Columnists - The Durango Herald

Neighbors have some growing up to do

DEAR ABBY: I am 54 and already facing ageism. Some of my neighbors who are in their 30s and 40s make ageist statements aimed at me. These people do not know me but happen to live in my build...

DATE: Oct 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

H. Jackson Clark II: A kind heart with open hands wove the best of us together

As we get older, we naturally consider our life’s impact on the world we live in. What is our lasting legacy in the eyes of the people around us? This is an easy question to answer for H. J...

DATE: Oct 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Storytellers with Erik Nordstrom, Josie Loner, Easton Tripp

Moe Cooley likes a good story. He also likes a good song, and he knows that behind every good song there’s a story. Cooley’s no stranger to either, as he’s a musician who has kicked around m...

DATE: Oct 1, 2025 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Psychedelics and the fear of dying

Have you noticed that people seem to be more open to talking and learning about death? In recent years, people have been exposed to a significant increase in death education. They are more a...

DATE: Oct 1, 2025 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Wife target of husband’s punchlines

DEAR ABBY: I’ve been married for 49 years. Of course, we’ve had our ups and downs. My husband, “Sid,” said he was joking at the store the other day. When I talk, I gesture with my hands. A w...

DATE: Oct 1, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Voluntary family planning: the most effective, humane and least expensive way to address ecological overshoot

I was driving up Main Avenue, listening to a book and looking for the eye doctor’s office where I had an appointment. I glanced at the clock and realized that I was almost late – then I real...

DATE: Oct 1, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

From wild to mild, the West is here to stay

People can respect progress and embrace Western heritage

DATE: Sep 28, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Exploring the world differently: My experience traveling with dementia

Before I dive into my thoughts on traveling with dementia, I wanted to give you an update on how my condition is going. I’m definitely feeling a bit weaker, and my balance and coordination h...

DATE: Sep 28, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Generous dad risks financial well-being

DEAR ABBY: My father, who is retired, has always had a big heart and almost no regard for himself. Anytime he meets someone in a tough situation, he does whatever he can to make it easier, g...

DATE: Sep 28, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Never miss a beat: Staying connected and in the know with the city of Durango

If you’ve ever felt like it’s hard to keep up with everything going on in Durango, you’re not alone. Between road projects, community events, council decisions and new initiatives, there’s a...

DATE: Sep 28, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Tina Peters, Trump, and the defense of justice: states’ rights in a hyperpoliticized time

The horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk has left our country reeling. A suspect was arrested, and the next question is whether he will be prosecuted federally or by the State of Utah. Thi...

DATE: Sep 28, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Celebrating a year of growth and success with La Plata County 4-H

As we wrap up another incredible 4-H year, I am inspired and so proud of the many experiences and successes our members have achieved. From local activities to international adventures, La P...

DATE: Sep 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

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Photos: High County Cattle Auction

High Country Cattle Auction brings top-notch stock and country charm to Southwest ColoradoFamily run, generational business dates back to 1940s

BREEN – The family-owned and operated High Country Cattle Auction is “in the bones” of the Cugnini family, said third-generation owner Chris Cugnini. The business was founded by Chris’ grandfather, Pat Cugnini, in the 1940s. Pat then passed the business down to his son, Duane Cugnini, who then turned the business over to daughters, Becky Hawkins and Chris Cugnini, whose daughters plan to take over the family business one day. The auction, which takes place once or twice a month from April to January at 13062 La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140) near Breen, attracts ranchers, farmers and those in the cattle industry from far and wide.

Former Durango resident Steve Greenburg has been attending the High Country Cattle auction for more than 40 years, and continues to travel to Breen all the way from Arizona, where he now lives. He attended the September auction last week, where around 1,200 animals were up for sale. Greenburg said effective bidding takes concentration and a practiced hand. “You want to make sure you don’t pay too much,” he said. “And if you do, you want to buy the business.” Amber Belvin, employee of 15 years and Chris’ operations “sidekick,” said bidders are most often looking for signs of good health in an animal, like a plump, filled-out body. If bidding on a herd, a look of uniformity among the animals is key to a good purchase, she said.

Despite Greenburg already having a handful of filled out bidding cards marking the cattle he had won within an hour of the Sept. 23 auction, he said the day was young. One sale day last year culminated in Greenburg taking home 22 semi-trucks worth of cattle, he said. Chris said Greenburg is one of the auction’s longest-term and most generous supporters. “(Greenburg) pays top-dollar,” Chris said. “And (that) makes me feel good, because we’re giving back to (the sellers). I know these people around here, and they’re the hardest working people on the planet. If I can get them 10 or 20 cents more per pound, then that makes us happy.”

Cattle auction prices have gone up in recent years, both at High Country and nationally, Chris said. This year, animals are going for $2,500 to $3,000 a head – double and triple the average prices from last year. The increase, Chris said, is in part because of a screw worm making the rounds in cattle in Mexico, which has lowered the number of cattle coming in from the south, along with people subdividing and selling cattle branches, and local cattle herd numbers diminishing, which has increased demand.

Chris called the price increase “good and bad.” “It’s great if you’re a seller, because there’s prices that you’ve never seen before,” she said. “Older men come in, (and they) can’t believe the prices. Some of them do this for a living, and they count on that, so they’re so happy.” Belvin said some smaller farmers opt to buy less cattle during price surges like this, but echoed Chris’ sentiment about sellers being ecstatic about the unprecedented profit.

Local cattle farmer Lawrence Martinez entered 59 steers and 95 heifers in the auction Tuesday. Martinez has been involved in the High Country Cattle Auction “pretty much forever,” but recent years have been especially fruitful for sales, he said. “These last few years, we’ve been coming here to sell, because this is the place to go,” he said. “I wouldn’t sell anywhere else. (The market here has) been so good.”The auction’s community roots and generational touch doesn’t stop at the Cugnini family: Shane Hatch, the auctioneer, took over the job after his father’s death, Belvin said.

The auction serves as an opportunity for community members to get together and bond, Belvin said. “When we do have an auction, it’s a great place where local farmers and ranchers can get together and talk,” she said. “They come to the cafe, and they talk about the hay, and the drought situation, and I think it’s a good connecting point.” Chris and Belvin both expressed feeling glad the auction can supply so much generational value to the local farming and ranching community. “I mean, what other business can you think of around here that’s the same, right?” Belvin said. “We’re fair, and we’re very meticulous at our jobs. We take it very seriously, because this is (some peoples’) livelihood.”

For the Cugninis – and long-term employees like Belvin, who have become an honorary part of the close-knit High Country Cattle Auction family – the heart of the business aligns with the heart of the local farming and ranching community. “We’re just good, hard working people – Americans – that want to make a good living, and live off this great land,” Belvin said. epond@durangoherald.com

Family run, generational business dates back to 1940s