Columnists - The Durango Herald

Democrats are invoking the ‘Rule of Law’ selectively and hypocritically

The continuous outrage against Donald Trump is fascinating to watch. A friend of mine who is a nationally prominent psychologist (and a liberal) told me that we’re watching true mass-hysteri...

DATE: May 18, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Do you want a ‘Save A Shelter Pet’ license plate too?

I recently bought a “Save A Shelter Pet” license plate. I was curious about what impact it actually has on pets in Colorado and La Plata County. Here is what I found out. Funds from the “Sav...

DATE: May 16, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Humane Society

Teen endures stepmom’s harsh treatment

DEAR ABBY: My dear friend, “Sandra,” is married with two children. She and her husband have a 4-year-old son together and another son from her husband’s first marriage who is 14. The 14-year...

DATE: May 16, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

One should – and here is how to – sip single malt Scotch

The Scots are a practical and direct people. They spell whisky without an “e.” The “e” takes up ink and space and is quite simply unnecessary. I was the designated driver for my friends all ...

DATE: May 16, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Resilient, not broken: A public school year worth celebrating

We often hear that schools are in crisis. But here’s what I see: students who adapt, teachers who show up every day with heart and a community that continues to believe in the power of publi...

DATE: May 15, 2025 | CATEGORY: Columnists

Canyons of the Ancients celebrates 25 years

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Encompassing 178,000 acres of public land west of Cortez, the Monument was created on ...

DATE: May 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Culture drinks strategy through a boba straw

Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” That’s still true, but let’s update it for today’s world. Strategy still matters, but culture? Culture drinks strategy thr...

DATE: May 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Chamber

Celebrating 20 years of The Infamous Stringdusters

Happy 20th birthday to the Grammy-winning progressive bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters. And a way to do up 20 years as a band is to play a festival with a load of your festival and ...

DATE: May 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Seasonal soup ready for close-up

DEAR ABBY: Years ago, I purchased your recipe booklet that had a very good recipe for gazpacho (no oil in the recipe). I no longer have that booklet. Could you print the gazpacho recipe? Als...

DATE: May 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Charter schools in Durango provide valuable choices for students and families

When I moved to Southwest Colorado five years ago, I had some concerns about charter schools. I had accepted an AmeriCorps position to serve at Pagosa Peak Open School, a K-eight charter sch...

DATE: May 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

GLP-1 drugs and weight loss: Helpful tool or magic bullet?

GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide have exploded in popularity, with millions of Americans turning to them for weight loss. But are they the magic bullet for sustainable resu...

DATE: May 13, 2025 | CATEGORY: Healing Nutrition

Celebrating our 2025 4-H Scholarship winners

The 4-H program is proud to recognize four outstanding youths who have been awarded this year’s 4-H scholarships. These young leaders have demonstrated hard work, dedication and a commitment...

DATE: May 13, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

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