Thank you - The Durango Herald

Housing Solutions for the Southwest grateful for donations

Housing Solutions for the Southwest would like to express our gratitude to St. Columba Church and Power to Act, Kristen Carico for organizing the donation of household items. We ...

DATE: Sep 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Know Your Dough receives donation

Know Your Dough, a nonprofit that provides tailored, in-person financial wellness programs for local youths, is grateful to have received a donation from the El Pomar Foundation. ...

DATE: Sep 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Pathways to Independence

At Pathways to Independence, a Durango school district program, our main goal is to foster independence for the students in all areas, including community access. All the students use the tr...

DATE: Sep 12, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Cub Scout Pack 508 thanks local businesses

The boys and girls of Cub Scout Pack 508 would like to publicly thank Tim, Vessie and Carly from Zia Taqueria for helping us get delicious food for our annual banquet earlier this year, and ...

DATE: Sep 3, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Judy Olszewski

Recently, I had a group led by Karen from the La Plata Leadership Group who came to my house and did cleaning. They did a wonderful job, and my house is sparkling clean. I appreciate it so m...

DATE: Sep 3, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

San Juan National Forest thanks Backcountry Hunters and Anglers for volunteer help

The Columbine Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest thanks local volunteers from the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers for their help in installing travel management signs Aug. 17. ...

DATE: Sep 3, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Durango Fall Blaze grateful for community support

The Durango Fall Blaze would like to thank those who attended the Aug. 14 Community Concerts in the Secret Garden at the Rochester. La La Bones delivered some diverse and original bluegrass ...

DATE: Sep 3, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Backpackers grateful for Durango, Silverton community

While backpacking along the Colorado Trail on Aug. 12, an event occurred that left my friend Alex Stucky and I devastated, bewildered but also in incredible awe. In an evening without a whis...

DATE: Sep 3, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Mount Allison Go-Getters 4-H Club

The Mount Allison Go-Getters 4-H Club would like to thank the buyers who bought our members animals. They are: Durango Muffler and Brake bought Eli Armendariz’s Market Turkeys....

DATE: Sep 3, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Botanical society thanks attendees, donors

Durango Botanical Society’s Member and Community Appreciation Party last weekend exceeded our expectations. Thanks to the DBS docents and volunteers for helping make this event a ...

DATE: Aug 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Comfort Keepers

Comfort Keepers of Durango would like to thank San Juan Basin Health Department for sponsoring our all staff meeting and bringing to our attention the valuable preventative screenings availa...

DATE: Aug 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Schaff family grateful to the Harper family and D&SNG staff

The M. Sterling Schaff family would like to express our gratitude to the Harper family and the D&SNG staff for the memorial ride for M. Sterling Schaff on June 24. Thank you for ...

DATE: Aug 23, 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