Old Salt Meat Company DBA Ranchland Packing

Old Salt Meat Company DBA Ranchland Packing operates at 1201 Centennial Ave. in Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana, under FSIS establishment numbers M2439, P2439 and V2439. The federal record lists meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry processing, and voluntary meat slaughter and processing, with a grant of inspection dated May 2, 2022. FSIS classifies the plant as Very Small and places it in slaughter volume category 2.0. Cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb are the species reported slaughtered under inspection. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and reports retail-exempt sales.

The establishment is connected to Old Salt Co-op, described on its website as a rancher-owned Montana meat company and marketplace established in Montana in 2020. Search results describe the operation as including a processing plant, butchery, retail store, and restaurants. The co-op sells grass-fed and grass-finished beef, pasture-raised heritage breed pork, and grass-finished lamb, along with smoked sausage, bacon and ham made under the Old Salt label. A beef share listing states the business is owned by ranches and employees.

Sales are handled online with shipping and Montana local pickup and delivery. The plant phone number on file with FSIS is (585) 402-5422. Public-facing hours in the sources refer to the co-op pickup point in Helena rather than the Butte plant. Details about plant hours, custom booking, kill dates, and cut and wrap fees are not stated in the sources on file.

The federal record shows this plant reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning it can process animals owned by the customer with packages marked Not for Sale, and it slaughters cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection. Poultry processing is also listed among its FSIS activities. FSIS classes the operation as Very Small with a slaughter volume category of 2.0. The sources on file do not state booking procedures, lead times, drop-off days, minimums, hanging weight fees, or cut and wrap pricing, so producers should contact the plant directly at the number listed with FSIS to confirm availability and terms.

Old Salt Meat Company DBA Ranchland Packing reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, which means it can process an animal a customer already owns (a whole, half, or share bought before slaughter) and return it in packages marked Not for Sale. Most small farms have one or two plants they book with, and the plant's calendar decides the delivery date.

Household buyers can order through the Old Salt Co-op online store, which sells individual cuts, bundles, and beef shares. The site lists flat rate shipping with free shipping on orders of $249 or more, and states that meat ships frozen every week on Tuesday with dry ice and recyclable materials, with a selectable ship date. Free local pickup is offered in Helena at The Union, 361 N Last Chance Gulch, Wednesday through Friday, 11am to 8pm, phone 406-422-0515, and pickup customers receive an automatic 22 percent discount. Weekly delivery routes run to locations in Northwest and Southwest Montana, and local delivery in the immediate Helena area is offered on Thursdays, free on orders of $199 or more and otherwise for a $10 fee. A half beef share is listed at $2,550, described as about 226 pounds requiring roughly 10 to 12 cubic feet of freezer space, available to Montana residents for local pickup only with no shipping and not eligible for the 22 percent pickup discount. Four beef share sizes are said to be offered to Montana residents.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.