Health - The Durango Herald

U.S. pregnancy deaths are up, especially among minorities

Pregnancy-related deaths are rising in the United States and the main risk factor is being black, according to new reports that highlight racial disparities in care during and after childbir...

DATE: May 8, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

The next best thing to detox

Spring is here, and it’s a great time to “spring clean” your body. However, not all bodies can handle a detox. If you’re eating a standard American diet filled with sugar and pr...

DATE: May 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Healing Nutrition

Surge in U.S. measles cases leads to extraordinary measures

NEW YORK – Quarantines in California. Fines in New York City. Orders for some people to avoid public places in Rockland County, New York. As an outbreak of measles surges across t...

DATE: Apr 29, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

Study: Kids’ suicides spiked after Netflix’s ‘13 Reasons’

Suicides among U.S. kids aged 10 to 17 jumped to a 19-year high in the month after the release of a popular TV series that depicted a girl ending her life, researchers said. The s...

DATE: Apr 29, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

U.S. measles cases hit highest mark in 25 years

NEW YORK – Measles in the U.S. has climbed to its highest level in 25 years, closing in on 700 cases this year in a resurgence largely attributed to misinformation that is turning parents ag...

DATE: Apr 26, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

Is it possible to drink without the harmful effects?

Growing movement tries to have its cocktails and drink them too

DATE: Apr 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Food

New York outbreaks drive U.S. measles count up to 626

NEW YORK – Outbreaks in New York state continue to drive up the number of U.S. measles cases, which are approaching levels not seen in 25 years. Health officials say 71 more cases...

DATE: Apr 22, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

Two-wave U.S. flu season is now the longest in a decade

NEW YORK – Three months ago, this flu season was shaping up to be short and mild in the U.S. But a surprising second viral wave has made it the longest in 10 years. This flu seaso...

DATE: Apr 22, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

Trendy CBD rocks retail world, but does it work?

NEW YORK – It’s showing up in everything from skin creams to bath balms to dog treats – an elixir that can supposedly reduce anxiety and help you sleep. The ingredient? CBD, or ...

DATE: Apr 17, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

Managing your stress: The eternal energy drainer

Are you stressed? You’re probably thinking, “Ha! Who isn’t?” You’re right. Stress in our lives is constant. It’s been around since the beginning of life as we know it, and it’s no...

DATE: Apr 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Healing Nutrition

Study challenges health benefits of moderate drinking

LONDON – It might just be enough to kill your buzz: A new study challenges the idea that a drink or two a day could actually be good for you. In a study conducted in China, the re...

DATE: Apr 7, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

U.S. health officials alarmed by paralyzing illness in kids

NEW YORK – One morning last fall, 4-year-old Joey Wilcox woke up with the left side of his face drooping. It was the first sign of an unfolding nightmare. Three days la...

DATE: Apr 5, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

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