A New Family Tradition:

We left the city and our construction companies behind to pursue ranching full-time. Our children grew up with pigs, chickens, turkeys, and ducks in our tiny backyard and picked produce from our fruit trees, blueberry bushes, and seasonal gardens.

Now, with nearly 150 lush acres in Claremont, NC, we can produce food for the community as well. Back when Fred was in the construction industry he had a vanity plate on his truck that read “TRUE CUT.” We like the idea of lumber that is true cut because it is what it claims to be: a 2x4 is really 2” by 4”. We thought that name could fit equally well on the gate to the ranch. Here’s why:

Much of the meat you can find in the grocery store, even with an Organic label, isn’t what we would consider true. Is a chicken really a true chicken if you trim its beak and keep it indoors? Is beef from herbivores that spent their final days on dirt at a CAFO (feed lot) true beef? Is it true pork if the pig was bred to be lean and raised indoors?

Melissa is “just here for the food” and loves to cook for her “cavemen” each day. She also teaches in-person classes on and off the ranch plus lots of virtual classes at www.thereadypantry.com.

Three generations live at True Cut Ranch. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for pictures of farm activities, and subscribe to our weekly email list to get pictures that aren’t posted anywhere else.