Thank you - The Durango Herald

Thank you from local parent

Thank you DHS leadership! After 4 years at DHS I would like to thank the entire staff for giving my daughter a fulfilling high school career. The teachers have always made time fo...

DATE: Mar 29, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from AgCeptional Rodeo

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of the teachers and kids who attended or intended to attend the 3rd annual AgCeptional Rodeo for kids with disabilities, at the ...

DATE: Mar 29, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Durango Public Library Advisory Board

The Durango Public Libraryâ€™s Advisory Board extends a well-deserved note of gratitude to two extraordinary people who have provided valuable input and liaison to the LAB for a number of ye...

DATE: Mar 21, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from the American Association of University Women

The American Association of University Women thanks the following for their contributions to making our annual fundraising Book and Author Luncheon on March 16 such a success. Th...

DATE: Mar 21, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic donates event barricades to Silverton community

Thank you to Iron Horse Bicycle Classic for buying the Silverton community event barricades and helping us grow our event infrastructure. This is much needed for event organizers. ...

DATE: Mar 21, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from the Durango Public Library Advisory Board

The Durango Public Library’s Advisory Board extends its congratulations to vice-chairwoman and board member Rachel Turiel for being the recipient of the Women’s Resource Center’s 2019 Vision...

DATE: Mar 15, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

AHS student council grateful for support

Animas High Schoolâ€™s student council would like to thank everyone who helped and supported our Ospreys on Ice Event at Chapman Hill. We would first like to thank Steamworks Bre...

DATE: Mar 15, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you to St Columba School

A standing ovation to the unsung heroes at St Columba! Our family has been experiencing a very challenging and tragic time. Words cannot express my gratitude to St Columba School and the out...

DATE: Mar 8, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from TRIO Student Success Center

The TRIO Student Success Center at Fort Lewis College thanks the following for contributing goods and services to the annual TRIO Day fundraiser: College Drive Café, CJ’s Diner, Conundrum Es...

DATE: Mar 8, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you CJ’s Diner, community, for supporting Space Campers

Have you heard of Space Camp? Young and old all over often delight in the idea of attending Space Camp and joining the ranks of astronaut wannabes and serious space nerds for a week of camp....

DATE: Mar 8, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Marianne Spencer Pearlman

Thank you to the kind drivers who waited for me to park my old Jeep in front of 9-R on a recent Thursday morning. (Right during rush hour!) I will avoid tight spots like that in the future. ...

DATE: Mar 8, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Thank you from Los Pinos Fire Protection District Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of the Los Pinos Fire Protection District would like to express our sincere appreciation for the support and trust of our communities and the constituents that live wi...

DATE: Mar 8, 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