Jowl
Cheek and lower-jaw region at the front of the hog.
How to find itFind the fleshy lower cheek immediately behind the snout.
Do not confuseBoston Shoulder — shoulder starts behind the head; jowl stays on the cheek/jaw.
Meat-cut study · Swine
Read the labeled cut chart.
Study the whole-carcass map, then use the current Florida FFA list for retail names and codes. External animal parts belong on live-animal photos; they stay in a separate study room.
Standard labeled reference
1929Fresh pork chart: identification, wholesale and retail cuts
Historical butcher-reference map · 1929A historical, labeled butcher-reference chart. Use it to study cut locations; check current Florida FFA rules for the contest answer list.
Original source PDF ↗
Open full-size chart to zoom ↗United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Division of Livestock, Meats and Wool · 1929
Public-domain U.S. federal work; the USDA National Agricultural Library contributor reports no known copyright restrictions.
A historical, labeled butcher-reference chart. Use it to study cut locations; check current Florida FFA rules for the contest answer list.
Source and reuse details ↗Current Florida FFA study list · verified September 2025
Open the current rule publication ↗Study the 48 pork retail-cut rows.
Every row keeps species, primal, retail code, and cookery code together. The cut chart above explains broad regions; this table is the current event list.
Showing 48 of 48
Read codes as a group: a retail number alone may repeat under a different species or primal. Pork Sausage Links and Sausage are separate printed entries sharing retail code 87.
Current official Adobe publication transcribed from enlarged visual tables; older searchable editions were not used for the corrections listed below. Source table: Adobe pages 5–6; printed guide pages 345–346. This study aid transcribes the listed facts and does not reproduce the rule pages.
Florida FFA Middle School Meats Evaluation · September 2025 ↗Real meat photo · reference example
See the actual product.
This licensed species photo adds product context. It is not a cut-boundary chart or a subcut answer; use the current list and labeled map for identification.
Open full-resolution photo ↗Current event reference
Florida FFA rules control the list.
This page displays a verified transcription of the eligible retail rows and does not reproduce a handbook.
Open current Florida FFA Meats rules ↗Historical map reference
Swine cut locations
The local high-resolution chart is available on this page. It helps with region study; current names and codes are in the FFA list above.
Open the source publication ↗Study distinction
External anatomy and meat cuts are separate.
For live-animal body parts, return to the livestock photo study. For carcass cuts, use the labeled butcher chart and current FFA cut list.
Open live-animal body-parts study →Swine practice terms
These are terms used in this study set. Current Florida FFA rules decide the season’s official answer list; wider chart regions remain context.
Boston Shoulder (Butt)
Upper shoulder wholesale region behind the head.
How to find itLook at the top half of the front quarter, above the picnic shoulder.
Do not confusePicnic Shoulder — picnic is the lower front shoulder/foreleg region.
Picnic Shoulder
Lower shoulder and upper foreleg wholesale region.
How to find itStay in the front quarter but move below the Boston shoulder toward the foreleg.
Do not confuseBoston Shoulder — Boston is directly above; Side begins behind the shoulder.
Loin
Long upper-middle wholesale region between shoulder and ham.
How to find itTrace the topline from behind the shoulder nearly to the hindquarter.
Do not confuseSide — side is below it; Ham is behind it.
Spare Ribs
Rib portion in the lower-middle side beneath the loin.
How to find itGo below the loin into the front-to-middle belly-side over the rib cage.
Do not confuseSide — spare ribs sit within the lower side area; Side extends farther rearward.
Side
Lower-middle belly/side wholesale region behind the shoulder and below the loin.
How to find itFind the lower side under the rear half of the loin, ahead of the ham.
Do not confuseSpare Ribs — spare ribs are the more forward rib portion; Ham is behind.
Ham
Large rear-leg and hindquarter wholesale region.
How to find itGo to the thick muscular rear quarter of the hog.
Do not confuseLoin — loin is ahead and above; Side is ahead and below.
Neighbor checks
Contest recall gets faster when the student knows what sits in front of, behind, above and below each answer.
Boston Shoulder (Butt)vsPicnic Shoulder
Boston is the upper shoulder; Picnic is the lower shoulder and upper foreleg.
LoinvsSide
Loin is the long upper middle; Side is the lower belly-side underneath it.
Spare RibsvsSide
Spare Ribs come from the forward lower side beneath the loin; the poster uses the Side as the parent outside region.
LoinvsHam
Loin ends before the hindquarter; Ham is the large rear leg and quarter.
JowlvsBoston Shoulder (Butt)
Jowl stays on the cheek and lower jaw; Boston Shoulder begins behind the head.
Current event rulesFlorida FFA Middle School Livestock Evaluation
Use current season rules to confirm event terms and judging format.
Open current event hub ↗Placement cross-checkUniversity of Kentucky Swine Discovery
Used as a secondary education reference for how wholesale regions relate on the animal.
Open Extension resource ↗Practice nextPut the study terms under pressure.
After the labeled chart and neighbor checks feel familiar, use the Livestock practice page to continue.
Practice livestock cuts →