The Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam, a Dutch project built to test land-independent dairy production, has changed direction again after a dispute with the local environmental authority, according to co-founder Peter van Wingerden.
The farm's 28 Dutch MRI cows have been moved off the structure to several farms around 20 km away, and a planned sale of the facility has been called off. Van Wingerden said milk and other dairy production are continuing, with milk now collected by the regular dairy truck from a supplier roughly 20 km away at about 1,500 litres per batch, twice a week.
What triggered the change
The farm had recently been put up for sale after the environmental department ruled that a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. At that point the herd was to be sold and milk production was to cease.
Van Wingerden said the farm's modern technology and systems give it the lowest possible emissions, but the rubber floor is German-made and carries no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. He added that a stainless steel pipeline has been installed from the quay to the farm, which the dairy truck uses to deliver milk for processing on board.
A vertical farm below the waterline
The floating structure also houses a vertical growing enterprise in its basement, below the waterline, where it is cooled by the surrounding water. Van Wingerden described the unit as a fully controlled, automated grow space with three layers carried on conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology.
- Micro-greens are harvested every two weeks.
- Herbs are harvested every three weeks.
- Leafy greens are harvested every four weeks.
- Edible flowers are harvested every four to five weeks.
The crops are turned into tea, pesto, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey, and sold together with the farm's Parmesan cheese. Van Wingerden said the vertical farm is performing well.
Background
The Floating Farm was the idea of Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million to create a facility with on-site feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production. It opened in May 2019 in the Port of Rotterdam as a futuristic way to produce food sustainably without the traditional tie to land.
Throughout its operation at the port the farm produced milk and dairy products that local consumers could buy from vending machines on site. The concept proved popular, drawing hundreds of thousands of curious visitors from around the world to see the cows at work.
Van Wingerden said the Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years, as the entire area is set to become residential. "This is not the vision we initially started off with, but we are coping with this system," he said, noting that the 20 km gap between milk supplier and farm keeps transport time short.