Upper Pine River Fire Protection District

Upper Pine planning dual fire station and urgent care clinic

District asking voters to extend a property tax passed nearly 20 years ago

DATE: Oct 16, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Dozens pay tribute to 9/11 service members during Durango stair climb

Firefighters, law enforcement complete Sky Steps in honor of fallen first responders

DATE: Sep 11, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Vehicle rolls over teenager resulting in severe leg injury northeast of Durango

It is the second such accident in less than a week in Upper Pine Fire district

DATE: Jul 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Fireworks start small fires during Bayfield Fourth of July celebration

Spectators help prevent blaze from reaching senior center

DATE: Jul 6, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Woman found dead under truck in Bayfield

La Plata County Sheriff’s Office suspects victim left vehicle in reverse and was run over

DATE: Jul 5, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Mystery gas affects 17 campers at Vallecito Creek Campground

Medical treatment provided to eight people, none hospitalized

DATE: Jun 28, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Man drowns in Vallecito Reservoir

Body of 21-year-old victim has not been recovered

DATE: Jun 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Lose your boat on the river? Call 911

Dispatchers hope to avoid unnecessary responses to overturned watercraft

DATE: Jun 1, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango Air Tanker Base opens for fire season

Agencies gathered Wednesday for training on aerial resources

DATE: May 25, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Wildfire evacuation drill grows in third year

Residents in five subdivisions practiced leaving homes in an emergency situation

DATE: Apr 28, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Mason Lodge awards Bayfield High School student, among others

Durango Fire Protection District recognized for efforts in roof slide near Purgatory Resort

DATE: Apr 17, 2023 | CATEGORY: Local News

Fire chiefs urge prevention and legislation to protect Colorado communities

Officials call for more staffing, controlled fires and awareness

DATE: Apr 7, 2023 | 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