Columnists - The Durango Herald

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month

By Al Winzerling La Plata County Humane Society Every 60 seconds, an animal gets abused. What is cruelty to animals and how can we prevent it? Animal cruelty is the abu...

DATE: Apr 17, 2020 | CATEGORY: From the Humane Society

Melissa Youssef: Well that was quite a year as Durango’s mayor

What extraordinary times these are! On April 21, my term as mayor comes to an end. In a reflection of how life in Durango has changed, I’ll pass the gavel virtually. As tradition would have ...

DATE: Apr 17, 2020 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Internet shows are the new ‘normal’

Social media and other internet platforms are finally doing some good in the world. All it took was a global pandemic and musicians wanting to eat and pay their rent. It’s no sec...

DATE: Apr 16, 2020 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Woman keeps neighbor up at night

Dear Abby: I live in a densely populated luxury high-rise apartment building in a busy downtown neighborhood that has a diverse mix of residents. I have lived here for four years and hav...

DATE: Apr 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Action Line pulls column, apologizes to readers

Editor’s note: The Durango Herald has removed Saturday’s Action Line column from its website and regrets that it was published. It targeted New Mexico visitors and offended many of our r...

DATE: Apr 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Confusing coronavirus refund policies frustrate travelers

If you’re trying to get a refund for a canceled trip, prepare for an unpleasant surprise. Although some airlines, cruise lines and hotels have offered customers their money back amid a wave ...

DATE: Apr 13, 2020 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Southwest Colorado residents can join effort to protect public lands

Open skies, big mountains, wild rivers, great trails and great people. We live in a vibrant, thriving community surrounded by spectacular public lands. We are drawn to Southwest ...

DATE: Apr 13, 2020 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Coronavirus affecting everyone

I wanted to write about something other than coronavirus this week, mostly to give The Durango Herald readers a break from this all-encompassing issue. But that wouldn’t be authentic. The no...

DATE: Apr 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Dick White: Pandemic also shows threat from climate change

A striking Few alive remember the sacrifices of World War II. No conflict or threat since that time called for such universal mobilization. COVID-19 is different. Experts have been predict...

DATE: Apr 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

What a difference a month makes

In my last column in early March, I wrote about several events and promotions occurring in spring and summer. All of that has now changed, many things are canceled and others are in a holdin...

DATE: Apr 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: What's Up Downtown

Adventure seekers: FLC award inspires students to pursue outdoor dreams

Author’s note: Even with a viral pandemic and a downturn in the economy, it is important to plan for the future. Fort Lewis College is doing just that. If Durangoans can’t spend time out...

DATE: Apr 11, 2020 | CATEGORY: Gulliford's Travels

Comets are unpredictable travelers through the solar system

Greetings, Stargazers. Now that the days are getting warmer and our entertainment options are more limited, this might be the perfect time to sit in isolation under the stars and...

DATE: Apr 10, 2020 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Photos: Durango High School boys golf competes at stateDemons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Demons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

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