Columnists - The Durango Herald

To honor Larry Valdez, city found a Way

Dear Action Line: Can you tell me anything about the Larry Valdez for whom Larry Valdez Way is named? It’s that short road that goes from East Eighth Avenue to Camino del Rio. Just curio...

DATE: May 6, 2024 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Long time friend

How a river can be a great companion for decades

DATE: May 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Sports

With e-bike incentives, Colorado has to rethink safety, helmet laws

While e-bikes are convenient and eco-friendly, the potential risks of traumatic brain injuries with the increased speed cannot be ignored. Earlier this month, Colorado began offering a new r...

DATE: May 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Lament higher prices yet perpetuate inflation through tipping’

Tipping is a curious practice. It is optional – yet done – in spite of its undesired inflationary effect. During the pandemic, the central bank lowered interest rates, a move traditionally u...

DATE: May 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Dementia: ‘Some thoughts on discrimination from caregivers’

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin When we are met with a dementia diagnosis, one that robs an individual of hi...

DATE: May 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Time for change

This is one of the most emotional and difficult articles that I have written as I step down as the Durango Chamber of Commerce CEO. After a little over 17 incredible years of service, this d...

DATE: May 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: From the Chamber

Steps to take to avoid bats – and rabies – in Colorado

As spring brings warmer weather, many animals emerge from winter hibernation and are visible in our communities. Some wild mammals can carry rabies, including skunks, raccoons, foxes and coy...

DATE: May 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Bills on school finance, fire districts wolverines, perinatal health, Indian schools, Narcan, climate literacy, water

From the BS Factor to impact fees for fire districts, from wolverines to perinatal health outcomes, I have sponsored a wide range of bills this year. It’s been an interesting one. When I ran...

DATE: May 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Son won’t allow mom to find happiness

DEAR ABBY: My sister “Sandy” divorced her husband 15 years ago. Her oldest son, “Nick,” has never gotten over it. He’s 30 now and has treated her badly over the years. He not only vandalized...

DATE: May 2, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Jazz orchestra celebrates art form

The world of music lovers can thank America for jazz. Sure, the U-S of A has kicked down a load of recognizable genres, but arguably the one genre that spread quickly around the world is jaz...

DATE: May 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

As storage facilities spread, ‘giving always more important’

A few years ago, I turned a carport into a bedroom. But first I had to empty out the books, papers, furniture, rugs and tools that were in the carport. Then I took it all to a storage unit, ...

DATE: May 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Dolores River Canyon Country: ‘Preserve little remaining wilderness for biodiversity’

Colorado Public Lands Day is coming up on May 18, and it’s important to consider how we balance multiple uses on our public lands. I envision a future where Colorado’s public lands have bett...

DATE: May 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Photos: Cowboy Gathering Social and Parade

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