Columnists - The Durango Herald

Chaco Canyon the subject of symphony

Musician, composer, teacher and illustrator Gary Gackstatter has always been fond of the Southwest as well as a fan of musician R. Carlos Nakai. So when Gackstatter was approaching a deadlin...

DATE: Mar 6, 2024 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

San Juan River’s ‘ever-moving pile of sediment’ requires new vigilance

When the San Juan River flows out of the San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado, it contributes 15% of Lake Powell’s water. But there’s a problem: The river carries a hefty 55% of the s...

DATE: Mar 6, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

On water compact: ‘Colorado will never get a better deal’

I’ve been a water engineer in Southwest Colorado for 50 years and watched the importance of the Colorado River Compact increase from a background document to front and center as the current ...

DATE: Mar 6, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Two sons turn back on mother

DEAR ABBY: Eight years ago, my oldest son, a police officer, quit talking to us. We had no fights, no arguments – he just stopped answering our calls, and I no longer was allowed to see my g...

DATE: Mar 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Husband pressures wife to dress more provocatively

DEAR ABBY: My husband wants me to wear more revealing clothing. I’ve always enjoyed dressing attractively, and have never felt behind the times or like a frump, but I do have my opinion abou...

DATE: Mar 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Husband gives spouse unthinkable ultimatum

DEAR ABBY: My husband has a poor relationship with our son and his wife. They want nothing to do with him and don’t want him around the grandchildren because of how he acts. My husband tells...

DATE: Mar 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Catching up on local trail talk

Dear Action Line: Where the heck have you been? Do we need to start looking for a new Action Line? Did you just run out of things to say that (you think) are witty? – A.L. Dear A.L.: Lo...

DATE: Mar 4, 2024 | CATEGORY: Action Line

NRA, the U.S. Supreme Court and the public trust

A parallel exists between Wayne La Pierre, former leader of the National Rifle Association, and Clarence Thomas, a Supreme Court justice. Both men have damaged public trust in their respecti...

DATE: Mar 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Will retain competent attorneys, prevent wrongful convictions’

I’m running for district attorney in the 6th District so my neighbors will live in the safest place in the state. I have 18 years of overall criminal law experience and prosecuted well over ...

DATE: Mar 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Experience, vision to continue the work with leadership’

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two groups: defense attorneys, representing clients, and district attorneys, prosecuting crimes and seeking justice for victims....

DATE: Mar 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Another layer of cleaning out

I’m trying to clean out a bit. My house feels cluttered and it’s a good winter project. As I age, it feels good to not leave all this for my kids to deal with when I die. My house is small, ...

DATE: Mar 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Getting your seeds started

Editor’s note: Get Growing, written by the La Plata County Extension Office’s Master Gardener Program, appears during the growing season. It features timely tips and suggestions for your...

DATE: Mar 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Get Growing

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