Columnists - The Durango Herald

Does moving fairgrounds make horse sense?

Dear Action Line: I’m wondering why the powers-that-be want to move the La Plata County Fairgrounds from its current spot on north Main to a plateau far, far away. I love having it in to...

DATE: May 8, 2023 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Hantavirus coming out of hibernation

It’s that time of year again. Spring cleaning. If you’re lucky, your spring-cleaning soundtrack will include the new arrival of birdsong accompanied by the host of wild critters whose presen...

DATE: May 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Purser can add ‘important, thoughtful voice to LPEA’

We all know that campaign elections, even for local La Plata Energy Association board directors, can have moments of heated tension. I was saddened by Joe Lewandowski’s April 30 guest column...

DATE: May 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Luschen ‘proven energy expert’ who can meet goals, keep costs stable

It is supposed to be fun! Or that, at least, is what keeps me on a bike. The joy and the community we build around two wheels, the Durango trails and mountains, are why I call this place hom...

DATE: May 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Old column helped reader see clearly

DEAR ABBY: I want to thank you for a letter you published in 2007. It came from a woman saying her daughter had “convergence insufficiency disorder,” in which the eye drifts and causes doubl...

DATE: May 6, 2023 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Ancient wisdom coming to the rescue!

A broken arm, a surgery to add a plate and screws to my already metal-filled body, and much pain later, I find myself reflecting on the past several weeks. To lose use of my dominant, right ...

DATE: May 6, 2023 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

What is harm reduction and why do we need it?

There is a lot of information and discussion regarding harm reduction, naloxone, and overdose prevention programs and services – and all for a great reason. Harm reduction programs make our...

DATE: May 6, 2023 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Sometimes ya just gotta laugh

Fishing, and failing, in Belize

DATE: May 5, 2023 | CATEGORY: Sports

‘Grateful to use decades of experience to serve’

My 26 years of utility experience and drive to give back to my community led me to run for La Plata Electric Association’s board of directors. If elected, I will prioritize affordable, relia...

DATE: May 5, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Decisions based on cost, reliability, environmental goals’

A few years back, I made the decision to attend or review La Plata Electric Association board meetings, and study the policies and actions of the board. Our electric co-op does a very good j...

DATE: May 5, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Girlfriend ready to commit

DEAR ABBY: I’m in love with a man I met online. We have been together three years, and I want us to start talking about our future. He has never been married, but he has been in long-term re...

DATE: May 4, 2023 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience

Like them or not, it’s fair to say that you know at least something about The Beatles. You can say you aren’t a fan, but for those “non-fans” you likely know the names John, Paul, George and...

DATE: May 4, 2023 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

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