Firearms - The Durango Herald

GOP Senate candidates discuss guns, abortion at conservative conference

Joe O’Dea and Ron Hanks answer nearly the same questions during two separate conversations

DATE: Jun 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Police investigate a shooting death on north Main Avenue in Durango

Man found dead with gunshot wound at Spanish Trails Inn & Suites

DATE: May 9, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango car lot riddled with bullets in apparent late-night drive-by

Owner estimates damage at $35,000 to $45,000

DATE: May 4, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Murder trial begins for Ignacio man suspected of strangling, shooting wife

Damon Mathews accused of killing Rachel Ream on New Year’s Eve 2020

DATE: Apr 15, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango man suspected of escape, shooting officer faces federal charge, then state offense

Elias Buck faces 10 years in prison for weapons violation

DATE: Apr 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango man suspected of shooting gun, hitting hiker in San Juan National Forest

Suspect allegedly fired gun at sign; shrapnel hit bystander in arm

DATE: Feb 24, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office identifies victim of shooting southwest of Durango

No arrests have been made in death of 54-year-old man

DATE: Jan 17, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango fugitive suspected of shooting Farmington officer is arrested in Phoenix

Elias Buck spent 19 days on the run after escaping from the La Plata County Jail

DATE: Jan 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Demand for guns and ammo near record highs, but some shops hit hard by supply chain hang-ups

Colorado Bureau of Investigation recorded 487,097 firearm transactions in 2020

DATE: Jan 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

What impact could a Supreme Court ruling have on Colorado gun laws?

La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith issues about 30 concealed carry permits per week

DATE: Dec 27, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Domestic violence offender sentenced to federal prison for weapons violation

Durango man was unlawfully in possession of six firearms

DATE: Dec 9, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Prosecutors file criminal charges against bail bondsman who shot Durango fugitive

Clint Simmons told police he accidentally fired his gun

DATE: Dec 7, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

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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