Cole Mannix, president and founder of Old Salt Co‑op, told the Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee that his Helena company is pursuing a federally inspected processing facility and expects the project to cost about $7,000,000.

The project would include slaughter through fulfillment and initial estimates place peak weekly capacity at about 150 head, with a likely “sweet spot” of roughly 60 head per week, Mannix said. “This project is about 7,000,000 by the time you pay for the land and and all the improvements,” he said.

Mannix described Old Salt as a producer-owned business that currently operates small-scale processing, two restaurants in Helena and a direct‑to‑consumer shipping route. He said the co‑op now works with five member ranches covering about 200,000 acres and roughly 6,000 mother cows; the business employs about 75 people, roughly 45 full‑time equivalents.

Why it matters: a federally inspected plant would let Old Salt sell to restaurants and grocery stores outside Montana and scale production for other brands, potentially keeping more value in state. Mannix said the facility would process for Old Salt’s own brand (expected to take one‑third to one‑half of capacity) and for other regional brands.

Committee members pressed Mannix on three recurring barriers: local zoning that does not contemplate slaughter facilities, access to state or federal inspectors, and securing consistent institutional markets.

On zoning, Mannix said he had performed due diligence on more than 30 properties and repeatedly found local rules that prevented slaughter at those sites. On inspections, he said Old Salt is applying for a federal plant number and seeking federal inspection but noted state inspection would be a fallback if federal inspection is delayed: “We plan to be federally inspected, but if for some reason we are not able to... state would be the backup plan.”

Mannix explained funding to date: the co‑op has used two federal loan programs and one federal grant that remained available after COVID, a state ARPA grant for an initial down payment, and a $50,000 Department of Agriculture grant for equipment. He said more grants or low‑interest loans would be “a tremendous help.”

Asked what would most help the plant succeed, Mannix prioritized institutional procurement: “The more our schools and the more our universities and the more our, you know, state government, the more they can procure from the landscapes that surround us, I think the better.”

Northern Plains and Montana Farm Bureau representatives said they would support processing expansion and institutional procurement in committee discussions. Caroline Canarios of Northern Plains said the organization and its ranching members were “excited to hear about the added processing capacity” and would engage on procurement and Montana product promotion.

The committee did not take any formal action on the company’s requests; members discussed options and referred questions to the Department of Livestock about inspector capacity. Mannix said the co‑op hopes to be operational “by October” if federal inspection and zoning approvals fall into place.

Looking ahead: Mannix said Old Salt will continue permitting, financing and market development work; committee members suggested follow‑up with the Department of Livestock and outreach to local planning authorities on zoning for food processing.