Columnists - The Durango Herald

Should you take the train? Here’s how to decide

If you’re visiting Southern California, taking the train from Los Angeles to San Diego makes sense – on one level. You’ll see the area’s iconic beaches, strawberry fields and historic railro...

DATE: Jan 25, 2020 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

New hire disappointed to be gofer

Dear Abby: I recently landed a new job and was excited about doing work that would be directly in line with my education and background. I left a job of more than a decade to pursue this...

DATE: Jan 24, 2020 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

It’s important to spay and neuter your pets

By Emily Phillips La Plata County Humane Society Winter may be in full swing, but soon enough, spring will be knocking on our doorstep and trying to knock up your furry...

DATE: Jan 24, 2020 | CATEGORY: From the Humane Society

David Brooks: Behold the Democrats committing political suicide

This is a golden age for “Theyism,” the belief that there is some malevolent, elite “they” out there and “they” are destroying life for the rest of us. There is Donald Trump’s cul...

DATE: Jan 24, 2020 | CATEGORY: David Brooks

Wife of cheater plans for his funeral

Dear Abby: I have been married for 37 years. During that time, my husband has cheated on me and fathered several children. As we have grown older, I have begun to think about...

DATE: Jan 23, 2020 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Nordstrom spearheads music series

Erik Nordstrom is looking to showcase the best of the region’s musical community. The local musician, who plays guitar and sings in rock bands Lawn Chair Kings and Farmington Hil...

DATE: Jan 23, 2020 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Bret Stephens: Of course Sanders could be the next president

“The first principle,” said Richard Feynman, “is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” When it comes to pundits and politics this year, I’d re...

DATE: Jan 22, 2020 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

It’s still a sorry state of affairs with Denver TV

All we get is cheap talk about getting Denver TV. Why can’t each state get that state’s broadcasts? Maybe our lawmakers could pass a huge fee on stations that broadcast out-of-state channels...

DATE: Jan 20, 2020 | CATEGORY: Action Line

David Leonhardt: F.D.R. got it. Most Democrats don’t. Warren does.

In January 1937, near the end of Franklin Roosevelt’s first term as president, Life magazine published a map of the United States spread over two full pages. The headline read: “What Preside...

DATE: Jan 19, 2020 | CATEGORY: David Leonhardt

Barbara McLachlan: Good bills to come this legislative session

We’re off and running! The 2020 state legislative session started last week, and the Capitol is buzzing with predictions and expectations about what will happen this year. We’re also reflect...

DATE: Jan 18, 2020 | CATEGORY: From the State House

Get ready for a Rockin’ Snowdown

It’s time for the great cabin fever reliever, Snowdown! This year’s theme is A Rockin’ Snowdown, so anything rock ’n’ roll-related is welcomed. I joined the Snowdown board of dir...

DATE: Jan 18, 2020 | CATEGORY: What's Up Downtown

Don’t let airlines bully you with their ‘bad’ seats

Ask Clayton Conway about the worst seat on a plane, and he’ll tell you about the time he flew from Denver to Seattle on Frontier Airlines. “It was the worst flight experience I’ve...

DATE: Jan 18, 2020 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

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