From the animal to your freezer: explore the cuts, understand the weights, and feel ready to talk with your butcher.
Tap a region on the diagram or choose a name below it.
Beef / region 1
The shoulder works hard, producing flavorful meat with connective tissue.
Think pot roast, a slow braise or a long, gentle simmer.
Ask which shoulder cuts to keep as roasts and which to use for stew or ground beef.
Beef / region 2
The upper rib section is a source of tender roasting and steak cuts.
Roast a larger piece, or cook steaks with direct heat.
Rib roast and ribeye steaks use the same section. Dividing it into more steaks leaves less for roasts.
Beef / region 3
This simplified region includes the short loin and sirloin, toward the back of the animal.
Steaks suit quick cooking; larger tender cuts can be roasted.
From the same short-loin section, choose bone-in T-bone/porterhouse or separate strip and tenderloin cuts. You cannot get both full sets.
Beef / region 4
The rear leg supplies lean roasts and other useful everyday cuts.
Lean cuts benefit from a method matched to the cut: thin slicing, careful roasting or slow moist cooking.
Discuss how much round to keep as roasts or steaks and how much to grind.
Beef / region 5
The breast, low at the front of the animal, has plenty of connective tissue.
A long braise or low, slow smoking gives this cut time to become tender.
Keep the brisket together or ask about smaller portions that fit your cooking equipment.
Beef / region 6
The lower rib and belly area offers rich cuts for slow cooking and grilling.
Braise short ribs. Skirt steak suits quick cooking and slicing across the grain.
Ask about short-rib style and whether skirt steak is available in your share.
Beef / region 7
The underside near the rear leg includes a distinct, lean steak.
Cook flank steak with care and slice thinly across the grain.
A share has a limited amount of each named steak. Keeping flank as steak means it does not go into the grind.
Beef / region 8
The lower legs are working muscles with bone and connective tissue.
Slow braises and soups make good use of these cuts.
Ask to keep meaty shank slices or bones if you will cook with them; do not assume they are automatically packed.
Steaks are one part of the share. Roasts, slow-cooking cuts and ground beef fill out the freezer. These are common possibilities, not a promised package list.
Pork / region 1
Despite the name, Boston butt comes from the upper shoulder, not the rear leg.
A familiar choice for pulled pork, slow roasting and braising.
Choose larger roasts, smaller portions or meat for sausage. Sausage options and fees depend on the processor.
Pork / region 2
The lower shoulder sits above the front leg.
Use slow, moist cooking or a long roast.
Ask whether you want a fresh picnic roast or whether curing and smoking are offered.
Pork / region 3
The back supplies pork chops and loin roasts; the tenderloin lies along the inside of this area.
Chops suit a pan or grill; loin roasts make a larger meal.
Chops and roasts divide the same loin. Bone-in versus boneless cutting also changes what can be kept separately.
Pork / region 4
The underside supplies belly and spareribs.
Slow-roast fresh belly or cook ribs gently. Bacon requires an additional preparation step.
Choose fresh belly or ask about bacon. Curing, smoking and slicing can carry separate fees.
Pork / region 5
Ham names the rear-leg section; it is not necessarily cured or ready to eat.
Plan a roast or smaller portions; preparation depends on whether the meat is fresh or cured.
Specify fresh versus cured/smoked and whole versus smaller portions. Confirm the processor's options and charges.
Pork / region 6
The lower-leg sections contain bone and connective tissue; they may be skin-on.
Long cooking works well for soups, beans and braises.
Ask to keep hocks and confirm whether you prefer them fresh or smoked.
Chops, shoulder, belly and ham each bring something different to the kitchen. A cut sheet decides how they are prepared. These are common possibilities, not a promised package list.
Lamb / region 1
The front shoulder gives flavorful meat for roasts, chops and slow-cooked meals.
A slow roast or braise is a good starting point for shoulder.
Choose how much shoulder to keep as roasts or chops and how much to use for stew or ground lamb.
Lamb / region 2
The upper rib section can stay together as a rack or be divided into chops.
