Columnists - The Durango Herald

On MLK Day: Heroes do not act alone

Every year, the arrival of the Martin Luther King holiday calls us to pause and reflect on King’s legacy. And every year, I’m struck by the same thing: As sincere as we are in our reverenc...

DATE: Jan 15, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Support wildlife, oppose solar facility with no local benefit

La Plata County review has halted the proposed Hesperus Solar until California-based Primergy corrects numerous application deficiencies for the 155-megawatt, industrial-scale solar facility...

DATE: Jan 15, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Live better with life-long learning; La Plata County Extension can help you

After (almost) four years of writing a monthly column for The Durango Herald, I’ve realized how the topics tend to surface as a reflection of adult experience. This month is no exception. At...

DATE: Jan 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Entertainment industry can do better with representation

Happy New Year! Let’s start the year with a little activity. I invite you to think of a movie or television program you have seen that features a character with a disability. Just pick the f...

DATE: Jan 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Comets: Solar system’s tasty leftovers

Greetings, stargazers. Just as when cooking a large meal you often end up with some delicious leftovers, the leftovers from the formation of our solar system are some of the most interesting...

DATE: Jan 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Hurray for snow – now get out there and have fun, be safe!

Ah, winter. As the white stuff piles up around us this year, I’m excited to get out in the mountains – to sled, ski and explore the backcountry. When white-capped, the San Juans are majestic...

DATE: Jan 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Marriage has settled into lonely routine

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married 45 years. We are both retired and have hobbies to keep us busy. My problem is, he has so many friends that he doesn’t have time for any of the t...

DATE: Jan 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Abusive mother-in-law needs to be kept away

DEAR ABBY: I used to have a great relationship with my mother-in-law. I considered her one of my best friends, until her severe drug and alcohol abuse began to ruin her life. Her mental heal...

DATE: Jan 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

iAM MUSIC hosts Second Weekend Series

Jazz fusion is where hard rock meets hard jazz. At times gloriously aggressive or laid back with a psychedelic side, it’s a punkier and sometimes even funkier side of jazz – for jazz fans, a...

DATE: Jan 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Need BLM to prioritize wildlife habitat, migration corridors

In Southwest Colorado, we are fortunate to be located near many Bureau of Land Management lands, where residents and visitors recreate, camp, view wildlife, hunt and fish. Thanks to the remo...

DATE: Jan 11, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Seeking mental health care a strength, not weakness

For most of us, going to the doctor is a regular part of life. We get annual checkups and do our best to follow the doctor’s recommendations. If an issue is found, we see a specialist: For h...

DATE: Jan 11, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Anger issues become hurdle in romance

DEAR ABBY: I have a problem I just can’t identify. I suppose it’s a combination of a lot of issues. I live with my boyfriend and work from home. When it comes to patience about almost anythi...

DATE: Jan 10, 2023 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

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