The Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam is continuing operations under a revised model after plans to sell the facility were dropped, according to Peter van Wingerden, one of its founders. The project, which opened in May 2019, was designed to produce food sustainably on a floating platform without the traditional requirement for farmland.
The farm had been put up for sale after a dispute with the local environmental department over a new floor that officials said did not comply with regulations. Its 28 Dutch MRI cows were removed, milk production was due to stop and the animals were to be sold. Van Wingerden has now confirmed that the farm is not being sold and that milk and other dairy production are continuing. He said the farm has low emissions because of its modern technology and system, but that the rubber floor is German and has no compliance certificate in the Netherlands.
Under the adjusted arrangement, the cows have been moved to several farms about 20 km away. Milk is brought to the floating facility by a regular dairy truck about twice a week, in batches of roughly 1,500 litres, van Wingerden said. He added that a stainless-steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm and that the short distance from the milk supplier keeps transport time brief.
The founders originally invested €4 million to create the farm, which was equipped for on-site feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production. Located in the port, it sold milk and dairy products to local consumers through vending machines. The concept attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world who came to see the cows at work.
The floating structure now also houses a vertical salad-growing enterprise in its basement. Van Wingerden described the unit as a fully controlled, automated growing space with three layers, conveyor belts and a combination of grow-room and warehouse technology. The basement position below the waterline allows the space to be cooled by water.
Four crop groups are grown in the vertical unit. Microgreens are harvested every two weeks, herbs every three weeks, leafy greens every four weeks and edible flowers every four to five weeks, according to van Wingerden. The crops are used to make tea, pesto, Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey.
Despite the changes, the farm faces a further move. Van Wingerden said the Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years because the entire area is due to become residential. He said the current system is not the vision the founders started with, but that they are coping with it and that the vertical farm is performing well.