Thank you - The Durango Herald

Durango Nordic Center trails world-class

Thank you, Durango Nordic Center, for purchasing the new snow cat to maintain your cross-country ski trails. They are definitely world class to ski on and the grooming is absolutely excellen...

DATE: Jan 23, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Stillwater Music thanks supporters of Winter Wonder Bands event

Thank you to all the people and businesses that made Stillwater Music’s ninth annual Winter Wonder Bands gala concert and fundraiser a big success! Hundreds gathered at the Henry Strater The...

DATE: Jan 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you to the Library Advisory Board and the Friends of the Library

The Durango Botanical Society wishes to thank the Durango Public Library Advisory Board and the Friends of the Library for allocating a substantial contribution from the building fund toward...

DATE: Jan 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you to the Community Foundation

The Durango Botanical Society wishes to thank the Community Foundation and the Bartig-Small Family Fund for their generous donation. DBS is an all-volunteer organization that designs and bui...

DATE: Jan 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Clint Jacobsen

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to compete in the inaugural Know the Snow Rando Race at Purgatory Resort, and I had a great time! It was a brisk, beautiful, alpine glow-bathed morning. The ...

DATE: Jan 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

DeColores Civitan Club thanks local clergy

The DeColores Civitan Club of Durango is honoring local clergy during International Clergy Appreciation Week, Feb. 2 through Feb. 8. DeColores Civitan would like to thank clergy of all faith...

DATE: Jan 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Four Corners Health Care Center grateful for community

The staff and residents at Four Corners Health Care Center would like to thank the St. Columba staff and students for always going above and beyond year after year to make sure all of our re...

DATE: Jan 7, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Friends of the Arts thanks hostess

Durango Friends of the Arts wishes to extend their hearty appreciation to their Holiday Party hostess Sandy Bruce, who held DFAâ€™s last gathering of the year at her ranch home in the Animas...

DATE: Jan 2, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Edith Goodwin

To the family who let us sit in your vehicle while we waited for the ambulance at Elmer’s Corner, we want to thank you! Sorry we were too shook up to get your names. But we were most gratefu...

DATE: Jan 2, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado grateful for donations

Last month, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado made a plea through I am happy to report that with the support of these wonderful local media partners and generous donations fro...

DATE: Jan 2, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Neighbors In Need Alliance grateful to Durango community

Neighbors In Need Alliance and the homeless would like to thank the Durango community for their generous donations of camping equipment and clothes provided Nov. 23 at St. Marks Church. ...

DATE: Dec 19, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Know Your Dough

Know Your Dough, a nonprofit that provides tailored, in-person financial wellness programs for local youths, would like to thank Miller Middle School and the seventh grade teachers, Scott Da...

DATE: Dec 19, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

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

Photos: Ride with the Champions bike parade

Photos: Changing colors

Photos: Fort Lewis College Volleyball sweeps Black Hills StateSkyhawks off to best start since 2006

Skyhawks off to best start since 2006

Photos: Durango High School football takes on Piedra Vista High SchoolDemons’ defense dominates in 17-0 victory on Friday night

Demons’ defense dominates in 17-0 victory on Friday night

Skyhawks beat Lubbock Christian 2-1 in season opener on Thursday

Photos: Four Corners Motorcycle RallyLots of motorcycles and tattoos were on display on Saturday

Lots of motorcycles and tattoos were on display on Saturday

Photos: Four Corners Motorcycle Rally Rodeo

Photos: Durango High School football opens its seasonDemons lost 35-14 to Montrose at home on Friday night

Demons lost 35-14 to Montrose at home on Friday night