The Makers Tent is a living workshop floor showcasing the tools, traditions and ingenuity that define carefully crafted American-made goods. Browse working demonstrations and shop for heirloom-quality pieces from makers across the region.

Start your festival morning with an open-air yoga session. Center yourself before a day of programming with this gentle practice. All levels welcome.

This session gives a window into reasons to be hopeful from around the country. It includes Ken Elliot of IND Hemp in Montana, Bob Quinn of Quinn Institute in Montana, Mary Berry of Our Home Place Meats in Kentucky, Maggie Keith of Foxhollow Farms in Kentucky, José Corona of Agricultural Platform Collective in California, Conner Hackett of Stemple Creek Farms in California, Cate Havstad-Casad of Range Revolution in Oregon, Kim Paul, Piikani Lodge Health Institute in Montana, and Cody Hopkins of Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative in Arkansas.

Water shapes everything — from forage quality to wildlife corridors to the long-term viability of a working ranch. Join a hydrologist and a land steward for a guided walk on how water moves through the Mannix Ranch landscape, what healthy riparian systems look like and why water management may be the most important tool a rancher has.

The Cookfire at the Festival is a classroom, conversation and gathering point. Chef and outdoor food pioneer Eduardo Garcia and whole-animal craftsman Andrew Mace bring their combined expertise to the fire, guiding participants through the cuts, techniques and traditions that transform an animal into a meal worth remembering. Join us at the cookfire to learn what it means to cook and eat with real intention.

Join Emma Ractliffe, Brian Boland, Zach Ducheneaux, Rostam Zafari and Chris Miller to learn about how individuals and organizations are pulling capital out of extractive investments and placing it in service to land and community.

Meet at the Land Talk Lounge and then head out with an Old Salt rancher to learn how to read animals, evaluate pasture condition and make judgment calls in utilizing working dogs with cattle. A practical demo with the kind of knowledge that only comes from years of experience. Offered Friday and Saturday.

You're in the backcountry, your horse goes down, your dog gets into something, the nearest vet is hours out. What do you do, and do you have what you need? This hands-on session, sponsored by Montana Farmers Union and led by an experienced veterinarian, walks through the essential skills and supplies every backcountry traveler and high-country rancher should have in their toolkit. This is the kind of practical knowledge that sticks with you long after the festival is over.

Anthropologist, chef and wild food practitioner Dr. Bill Schindler and his son, Billy, bring their radical whole-animal philosophy to life in this hands-on butchery demo. Join us in the Land Talk Lounge for a lesson in what we've lost in our connection to food.

A closer look at how the mental health issues rural and urban communities face are similar and different with Rizpah Bellard, Emily Swisher, Kim Paul, Ben Minden and Connor Coleman.

Food is not an afterthought at Old Salt. Throughout the weekend, small bites are provided for festival attendees. Every bite is an expression of the supply chains Old Salt exists to build. Meat comes from Old Salt Co-op, raised by ranchers you'll meet throughout the weekend. Produce comes from partners like Western Montana Growers Co-op and others who share our conviction that regional food systems are worth fighting for.

What can horses teach us about ourselves? In this session, equine-assisted therapy practitioners explore how working with horses offers a unique pathway to emotional regulation, trauma processing and mental wellness.

Amber Smith and Jaimie Stoltzfus are first-generation ranchers, mothers, friends and collaborators. Separated by hundreds of miles but united by a common vision, they have forged an innovative partnership raising calves on the Northern Great Plains and grass-finishing them in the Absaroka Mountains. In this live podcast recording, Amber and Jaimie recount how they broke into a male-dominated industry, how motherhood has shaped them as ranchers and what they're doing to create a sustainable future for their families and land in the face of big ag.

Anna talks to Cole about the privileges, and real pains, of building a life and a business that you can't move. How does not having an exit ramp -- or a way to hide from your neighbors -- shape your character, sense of time, relationship to money and connection to nature? Anna is an interviewer and writer likened by The New York Times to “a therapist at happy hour.” Since 2014, she’s hosted Death, Sex & Money, the interview podcast about “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.”

Before the headliners take the stage, learn the basics of swing dancing from Thaddeus Pryor, Lauren Collette and Emileigh Pryor of Country Renegades. No partner or experience required, just a willingness to jump in with the music. A perfect warm-up for the evening ahead.

Kick off the festival evening with a conversation between Old Salt leadership and Zach Ducheneaux, former head of the Farm Service Agency and one of Indian Country's most influential voices in agricultural policy. A grounding moment before the music begins, connecting the work happening on this ranch to the larger national conversation about ranching and stewarding land.

Singles Mixer — Boots and Banter: Old Salt's unofficial matchmaking event. A lighthearted gathering for the unattached. Join the conversation and have fun. Sign up at check-in and meet at the Festival Bar.

join Annie Bachand and Chris White Eagle to learn about this workforce development enterprise in South Dakota dedicated to empowering communities through the art of meat processing. Sacred Storm provides cultural preservation, apprenticeship opportunities, and fosters food sovereignty, family well-being, a sustainable future, and a reconnection to the land.

Join the National and Montana Audubon Society for an early morning birding walk across the Mannix Ranch. Old Salt partner ranches are certified through the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, a designation that recognizes working ranches actively managing their land for grassland bird habitat. On this guided walk you will find different birds on the landscape and see just how powerful a well-managed ranch can be for bird habitat.

Fire is part of the ecology in the West. But generations of suppression have resulted in less frequent but more severe fire events. Learn how people are making friends with fire again to improve range and wildlife habitat and to mitigate the risk to communities.

