Columnists - The Durango Herald

Togetherness strains relationship

Dear Abby: I have been in a relationship with a wonderful man, “Andy,” for two years. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. We are both divorced with children, and they get along like bro...

DATE: Jan 7, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Avant Horizon moves at a fast pace

Local band Avant Horizon formed out of a Bob Marley tune. Members of the local quintet, who are Ellie Ferguson on vocals, Andy Gent on keyboards, Tyler Kelley on guitar, and a rh...

DATE: Jan 7, 2021 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Three simple principles to guide your food choices

Make every bite count. This is the call to action from the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2020-25). Catchy, and practical, this messaging is intended to encourage Ameri...

DATE: Jan 6, 2021 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Jennifer Rubin: Mitch McConnell’s sanctimony is too much to bear

Violent rioters, egged on by the president of the United States, breached the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, causing members and staff to flee or barricade themselves inside the chamber. ...

DATE: Jan 6, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

There is something even better than willpower

As you set your 2021 health goals, keep in mind that relying on discipline (aka willpower) alone has a high probability of leaving you feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and short of your goals...

DATE: Jan 6, 2021 | CATEGORY: Healing Nutrition

Wife grapples with family’s history

Dear Abby: When my husband and I were first married, I had no idea why his mother and sisters were so hostile. When they started treating our children the same way, my husband finally ad...

DATE: Jan 5, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Action Line goes off the rails

Dear Action Line: Where are the three springs of Three Springs? – Mike Silver Dear Mike: Sounds like a simple question. Action Line will make the answer very complex so you have to pay...

DATE: Jan 4, 2021 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Poinsettias can be saved, if you put the work in

As you are reading this, Beth may be taking down the Christmas tree. She is no Scrooge, by any means. Our house has been full of lights and fir boughs, and our mantle is scattere...

DATE: Jan 4, 2021 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Surprising and subtle effects of COVID-19

I was watching “The Crown” the other evening and for a split second thought, “Nobody’s wearing masks, and they’re all gathering too closely together!” It startled me that I’m so used to livi...

DATE: Jan 2, 2021 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

We’ll boom instead of bust locally

Those who have read about Durango’s history know that we’ve been called a “Boom and Bust” town. Well, we’re somewhat in the bust era again thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and cur...

DATE: Jan 2, 2021 | CATEGORY: From the Chamber

Sen. Don Coram: The only certainty for 2021 is uncertainty

As I begin my 11th year in the Colorado General Assembly and look forward to 2021, I wonder what to expect. After 2020, the only thing certain is uncertainty. Last year started o...

DATE: Jan 2, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Rep. Barbara McLachlan: Personal joy is tempered by suffering of many Coloradans

Our holiday this year made me realize, again, how lucky I am. Our children quarantined for two weeks before visiting and we all had many delicious meals and hearty laughs together...

DATE: Jan 2, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

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