Hard-ground milk: Elvira Usandizaga tells the story of Don Coco, the only dairy farm in Mercedes, in the cattle-raising heartland of

In the Corrientes city of Mercedes, a region known for its tough fields suitable for cattle breeding, there are those who dare to break the mold. A few kilometers from the urban center, there is Estancia Don Coco, where family stories blend with cheeses, salamis, jars of bright jams, bottles of liquor, and jars of dulce de leche. Today, María Elvira Usandizaga is at the helm of Don Coco, introducing herself as an agricultural producer. She states this almost as an identity definition. She comes from a family of producers, and that is what she does. Only, at some point, she decided to give "a twist" to primary production and start making products with her own raw materials. Not to change her activity, but to continue being the same as always, but in a different way. "I still make cheese like we ate in the countryside," she explains. Cheeses, sweets, and liquors that came from a family story that mixes the countryside, work, and inherited recipes. The Don Coco establishment is ...