From abandoned land to second place in the Globo Rural Sustainable Farm Award: the story of Fazenda Sertãozinho.
ESGpec's assessments of carbon footprint, animal welfare, and ESG practices were integrated into the Minas Gerais farm's application for the award, and its trajectory was also the subject of a special report by Globo Rural.
In 2005, agricultural engineer Andrés Rojas bought an abandoned rural property in Virgínia, in southern Minas Gerais. After building a career in the business world, he brought to dairy farming a management vision that combines goals, indicators, and attention to detail in operations.
Two decades later, Fazenda Sertãozinho produces around 6,000 liters of milk per day and won second place among medium-sized farms in the Globo Rural Sustainable Farm Award 2026. The story was told in the report. "Producer transforms abandoned area into a highly productive milk farm ," published on October 7th.
Andrés' entrepreneurial experience is evident today in how the property organizes its processes and tracks results. The farm has also incorporated herd monitoring and genetics technologies, as well as practices focused on animal welfare and productive efficiency.
Sertãozinho has 145 lactating cows, with an average production of approximately 12,000 liters per animal per year. The property also maintains 328 hectares of preserved area, where there are more than 40 springs. Among the practices adopted are the use of solar energy, water reuse, and the disposal of organic waste for fertigation and composting.
A partnership that broadens the vision.
The partnership with Andrés is also an opportunity for exchange for ESGpec. Leading a farm that combines results in productivity, technology, animal welfare, and sustainability, he brings to the discussions questions about the challenges and decisions of the dairy industry.
In the analysis cited by Globo Rural, based on the ESG Farm Score radar, the farm achieved maximum performance in the pillars of animal care, market, rural economy, product safety and quality, soil quality and retention, and mitigation of greenhouse gases. In the overall scores, it obtained 9.08 out of 10 in the BEA Score and 9.20 out of 10 in the ESG Farm Score. The carbon footprint was close to 1 kg CO₂e/kg FPCM, the reference value considered in the analysis.
Heloise Duarte, COO of ESGpec, participated in the analyses of Fazenda Sertãozinho. Regarding the partnership with Andrés, she comments: “Having Andrés as a partner is very valuable to us. He brings a broad business vision and questions from someone who is at the helm of a farm that seeks excellence in various areas. This exchange helps us to see the challenges of the activity from a more complete perspective.”
Bruna Silper, CEO of ESGpec, comments on what the assessments allow us to understand about the farm's sustainability: “At Sertãozinho, we were able to look at different dimensions of sustainability based on data and practices from the farm itself. This type of assessment helps to recognize what is already being done and to identify points that can guide future decisions.”
Andrés summarizes the importance of daily management for Globo Rural: “In this activity, only the efficient survive. And, for that, it is necessary to adopt a culture focused on various aspects of the farm's routine.”
ESGpec's analyses were integrated into Fazenda Sertãozinho's application for the Sustainable Farm Award and helped demonstrate, with data, the work developed in different dimensions of sustainability. Now, Andrés has a new goal: to increase production to 10,000 liters of milk per day in two years, without buying animals.
Read also: In an article in the "Integral Sustainability" column of Leite Integral magazine, ESGpec had already presented technologies and practices from Fazenda Sertãozinho, including the calculation of the carbon footprint and the ESG Farm Score. Read the article .
Follow Fazenda Sertãozinho on social media : @fazenda.sertaozinho
