Cooper Hibbard

Welcome to Awe Nice, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors.

This week, I visited with Cooper Hibbard from Montana. Cooper runs the Sieben Livestock Company, which is part of the Old Salt Co-op in Helena, Montana.

The Co-op, with has beef, lamb, and other offerings from five central Montana ranches, is committed to transforming the status quo of beef production to a more regenerative, giving-back model. They're doing some really cool stuff and I encourage you to check them out.

Cooper traveled far and wide - to South American and Australia, to name a few places - before coming back to take the reins of his family's ranching operation.

He told me that he's often had a feeling, when he's fixing fence or gathering cows or hunting, where the hair stands up on the back of his neck and it seems like the air is charged, and he just knows he's being watched. Then he might come upon a cache, where a lion has stashed a deer to come back later and feed on it. What he feels then is not fear but reverence.

Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us here. We thank Kershaw Knives and Redmond Salt for their generous sponsorships. Music is by Forrest Van Tuyl.

Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Until next time.