Columnists - The Durango Herald

Bret Stephens: On the compromises that are fatal to liberalism

In January, in what now seems like a bygone age, writer George Packer delivered a memorable speech, “The Enemies of Writing,” for the honor of winning the Hitchens Prize. “Why is...

DATE: Nov 13, 2020 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Masks challenge deaf citizens

Dear Abby: As we return to work, businesses and expanded health care are opening up after the pandemic shutdown. We all are pretty much required to wear masks anywhere we go these days. ...

DATE: Nov 12, 2020 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Thom Chacon takes music international

Italy digs on the music of local singer-songwriter Thom Chacon. He’s one of many roots/folk/Americana musicians who sells just as many, if not more, records outside America. Chat...

DATE: Nov 12, 2020 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Celebrate Thanksgiving with a simple meal full of tradition

Normally, meal planning is a strategy to make life easier, save money and choose healthier food. Love it or hate it, there are a handful of meals a year that even the most resist...

DATE: Nov 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Six nutrition principles most fad diets don’t include

It’s been almost a year since COVID-19 butted its ugly head in the world. That might mean your kids are still at home, your favorite gym is closed, your kids don’t have school sp...

DATE: Nov 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: Healing Nutrition

Letter-writing fades when needed

Dear Abby: Would you please address again the importance of expressing gratitude with a handwritten note when a generous gift has been given? We grandparents would love it to be acknowle...

DATE: Nov 10, 2020 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Dog-poo bags might line the path to hell

Dear Action Line: It’s pretty much agreed that hikers who don’t pick up their dog waste on the trail are going straight to hell. But what about those who bag it and just leave it on the ...

DATE: Nov 9, 2020 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Our many programs educate, serve county’s residents in crucial ways

In 1914, the U.S. Congress formalized what is now called “Extension” through the Smith-Lever Act. It established the U.S. Department of Agriculture partnership with land-grant un...

DATE: Nov 9, 2020 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Buy local or bye-bye local this winter

You know me by now. I’m all about keeping our economy going and all of us thriving – which has never been more important in the 38 years I’ve been here in Durango. We all need to ...

DATE: Nov 7, 2020 | CATEGORY: From the Chamber

Will hope and beauty and being present get us through?

November is the cruelest month. It is the month when people I’ve known and loved have died. The clocks change and now it’s dark at 6. COVID-19 is still rampant with no end in sig...

DATE: Nov 6, 2020 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Woman’s relationship on the rocks

Dear Abby: My man of three years and I are at a crossroads. He has gone from my boyfriend, to fiancé, back to boyfriend, to friend, to “I don’t know what he is now.” He showers me with g...

DATE: Nov 6, 2020 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Curls that aren’t so cute

We’ve all seen advertising pictures of little girls with cute curly hair. Those of us that fly fish have seen a fly cast that falls several feet short of the intended target because the line...

DATE: Nov 6, 2020 | CATEGORY: Flies & Lies

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