About this event
Students grade 2 to 6 beef carcasses for quality and yield (20 points each) and place 4 to 8 evaluation classes, including keep/cull and value-based pricing (50 points each). They answer five questions on each of two or three placed classes, without notes (5 points per question). They identify 30 to 40 retail cuts by species, primal, cookery and name (7 points per cut) and take a 100-question written exam on iCEV (100 points). The team then solves four practicums chosen from meat formulation, anatomy, retail ID, keep/cull, value-based pricing and food safety (50 points each), plus a 20-point teamwork rubric. No times are printed except a two-minute stand-back on placing classes. Teams have four members and all four scores count: 600 to 975 points per student and 2,620 to 4,120 per team, depending on how many carcasses, classes and cuts are used. Open to grades 7-12 under the general rules. Students work about three hours in a cooler near 0 degrees Celsius. They must wear a hard hat, clean white frock, hairnet, warm clothes and closed-toe shoes, with no gum, candy, jewelry or exposed piercings; Official Dress is not worn during the event. The committee supplies pencils, a clipboard, a calculator, paper, grading worksheets and scan forms. Bring no notes, paper or electronic devices. State winners advance to the national event held with the 100th National FFA Convention and Expo, Oct 27 to 30, 2027, in Indianapolis.
FormatTest + Skills
DurationWritten exam not stated, individual classes not stated (2-minute stand-back on placings), team practicums not stated, about 3 hours in the cooler
Solo or teamTeam of 4
CategoryFood Products and Processing Systems
Your plan
How to study
Built from the official handbook. Take the check and read every lesson here with no account; a free account keeps your progress and opens flashcards, practice and full exams.
Find your weakest area
Take the 8-question check below: one question from each of the 8 biggest areas. It tells you where to start.
Start the checkLearn every area
Every area of the official handbook is below. Each has a short lesson, flashcards and practice, plus free reading.
See the areasPractice until every bar is full
Practice gives you one question at a time and leans toward the areas you miss. Your readiness meter fills as you get them right in every area.
PracticeTake a full-length exam
100 questions, the official length. Your readiness meter counts your last 3 full exams from the past 30 days, and 90% fills each one.
Take a practice exam
The areas of the exam
Food Chemistry Principles
Food Handling, Packaging & Storage Procedures
Food Safety & Sanitation Methods
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems
Beef quality and yield grading
Carcass and meat product placing
Keep/cull and value-based pricing
Retail meat cuts identification
Processed meat specifications
Meat formulation
Meat anatomy
Start here
Find your weakest area
8 questions, one from each of the 8 biggest areas of the Meats Evaluation and Technology exam. Each one is graded the moment you answer, with the reason, and the last screen tells you which area to study first. No account needed.
Exam day
What to expect
100-question written exam
Official format: Written exam not stated, individual classes not stated (2-minute stand-back on placings), team practicums not stated, about 3 hours in the cooler.
Written from the handbook
The exam covers the areas the event's handbook lists, from the references it names. Practice questions here are drawn from the same areas.
How you advance
How many advance from districts to states and on to the National FFA Convention & Expo (National Convention) depends on your association's rules. Study the official handbook: it lists every part of the event and how each is scored.
Exam format
- Questions100 questions
- TeamTeam of 4
Competition levels: District Career Development Events, then State Career Development Events, then National FFA Convention & Expo
Official reference books
Listed in the official FFA handbook. Your school or public library may have them.
- Meat Evaluation Handbook, ordered online through Lulu.com (paid book)
- Meat Buyer's Guide, North American Meat Institute (under Resources)
- Livestock Harvest and Red Meat Production: Grading, Fabrication & Marketing, CEV Multimedia (paid course)
- AMSA Food Safety & Science Certification study guide, American Meat Science Association (the written exam is based on it)
- Retail Cuts Code Sheet with Cookery, processed meat class guidelines and the National Pork Board backfat policy, printed in the handbook
Guidelines and resources
Bookmark to saveCurated by ChapterPrep. Free unless noted. External links open in a new tab.