Roast the rack or cook individual chops with direct heat.
A rack and rib chops are alternative preparations of the same section. Ask about trimming and any extra preparation charge.
Lamb / region 3
The back between the rib and leg supplies tender loin cuts.
Quick cooking suits chops; a roast keeps a larger piece together.
Choose chops or a roast from this section. Chop thickness affects the number of chops, not the amount of meat.
Lamb / region 4
The rear leg is the source of a classic lamb roast.
Roast a whole or portioned leg; a butterflied leg can suit the grill.
Discuss bone-in versus boneless and whether to divide a leg into smaller portions.
Lamb / region 5
The lower body includes richer cuts, ribs and trimming meat.
Slow cooking can make useful meals from breast and riblets.
Ask whether you would use these cuts whole or prefer more ground lamb.
Lamb / region 6
The lower legs contain well-worked meat around the bone.
Braise gently until tender, with vegetables, stock or sauce.
Ask to keep shanks for braising rather than having the meat removed for another use.
A lamb share balances chops and roasts with smaller cuts that reward slow cooking. These are common possibilities, not a promised package list.
Live weight, hanging weight and the weight of your packaged cuts describe different stages. They are not interchangeable.
Try a weight example
Examples, not predictions. These published references explain how weight changes. They are not our farm’s animal weights, availability or a guaranteed take-home amount.
Beef uses a published grass-fed dressing range. Breed, finish and aging still change the result.
1,200 lb
The whole animal before harvest.
636–696 lb
The carcass: meat, fat and bone, before cooling and cutting.
429–479.3 lb
What goes in your freezer after cooling, cutting and trimming.
After cooling: about 604.2–675.1 lb of carcass before cutting. The packaged range includes this moisture loss.
Bone-in packages weigh more because they include the bones. A lower boneless package weight does not mean the animal started with less meat. More bone and trim stay at the processor.
Your actual hanging weight sets the animal-share bill. Processing is charged separately. We’ll confirm the processor’s weighing method and fees before enrollment.
Hanging weight: 53–58% of live weight. Cooling loss: 3–5% of hanging weight. Packaged bone-in cuts: 71% of the chilled carcass.
The range combines the low and high reference factors; it is not a promised minimum or maximum. Aging, trimming and choices about bones, fat and organs can change the weight you bring home. Package weights are rounded.
Whole and half pork, lamb and beef shares are priced by hanging weight, with processing charged separately. Beef is $8/lb hanging weight. Your bill uses the actual measured weight and the agreed processing terms. Our chicken CSA is a separate offer: $900 for 100 lbs of processed whole chickens.
A cut sheet tells the butcher how you’d like the available meat prepared. Start with a few preferences, then work through the processor’s actual form together.
Choose between cuts. A roast and the steaks cut from it use the same meat. You can discuss dividing a section.
Choose useful portions. Steak thickness, roast size and pieces per package should suit your household.
Ask about extras. Bones, organs, fat, curing, smoking and sausage options need a conversation about availability and fees.
These are alternative ways to cut the same section, not extra sets of steaks.
Smoking, curing and slicing may cost extra. Confirm the available options.
Rack and rib chops come from the same section; the cut sheet chooses how it is divided.
For example: steak thickness, soup bones, fresh ham or smoked ham.
Preparation notes only. These stay in your browser and are not sent to the farm or butcher.
Choose your preferences to prepare a note for the butcher. Ask about available cuts, processing charges, package sizes and pickup.
You don’t need to know every cut yet. Start with your household’s appetite and freezer plans.
The diagrams are adapted, simplified maps. Names, boundaries, preparation options and package sizes vary by processor. The examples help you ask questions; they are not a guarantee of cuts, yields or availability.
Species-specific weight sources are linked with the weight illustration above. Use your processor’s actual cut sheet when ordering.
Illustration sources: beef by Ysangkok, pork by GameKeeper, and sheep by GDJ. These public-domain illustrations have been adapted with farm colors and interactive cut regions.
