R2R Mentorship launched
Along with WSE, EMRA is proud to launch the Rancher 2 Rancher Mentorship program (R2R). Let us help match you to a fellow rancher who could mentor you along your regenerative journey. As a mentee, you get to learn from peers who have experience that can save you time and money. This program can take the frustration and risk out of transitioning to a regenerative system. Technical assistance can include the development of grazing management plans, infrastructure development and much more. If this sounds interesting to you, reach out Sue, Sarafina or a board member.
Ready to start now? Apply for a mentor HERE
We Have A Winner
EMRA hosted a table at the 2025 Montana GLC Trade Show. Part of our table was a plant identification contest, which included native and introduced grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Although only 16 people completed the on-line version, the plants drew a large and active crowd.
Three people, Laurie Gaugler, Noah Davis, and Haylee Kratzke, correctly identified 17 of the 18 plants. Of those three top scores, we drew one name to receive the prize. Congratulations to Noah Davis! You will soon receive your prize, Knowledge Rich Ranching by Allan Nation.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by our table to chat. We had some rich conversations.
– Sue
A great article from Grass Roots Farmer Co-op….
Together is the Only Way Forward
Standing in a Montana pasture last week, I watched 2,000 people cheer for the exact same thing we’re building here at Grass Roots.I was reminded that we’re not fighting alone.
The Old Salt Festival brought together regenerative ranchers, conscious consumers, and wood-fired chefs who actually care where their meat comes from. These Montana folks are doing what we do – moving animals to fresh grass daily and fighting the same Big Ag monopolies.
What struck me most? They’ve discovered the same secret we did back in 2014.
It’s not about being the best farmer or having the perfect land. It’s about refusing to go it alone.
When four companies control 85% of meat processing, you don’t reform the system. You build a new one – especially when that system pumps chickens full of chlorine and feeds cattle Skittles (yes, actual candy).
We knew there had to be a better way. Turns out sunlight and grass make better medicine than whatever they’re peddling.
A packed tent gathered for the Audubon Conservation Ranching presentation, highlighting how the program helps ranchers manage land to support grassland birds and wildlife.
In 2020, Old Salt started its journey to unite Montana ranchers. Now they’re building their own processing facility through collective investment.
We’ve built Grass Roots the same way – bringing together Amish farmers, first-generation dreamers, and everyone in between, and partnering with a worker-owned processor who shares our values.
Cole Mannix, Old Salt’s founder, nailed it: “The whole system has to work if you’re going to produce something that’s nourishing.”
Not just the farming. Not just the processing. Everything.
And that system? It’s built on relationships, not contracts. Trust, not lawyers. Community, not competition.
From Montana to Arkansas, communities are linking arms, building complete systems that bypass the industrial machine entirely.
Big Ag wants us isolated, competing against each other for pennies.
Instead, we’re building a coast-to-coast rebellion – farmers and eaters creating a parallel food system that works for land, animals, farmers, and families.
When you choose Grass Roots, you’re choosing a side.
You’re not just buying meat. You’re joining a movement that’s not asking Big Ag to change.
We’re replacing them. One farm, one family, one meal at a time.
We don’t need their system. We’ve got each other.
Your farmer,
Cody
P.S. Every time you share our story or recommend us to a friend, you strengthen what we’re building.
That’s how David beats Goliath – together.
Reading/Audible/Podcast List
A list compiled from members and all who will share their learning links! Keep this in your pocket for your learning needs.
Books
What Your Food Ate by David Montgomery
Hidden Half of Nature by David Montgomery
Growing a Revolution by David Montgomery
Dirt by David Montgomery
Bold Return to Giving a Damn by Will Harris
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter
Folks This Ain’t Normal by Joel Salatin
Your Successful Farm Business by Joel Salatin
Water for Any Farm by Mark Shepard
The Drought Resilient Farm by Dale Strickler
For the Love of Soil by Nicole Masters
Holistic Management by Allan Savory
Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown
The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker
Management-intensive Grazing, The grassroots of Grass Farming by Jim Gerrish
Man, Cattle and Veld by Johann Zietsman
Break ‘Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money by Zephyr Teachout
The Farmer’s Lawyer by Sarah M. Vogel
Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We’ve Left Behind by Grace Olmstead
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
Knowledge Rich Ranching by Allan Nation
Podcasts
