TRUE CUT RANCH
PASTURE-RAISED MEATS IN NC
Welcome to True Cut Ranch! We are passionate about providing pasture-raised beef, pork, lamb, and poultry in Catawba County, NC. The ranch was established back in 1980, and our family first laid eyes on it in 2021.
Our standards are:
Don’t sell anything we won’t eat.
No vaccines or drugs (keep the animals and humans healthy with nutrition, herbalism, homeopathy, and lifestyle)
No poisons, anything that ends in “cide” (herbicide, pesticide, fungicide, etc) … the only poison you’ll find at the farm is the cans of wasp spray that Melissa keeps in the hall closet (because, wasps!!!)
Source traceable ingredients, like our feed for hogs and poultry, which is grown and milled right here in NC
Mimic nature whenever possible (cattle and sheep eat grass, not grain, and are moved daily to fresh grass)
Every animal and human has a job … the poultry fertilize the grass for the cows and sheep to eat, the hogs clear land and aerate the soil, etc.
Minimize external inputs. Soil for the gardens comes from our compost heaps.
The cattle, sheep, and hogs are born and raised here so we know their full health history. (Poultry we get from the hatchery.)
In 2021 Fred and Melissa set out to find a bigger homestead (after all, two thirds of an acre on a main road in the city wasn’t going to work since they wanted to add cows to the mix!) and ended up on a 140+ acre farm.
Our cows, chickens, turkeys, sheep, ducks, and pigs are regularly moved to fresh pasture using a practice folks call “rotational grazing.”
Call it whatever you want: organic, sustainable, regenerative. We’re just doing our best to mimic nature by making sure our animals are well-cared for and moved frequently to new grassy areas. Many of our farming methods are inspired by our mentor, Joel Salatin.
What you find in our farm store and at our farmers market booth is the same food that we eat. If we wouldn’t feed it to our family, we wouldn’t sell it to you. Pastured protein from True Cut Ranch tastes incredible and makes us feel great. You’ll love it, too.
Come visit us at the farm Fridays and Saturdays 10am-6pm and experience the farm for yourself. Fred and melissa also teach workshops and lead walking tours at True Cut Ranch.
The signature experience at True Cut Ranch happens the first Saturday of October when competition barbecue teams serve up our heritage pork. During the feast they’re hoping you’ll vote for them; the winner of this people’s choice competition will get a $500 cash prize and trophy belt. Guests will enjoy all the side dishes plus local cobbler and ice cream to round out a full dinner. Tickets for True Que on Saturday, October 3, 2026 are on sale now.