The Makers Tent is a living workshop floor showcasing the tools, traditions and ingenuity that define carefully crafted American-made goods. Browse working demonstrations and shop for heirloom-quality pieces from makers across the region.

Start your festival morning with an open-air yoga session. Center yourself before a day of programming with this gentle practice. All levels welcome.

The Cookfire at the Festival is a classroom, conversation and gathering point. Chef and outdoor food pioneer Eduardo Garcia and whole-animal craftsman Andrew Mace bring their combined expertise to the fire, guiding participants through the cuts, techniques and traditions that transform an animal into a meal worth remembering. Join us at the cookfire to learn what it means to cook and eat with real intention.

The grizzly bear's expanding range in southwest Montana is one of the most contested and consequential wildlife stories in the West today. Researchers and ranchers join this conversation to explore what is actually happening on the ground in the Gravelly Range, what it means for livestock operations and whether coexistence is possible — or the right frame for the question.

Meet at the Land Talk Lounge and then head out with an Old Salt rancher to learn how to read animals, evaluate pasture condition and make judgment calls in utilizing working dogs with cattle. A practical demo with the kind of knowledge that only comes from years of experience. Offered Friday and Saturday.

This conversation reflects on westward expansion, to statehood, to the present day. How can we learn to make a long term home here?

The Cookfire at the Festival is a classroom, conversation and gathering point. Chef and outdoor food pioneer Eduardo Garcia and whole-animal craftsman Andrew Mace bring their combined expertise to the fire, guiding participants through the cuts, techniques and traditions that transform an animal into a meal worth remembering. Join us at the cookfire to learn what it means to cook and eat with real intention.

Deep in the Bob Marshall, mules are a necessity. A pack string has long been the backbone of backcountry access. Join Chris Eyer, better known as the Mule Dragger, for a hands-on demonstration of the art of mule packing — how to read your animal, load and balance a pack, and move through terrain.

Dr. Bill Schindler is on a mission to reconnect people with real, nourishing food by reviving and reimagining ancestral eating practices. His work spans continents, cultures, and deep time — bringing together the wisdom of our ancestors and translating it into practical solutions for the modern world.

Food is not an afterthought at Old Salt. Throughout the weekend, small bites are provided for festival attendees. Every bite is an expression of the supply chains Old Salt exists to build. Meat comes from Old Salt Co-op, raised by ranchers you'll meet throughout the weekend. Produce comes from partners like Western Montana Growers Co-op and others who share our conviction that regional food systems are worth fighting for.

Stick around as Robb Wolf digs deeper with Dr. Schindler about what his talk might mean for us today. What do they make of the new food pyramid, for example?

Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist and two-time New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Paleo Solution and Wired To Eat. Along with Diana Rodgers, he co-authored Sacred Cow, which explains why well-raised meat is good for us and good for the planet.

What can horses teach us about ourselves? In this session, equine-assisted therapy practitioners explore how working with horses offers a unique pathway to emotional regulation, trauma processing and mental wellness.

Before the headliners take the stage, learn the basics of swing dancing from Thaddeus Pryor, Lauren Collette and Emileigh Pryor of Country Renegades. No partner or experience required, just a willingness to jump in with the music. A perfect warm-up for the evening ahead.

A keynote speaker from the Blackfeet Nation joins the Old Salt stage Saturday evening to share perspective on land, sovereignty and the relationship between people and place that has defined this region for thousands of years. This is a voice and a worldview that belongs at the center of every conversation we are having this weekend. MILCK brings her signature anthemic sound to the ranch as the evening builds — music that is equal parts personal and universal, the kind that finds you somewhere you didn't expect.

And then, the Anvil Launch. A tradition carried for generations by Sieben Livestock Co., this centuries-old spectacle sends an anvil skyward on a column of black powder smoke — part ranching folklore, part pure Montana.

Dale and Janet Veseth of Malta, Montana, recently made the largest gift of a working cattle ranch in Montana history to the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance. Meanwhile, a big reason why the Mannix Ranch is still intact today has to do with the generosity of their forebears. Join this intimate conversation with the Veseths and Mannixes as they are interviewed by their friend and fellow Montana rancher, Bill Milton, about what it really takes to keep human and ecological relationships intact.

This weekend held a lot — conversation about land, food and community. Before you leave, we invite you to sit down and write a letter to yourself. What moved you this weekend? What do you want to remember, big and small? We'll mail it to you in six months to remind you of the moment and your commitment to action. Paper and envelopes provided.

The Makers Tent is a living workshop floor showcasing the tools, traditions and ingenuity that define carefully crafted American-made goods. Browse working demonstrations and shop for heirloom-quality pieces from makers across the region.

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Brooks works to elevate the importance of conservation and community in agriculture. He is especially focused on advancing efforts to increase and improve farmland protection, enhance next-generation land access and ease generational farm transfers, and strengthen rural culture, economies, and wellbeing.

Sunday morning at Old Salt hits a little different — slower and softer than the days before. As the weekend draws to a close, we invite you to linger over brunch bites and reflect on everything the festival stands for. The same sourcing philosophy applies: meat from Old Salt Co-op, raised by ranchers you've spent the weekend getting to know, and produce from regional partners. This is our last meal together for a while, so let's make it memorable.
*Full menu to be announced closer to the festival.

Many of you may remember the Lorax and The Once-ler from Dr. Seuss. The lesson here is that people with good intentions are not enough, being the voice of the trees and the birds and the bees is not enough. Knowing there is a problem and blaming other people doesn’t solve the problem — changing our relationship to the system, and seeing ourselves and the whole stakeholder network as a part of the solution CAN.