Back to the countryside: free-range chickens, regenerative livestock farming and rural lodging that goes against the traditional model
Rodrigo Donnola was in his twenties and had one certainty: the countryside was calling him . The certainty was uncomfortable, because the city had already absorbed him completely. He lived in the heart of Buenos Aires, moving between university classrooms and friends' apartments, enduring the hustle and bustle with a patience that was running out. He studied agricultural production engineering and, on paper, everything seemed to fit: a son of the countryside, with a future assured in it . But there was something that didn't work. The subjects, the technicalities, the urban life, the time stopped between books that didn't speak of the real ground he had walked on since childhood.
The decision to return to Arroyo de Luna , his family's farm, was more a cry of need than a meticulous plan . No one in the family welcomed him with open arms. His father, above all, did not understand the resignation. For him, without a title there was no return . Rodrigo insisted , he endured a year of ridiculous pay, a kind of implicit punishment that he himself accepted without knowing why. But in that time he learned. He discovered that theory had little to do with practice, and that the land demanded something else.
The 150-hectare farm, located between Arrecifes and Capitán Sarmiento , was destined to follow the logic of the humid pampas: intensive production, large machinery, an extractive monoculture model . Rodrigo, however, began to see something different . It was not exactly an act of rebellion, but a succession of questions that led him to another paradigm. He observed the pastures that sprouted among the soybeans, the potential of what grew without intervention . He discovered rational grazing , the synergy between cows, sheep and chickens, the recycling of nutrients that could enhance the land without the need for external inputs .
The click came with a visit to an agroecological farm. He saw it in action: animals improved the soil, costs went down, the quality of life for everyone—animals and humans—improved . He did research, studied on his own, absorbed the principles of Fukuoka, Voisin, Salatin and Savory . He worked on an organic dairy farm in France , participated in projects in Italy . He joined groups of producers in transition, exchanged knowledge with INTA . He learned to play with nature instead of imposing himself on it .
Sitting beneath an old, thick mulberry tree, Rodrigo says that Arroyo de Luna’s transformation was neither quick nor easy . He faced droughts, losses, his own and others’ doubts. But he persisted . His production took a definitive turn: regenerative livestock farming, crops with minimal chemical intervention, diversification and rural tourism . The logic was clear: less dependence on inputs, greater resilience . If conventional agriculture was betting everything on the climate lottery and expensive technological packages , he preferred the security of balance . “I don’t look for maximum yield, but stability,” he says. He compares his yields with those of his neighbors, the same ones who look at him with incredulity. “The numbers don’t lie: I produce ‘extra’ meat, I maintain soil fertility and my investment is lower.”
Rodrigo reflects on all this while feeding a flock of free-range chickens guarded by a protective dog, the best way to keep predatory foxes away . The mobile chicken coops leave patches of bright green, direct proof of the soil's regeneration . Opposite, the Luna stream is visited by chajás, royal lapwings and kingfishers , who are certain that there is biodiversity here.
But agroecology , in his view, is not just a matter of production. It is a profound transformation of the role of the farmer . It is not about maximizing hectares of soybeans for export, but about generating added value, selling meat, eggs, nuts, diversifying . “The problem is not producing, it is selling,” he says. And that is where the system suffocates him: intermediaries who take most of the profit, markets that do not yet value what he offers .
Tourism is also part of this equation. The old farmhouse was refurbished to welcome guests who come to Arroyo de Luna in search of connecting with the countryside from its essence . The house has a rustic decoration, in keeping with the message . “The ones who connect the most are the children,” reveals Rodrigo . “It is incredible how they immediately get hooked on everything there is to do and they are the first to want to go out on a tour,” he adds. The central proposal is simple: in addition to disconnecting from the daily noise, the idea is to experience the day-to-day of rural work . “The kids forget about their cell phones, it is automatic,” he insists.
Day to day life in Arroyo de Luna is intense . With the help of volunteers like Agostina , an agricultural engineering student from Merlo , Rodrigo divides his time between working in the fields, distributing his produce, and classes at the National University of San Antonio de Areco , where he resumed his studies in zootechnical engineering. He lives between pastures and books, between the solitude of the countryside and university classrooms . In his routine, there is one constant: the animals . “If they are well, everything works,” he says.
The truck stops on a country road, where two horses are grazing freely . Between the fence and the stream, there is a large plot of pasture, something that others would see as a huge mistake . Here, however, among the yellowed grasslands caused by the cruel action of the drought , the violet flowers of the wild radicheta are scattered like small lights .
His neighbours see him as a weirdo . Not because they don't understand what he does, but because he goes beyond the limits of what is possible . However, they respect him . They help each other, exchange seeds, share machinery when necessary. Because the countryside, even in its most industrial model, continues to be a network of support . But Rodrigo knows that it is difficult for them to follow him . Not because it doesn't work, but because the change is complex . "It is viable on a large scale," he insists, "but you have to change your mindset. Go from being an agricultural entrepreneur to a farmer." A simple concept that implies, in practice, a leap into the void .
If I had to give advice, it would be straightforward: visit, observe, learn before you jump in . There are no magic recipes. Agroecology is a progressive path, of trial and error, of chaos with animals and permanent adjustments . “A stumble is not a fall,” he says, and he says it with the certainty of someone who has stumbled more than once . But also with the conviction that the path he has chosen is the only one that makes sense .
Arroyo de Luna is located in a rural area, between Capitán Sarmiento and Arrecifes, 198 km from the City of Buenos Aires. The double room starts at $370,000, with everything included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Web: https://www.arroyodeluna.com/
T: 11-57418765
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