Then later became the associate Director at Western Landowners Alliance, working on wildlife and natural resources conservation before leaving in 2020 to found Old Salt Co-Op. Old Salt is a meat company designed to bring Montanans together around good food in support of land stewardship.
Here’s a few links to Cole’s projects:
Mannix Family Ranch — Cole’s family’s ranch
Old Salt Co-Op — Meat co-op founded by Cole
The Union — Wood-fired grill and butcher shop under Old Salt Ownership
The Outpost — Burger joint under Old Salt ownership
The current Board of Directors is now three of us, with two positions that we will fill in the future (likely 2H of 2025).
Robin Kelson (AERO, Abundant Montana Exec Director and Save Farmland Board Member) has been telling me I needed to get together with Cole for a while now. And finally this summer and over the last six months we’ve been able to spend some good time together. I was able to learn a lot about the Old Salt Co-Op model, which partners with local producers to not only sell their meat, but cut them into the upside of the company itself. Cole is extremely passionate about creating a win-win model that includes the producers at the center of the equation. I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration for how we are thinking about the Save Farmland model over time too. Combine Cole’s Old Salt efforts with his background in conservation, and family’s ranching legacy in Montana, and you have the perfect board member for this next phase of growth.
We are also re-exploring more formal advisory committees as well, that will likely tie to specific communities and/or projects that the organization is pursuing.
We are trying to treat Save Farmland like an early stage startup, despite its nonprofit status — staying nimble & adaptable, taking in as much feedback/input as possible, while keeping overhead and complexity low. This means having a very small Board of Directors to start, with the intention of growing it as we continue to gain traction.
As part of this move, Johnny Shockey will move into an advisory position and transition off the Board of Directors. He’ll remain close to Save Farmland though, and we’ll continue to explore ways to partner with all of his endeavors moving forward!
So with that said, we want to extend a huge thank you to Johnny for providing invaluable input and support that helped get the organization off the ground! He helped put the ranching community front and center in the organization’s mission and I’ll always be grateful for the multi-hour long brainstorming sessions during our earliest days.
Thank you Johnny!
