About

Welcome & thank you for stopping by to learn about Battle of the Cattle, known as BOC to all of our fabulous kids!  Battle of the Cattle is a family-operated prospect steer show series, open to youth from all across the nation.  Battle of the Cattle launched its first summer steer series in 2015, but it became a project of ours in 2009.  In its early days, we put on nutrition clinics, showmanship seminars and Meier Show Cattle summer camps.  As our seminars grew, we transitioned into small prospect shows that offered the same valuable information as our seminars.  Through trial & error, we formulated a format that worked well and a focus on educating exhibitors that remains the pillar of our organization today.  Finally, in 2015, Battle of the Cattle was launched and truly the rest of our story continues to amaze us.  We pride ourselves as being a “grass roots” organization that has the most incredible followers.  The difference at BOC…is we are family! So, here we are getting ready to launch our 25th show in the summer of 2021 and we couldn’t be more excited!

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After exhibiting livestock across the U.S. with our boys and with Shane’s cattle judging experiences, we’ve had the opportunity to be a part of many shows.  As the years passed, we continued to discuss the elements of shows that we really liked and numerous areas that we felt like we could improve upon.  Shane started to keep these ideas in a notebook.  His “notebook of show ideas” has become an inside joke to our family.  The more ideas he had, the more work the rest of us had to do.  Every good dreamer needs people to help them put those ideas into action, right?  With Shane’s lifetime of experience in the livestock show industry and Tonya’s passion as a teacher and event planning talents, putting on shows seemed like a natural fit.  We never saw ourselves as a competitor to other shows or organizations, but hoped we could implement steps that would help improve the industry, as a whole.  We called it, “raising the bar of excellence.”  We knew that a new breed format was imperative. So, by building a formula to break down all the color combinations, we were able to come up with a seven breed color format, which allows judges to better evaluate cattle based on similar characteristics. 

 

Our signature color breed format, along with the addition of the British Cross category, are just a few of the innovative details that set BOC apart.  We also knew we wanted to provide the most equal showing environment possible.  So, we implemented a two-judge, one ring system, clear jars during classification and several other steps that help ensure a more equal show experience for every exhibitor. We also knew that showmanship was a dying art.  We were committed to making showmanship “cool” again, because after all, it’s a direct reflection on our industry.  It’s the part that the public sees.  We pride our organization in offering showmanship demonstrations, one-on-one showmanship practice and then a finale showmanship contest that draws almost 350 young exhibitors. 

 

At BOC, money we raise through sponsorships and steer entries go back to our show attendees in the form of scholarships, amazing custom awards, giveaways and cash prizes. We enjoy awarding great kids for their efforts in and outside of the show ring!  Creating an atmosphere that was kid-centered, educational, organized and enjoyable was also highly important to us.   We are proud that our shows run on time, are highly-organized, offer a multitude of learning seminars, and have many interactive experiences for the entire family.  BOC has always offered a junior-national type of environment and this summer, we are thrilled to  offer the first-ever Junior National for Show Steers. This has been years in the making and the timing is finally right.  Come join us for this fun, history-making experience and let us welcome you to the BOC Family!

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We invite you to come experience the BOC difference for yourself! 
THE MEIER FAMILY
Shane, Tonya, Mills & Mason